Patrick Willis Wins Defensive Rookie of the Year

[D J C]

NEW YORK -- One NFL scout called linebacker Patrick Willis "a beast." And that was before Willis won The Associated Press 2007 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year award.

Willis' dominant performance could have been overlooked because his San Francisco 49ers went 5-11 in a mediocre division. Instead, his league-leading 174 tackles and presence all over the field made him a runaway winner and the fifth straight linebacker to take the honor.

Willis earned 48 votes on Friday from a nationwide panel of 50 media members who regularly cover the NFL. Only Carolina linebacker Jon Beason, with two, also received votes.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=09000d5d805b9fdf&template=with-video&confirm=true

Almost unanimous. I agree he should've won, but I thought Beason would get more votes, and Harris and Tanard could've got some too.

[hermes]

very deserving congrats

[Monkeyfeng06]

BEAST!

[A.J.]

better rookie campaign than demeco

[High 5]

Yeah, I really wish Atlanta took Willis instead of Anderson. I'm not giving up on Anderson, but it sure would be nice to have Willis and Boley together with Brooking being able to move back to the will where he belongs to end his career.

[A.J.]

Yeah, I really wish Atlanta took Willis instead of Anderson. I'm not giving up on Anderson, but it sure would be nice to have Willis and Boley together with Brooking being able to move back to the will where he belongs to end his career.

hell, you should have taken okoye over anderson.....lol

[SactownHrtBrks8]

Well at leeast they got the obvious

[deeney0]

Has there been a year where MVP, Coach of the Year, Offensive Rookie of the Year, and Defensive Rookie of the year were as obvious as 2007?

[PR07]

Easy call here, Willis was beastly this season.

[CJ_18]

Does he not also have a good chance at DPOY?

[CBS7]

I really think he does have a bit of a chance - or at least should.

I don't really like any defensive stats the the NFL keeps but his leading the league in tackles does him justice.

[HMFFL]

Yeah, I really wish Atlanta took Willis instead of Anderson. I'm not giving up on Anderson, but it sure would be nice to have Willis and Boley together with Brooking being able to move back to the will where he belongs to end his career.

I feel ya.

Anderson has some very good veterans around him to learn from, but I'm just not seeing a very good player yet, and I never felt good about him. I pretty upset about the pick on draft day to be honest.

Congrads to Willis, excellent choice.

[Rafael122]

Landry didn't get 1 vote? That sucks. Congrats to Patrick though.

[Elway=GOAT]

Yeah, I really wish Atlanta took Willis instead of Anderson. I'm not giving up on Anderson, but it sure would be nice to have Willis and Boley together with Brooking being able to move back to the will where he belongs to end his career.

People didn't think Mario Williams was a good player after his rookie year either. I don't think Anderson is the prospect Williams is, but I do believe he could be an elite pass rusher, like a Rice the last 10 years, or a DF(with less hype).

[TMACFORMVP]

Only bright spot in the 49ers season (me being a 49ers fan haha), very well deserved, dude was a monster.

[High 5]

-= original quote snipped =-



People didn't think Mario Williams was a good player after his rookie year either. I don't think Anderson is the prospect Williams is, but I do believe he could be an elite pass rusher, like a Rice the last 10 years, or a DF(with less hype).

I never said Anderson wasn't going to be a good player, but Mario got some sacks and was hurt during most of his rookie year. Anderson was about as healthy as an NFL DE can be and he ended with no sacks.