Chris Borland?

Originally posted by SaksV:
I love this pick. Chris Borland is the white London Fletcher.

I think London Fletcher ran a 4.4 40 time

Anyways, this is my least favorite pick of the draft. Picked to fill in for Bowman, but is nothing like Bowman. They're still going to have to completely change the way the defense is played with Borland on the field, because our defense is built to the strengths of its ILB with sideline to sideline speed.

I'm trying to be hopeful that his overall build and body control means he's faster/quicker in pads

Originally posted by znk916:

http://www.battleredblog.com/2014/2/17/5418546/carlos-hyde-vs-chris-borland-the-best-title-fight-that-nobody-talked

This article is a great read.
Very hard to block, Borland looks so quick that blockers can't get a hand on him. He runs right past blockers. He plays so low he's underneath everyone's pad level so nobody can move him back.

This was really 'out of the box' thinking by Baalke. At first I thought it was a bad pick, but it seems like a really smart pick since it will even push Willis and Bowman to improve instead of resting on their laurels.

Originally posted by dhp318:

I think London Fletcher ran a 4.4 40 time

Anyways, this is my least favorite pick of the draft. Picked to fill in for Bowman, but is nothing like Bowman. They're still going to have to completely change the way the defense is played with Borland on the field, because our defense is built to the strengths of its ILB with sideline to sideline speed.

I'm trying to be hopeful that his overall build and body control means he's faster/quicker in pads

Borland has sideline to sideline speed in run support

But won't come close to bowman on pass coverage

Its a shame some fans dont like this pick, he is going to absolutely ball out for us. After he forces his first fumble on special teams all these doubters will see, you dont need a wingspan to fill a hole and he rarely misses a tackle so it isnt even gonna be a problem.

Baalke on the draft picks this morning, high praise for Borland
http://www.stationcaster.com/player_skinned.php?s=851&c=13821&f=2796543

Originally posted by dhp318:
I think London Fletcher ran a 4.4 40 time

Anyways, this is my least favorite pick of the draft. Picked to fill in for Bowman, but is nothing like Bowman. They're still going to have to completely change the way the defense is played with Borland on the field, because our defense is built to the strengths of its ILB with sideline to sideline speed.

I'm trying to be hopeful that his overall build and body control means he's faster/quicker in pads

The only thing they would have to change is keeping Borland in the box and letting Willis go into coverage. Otherwise his instincts and leverage will take care of any run plays so if its sideline to sideline speed on running plays he has it. With his football IQ his 4.8 is faster than a 4.5/4.6 LB who needs an extra second to diagnose the play.

Originally posted by 5280High:
The only thing they would have to change is keeping Borland in the box and letting Willis go into coverage. Otherwise his instincts and leverage will take care of any run plays so if its sideline to sideline speed on running plays he has it. With his football IQ his 4.8 is faster than a 4.5/4.6 LB who needs an extra second to diagnose the play.

I think the bigger concern people are worried about is that his short arms will make it harder for him to get off of blocks rather than harder to tackle people. This is the reason some people believe he is a better fit in a 4-3 defense where the inside linebackers aren't as exposed to offensive linemen. Aldon Smith is able to play much stronger than he is because he can get his hands on linemen and shed them and opposing linemen have difficulty getting to Smith's body. Borland is the opposite and I'm not sure he's athletic enough to avoid blockers. His length and lack of athleticism will also make it difficult for him to cover anyone, but I think most fans are assuming he's a 2 down linebacker anyways.

Originally posted by Harbaalke:

Borland vs Hyde

Ah man, if Hyde can't get past Borland, then how's he gonna get past the NFC west defenses. I hope we get rid of Hyde!

Borland is an extremely "slippery" player, meaning his short area quickness coupled with his instincts make him extremely difficult to block one on one.

Originally posted by vamphunter23:
His dad, Al Borland, was the co-host of Tool Time.... Check out his HighLight reel............not bad

pretty ironic that he stuffs carlos hyde on that first and second clip...either hyde sucks or borland is really good

Originally posted by kingkong916:

Originally posted by vamphunter23:
His dad, Al Borland, was the co-host of Tool Time.... Check out his HighLight reel............not bad

pretty ironic that he stuffs carlos hyde on that first and second clip...either hyde sucks or borland is really good

Borland is really good and continues to be underestimated on the WZ because people watch too much Pac 12 football on here. They have a love for Skov. But if they watched all of college football it's very clear Borland is a superior talent.

Willhoite Vs Moody Vs Borland Vs Skov.. Who you got? Btw all of them will play special teams.

Apparently he's pretty good in pass coverage too even though he wasn't used in that capacity much. Showed well at the Senior Bowl and there's this quote:

In fact, former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema once told me he remembered noticing Borland in one of the Badgers camps. "I'm watching him and he had about five interceptions in about an hour and half of 7-on-7," said Bielema.

Originally posted by sanjo49er:
Willhoite Vs Moody Vs Borland Vs Skov.. Who you got? Btw all of them will play special teams.

borland will beat them all out and it wont be close.

Originally posted by LVJay:

Originally posted by Harbaalke:

Borland vs Hyde

Ah man, if Hyde can't get past Borland, then how's he gonna get past the NFC west defenses. I hope we get rid of Hyde!

I suspect there will be major s**t talking in practice over Borland's past experiences against Hyde.