I'm their primes, who was the better pass rusher out of these two

Originally posted by pwillis52beasty:

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by glorydayz:
Aldon was on pace to be one of the best pass rushers to ever do it!

Bosa is good but he's not Aldon Smith, but I don't think many pass rushers compare to Aldon Smith.

He single handedly took over games,

This

Agreed. He was just ridiculous going after the QB. I always thought he was better than Von Miller when they were both in their primes.

I had never seen anything like Aldon Smith from a size & athleticism standpoint it really just didn't make sense for him to be able to move like that.

Originally posted by glorydayz:

Originally posted by pwillis52beasty:

Originally posted by lamontb:

Originally posted by glorydayz:
Aldon was on pace to be one of the best pass rushers to ever do it!

Bosa is good but he's not Aldon Smith, but I don't think many pass rushers compare to Aldon Smith.

He single handedly took over games,

This

Agreed. He was just ridiculous going after the QB. I always thought he was better than Von Miller when they were both in their primes.

I had never seen anything like Aldon Smith from a size & athleticism standpoint it really just didn't make sense for him to be able to move like that.

Actually Aldon and Charles Haley were nearly identical size. 6'5" and 255 lbs. Both had similar 40 times 4.73 for Aldon and 4.8 for Haley. Their pass rushing abilities were also very similar. If Aldon hadn't had his drinking problems he could have had a similar career although I doubt he would have collected 5 SB rings. Cedric Hardman was also similar at 6'3" and 260 labs. He ran a 4.8 40 as well. Bosa is probably the least naturally athletic out of the bunch. He has worked hard to put himself in their class and his technique is among the best.

How could you lose with any of those 4 guys assuming Aldon hadn't had his issues.

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
Actually Aldon and Charles Haley were nearly identical size. 6'5" and 255 lbs. Both had similar 40 times 4.73 for Aldon and 4.8 for Haley. Their pass rushing abilities were also very similar. If Aldon hadn't had his drinking problems he could have had a similar career although I doubt he would have collected 5 SB rings. Cedric Hardman was also similar at 6'3" and 260 labs. He ran a 4.8 40 as well. Bosa is probably the least naturally athletic out of the bunch. He has worked hard to put himself in their class and his technique is among the best.

How could you lose with any of those 4 guys assuming Aldon hadn't had his issues.

Aldon Smith measured 6'4", 263 lbs with 35 3/8" arms at the combine. I have no idea how big those guys you listed were because 1) the information that pops up on a Google search is not reliable 2) Charles Haley's rookie card lists him at 6'5", 230 lbs; Archived 1989 NY Times lists him at 230 as well 3) My eyes tell me they weren't sniffing Aldon Smith in measurables.

I don't think it's fair to compare today's athletes to the past. They're not in the same ballpark.

Originally posted by Heroism:

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
Actually Aldon and Charles Haley were nearly identical size. 6'5" and 255 lbs. Both had similar 40 times 4.73 for Aldon and 4.8 for Haley. Their pass rushing abilities were also very similar. If Aldon hadn't had his drinking problems he could have had a similar career although I doubt he would have collected 5 SB rings. Cedric Hardman was also similar at 6'3" and 260 labs. He ran a 4.8 40 as well. Bosa is probably the least naturally athletic out of the bunch. He has worked hard to put himself in their class and his technique is among the best.

How could you lose with any of those 4 guys assuming Aldon hadn't had his issues.

Aldon Smith measured 6'4", 263 lbs with 35 3/8" arms at the combine. I have no idea how big those guys you listed were because 1) the information that pops up on a Google search is not reliable 2) Charles Haley's rookie card lists him at 230 lbs 3) My eyes tell me they weren't sniffing Aldon Smith in measurables.

I don't think it's fair to compare today's athletes to the past. They're not in the same ballpark.

Haley was 6'5" and played at around 250-260. Those rookie weights are often way off. Your eyes were deceiving you. Pro Football Reference lists Aldon at 255, Haley at 252 and Hardman at 255. Whatever their actual weights they were all similar. All three were quick off the line and ran had similar 40 times. Not a whole lot of differences between them. Hardman is still the all time sack leader for the Niners with 108. (unofficial since it wasn't an NFL stat until 1982)

Hardman played in an era where teams passed far less so he had fewer opportunities for sacks. On the other hand he played against O linemen that weren't much bigger than he was so he could overpower them easier. Just a perfect example why it's hard to compare great players from different eras.

Originally posted by CatchMaster80:
Haley was 6'5" and played at around 250-260. Those rookie weights are often way off. Your eyes were deceiving you.

This archived 1989 NY Times article lists him at 230 as well:

The depth chart now says that Charles Haley plays left outside linebacker. The force that his 6-foot-5-inch 230-pound body regularly creates in opposition

https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/21/sports/super-bowl-xxiii-linebackers-haley-s-no-longer-just-a-lineman.html

Originally posted by WINiner:
Aldon struggled anytime Cowboy was out or playing injured. Imo he's a bit overrated. A stud and a phenomenal player before the booze took over, but a bit overrated.

The flipside to that is that between 2008-2010, nobody was a force opposite Justin Smith in SF the way Aldon was.

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by 49ersRing:
I defer to what the guys that have played against them have said and Trent Williams and Staley both said Aldon was the toughest pass rusher they'd ever gone against.

I remember the MNF game when Aldon owned Trent Williams on several pass rush reps. Pretty sure that was the moment Aldon made his impression on Trent.

I was at that game!

Good times. Last great Niner game I attended of that era...

Originally posted by miked1978:
I don't get the "Aldon and its not close" comments...

I think the first 2 years it is Aldon but anything after that it will be Bosa. Aldon's prime was short lived. Give me someone who's prime is more than 2 years.

This is a good point.

Like it could be argued that Jason Pierre Paul had a better career than Aldon Smith despite only having maybe 1-2 dominant seasons, and the rest decent but nothing close to superstar level, but having consistently been in the league since 2010, you'd have to give him the edge.

But I hate how Giants' fans thought JPP was better when he wasn't. Even run defense too, Aldon was as good or better.

So yeah, barring anything crazy, Bosa will have a superior career to Aldon Smith. Probably 1 or 2 seasons more will be enough to cement that.

I like Chris Doleman and Kevin Greene

How has no one fixed the thread title yet?

hilarious that so many people are saying Aldon... c'mon man. Justin "Cowboy" Smith playing next to him gobbling up linemen so Aldon could get to the QB... Nick Bosa's PRIME is not even here yet and he is already better.

Aldon had Justin Smith occupying at least 2 O-linemen on every play. They ran stunts up the gut, with Justin clearly holding on most plays to free up Aldon, with him screaming up the middle, unblocked. Yes, Aldon had a great frame and freakish skills, but Nick Bosa has had to get all his sacks himself, imo. Had he played multiple years with Buckner, maybe this could be a better individual comparison. But it's unfair to knock Bosa for all the pressure up the middle the 9ers schemed for Aldon.

Originally posted by 49Fan4Ages:
Aldon had Justin Smith occupying at least 2 O-linemen on every play.

Time to register a new account.

Originally posted by Heroism:
More examples of Aldon Smith absolutely taking the souls of right tackles without Justin Smith next to him. I'm missing a bunch, too. This silly argument needs to die. Also, something that stood out to me while revisiting these old games was how often the 49ers got home with just 3. This group was elite, elite.