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Patrick Willis: Hall of Famer?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by Dick Whitman, Mar 9, 2015.

  1. Dick Whitman

    Dick Whitman Well-Known Member

    Short career, but seven Pro Bowls. Linchpin of one of the best defenses in the league during his prime.

    Buying or selling Patrick Willis for Canton?
     
  2. LongTimeListener

    LongTimeListener Well-Known Member

    Boy ... I'm going to have to say no. Didn't play long enough and, although he was a great player, I'm not sure he has anything spectacular to counteract that the way Sayers does.

    But I do like the thread and I think it could be an interesting debate when the time comes.
     
  3. JayFarrar

    JayFarrar Well-Known Member

    Yes. Just because he was the best high school player I have ever seen and I'm friendly with his mom and dad.

    Or at least the white people he calls his parents.
     
  4. swingline

    swingline Well-Known Member

    I couldn't pick Patrick Willis out of a lineup, so I'm gonna say no.
     
  5. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    Willis is part of the reason I never understood why Michael Oher's was considered such a big deal. If people knew how many prominent college and NFL players were raised (or partly raised) by coaches or parents of their friends, they wouldn't believe it.

    Oher wasn't even the best Ole Miss player of his era raised by white people. Willis just didn't have the good fortune of his adopted father being childhood friends with a best-selling author.
     
    Last edited: Mar 9, 2015
  6. JackReacher

    JackReacher Well-Known Member

    Makes sense!
     
  7. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    You answered your own question.
     
  8. bigpern23

    bigpern23 Well-Known Member

    Oh, and without digging into stats, etc., my first reaction to the thread question is: No.
     
  9. RecoveringJournalist

    RecoveringJournalist Well-Known Member

    I'm going to take the first-ballot lock stance. I may waver off that if he's not retiring because of the injury.

    Five time first-team All-Pro. I'm guessing there are a lot of guys in Canton who can't make that claim.
     
  10. Steak Snabler

    Steak Snabler Well-Known Member

    Especially not after the league expanded to 32 teams.
     
  11. RecoveringJournalist

    RecoveringJournalist Well-Known Member

    He's been a first-team All-Pro more times than Urlacher and Derrick Thomas. By comparison, Ray Lewis and Mike Singletary made it seven times and Lawrence Taylor made it eight.
     
  12. Della9250

    Della9250 Well-Known Member

    I can see it but I wouldn't get my hopes up if I was in. It helps that he won't play due to injury instead of just falling off a cliff performance-wise. It is a really great peak -- five all-pro seasons in a six-year span and two comparable seasons to that around it. I would have liked him to get another couple years under his belt. And there isn't anything close to a comp for a defensive guy that is in.
     
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