I will miss you Bill Walsh

by 3Chavy3 on Jul 30, 2007 12:32 PM PDT

I really wish Jerry Rice would have retired a couple years ago. Bill Wlash had recently said that he wanted Jerry to retire soon so that he could introduce him into the hall of fame. Bill Walsh is one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and he will be greatly missed by niner fans as well as the Whole league RIP Bill Walsh.

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Rest in peace champ!

Hopefully the SB trophies keep him in good company

Let's have our Piazza and eat the Cust too - SPWC

by closetasfan on Jul 30, 2007 12:30 PM PDT 0 recs

changed the game

more than any coach in the last 40 years

Signatures? We don't need no stinking signatures.

by jubjub on Jul 30, 2007 12:31 PM PDT 0 recs

=(

R.I.P. Bill Walsh!

by gotgreen on Jul 30, 2007 12:33 PM PDT 0 recs

As much as I dismiss the importance

of the field manager in baseball, I'll never do the same with regard to football. The real innovators-- a Rockne, a Lombardi, a Shula, a Walsh, a Belicheck-- can dominate a game from the sidelines with their strategic genius. I only managed to catch the tail end of the Walsh era-- the first two Super Bowl wins came before I was born-- but I really appreciate what he did for sports in the Bay Area.

Good man and a great sports figure.

by PaulThomas on Jul 30, 2007 12:58 PM PDT 0 recs

really? Belicheck?

in the same category as Lombardi and Walsh? Isnt he just a bit over-glorified? I mean, yes, he's won, but his coaching is more in the vein of clock-management and how not to lose, rather than how to win.
Walsh and his coaches utterly dominated their competition, in all aspects of the game...the Pats could have easily lost each one of their Super Bowl victories. That game against the Eagles was horrible, by both teams. And the game against Carolina? Possibly worse. There was no "genius" coaching during either one of those games. And they just got plain lucky against St. Louis.
Further, Brady is no great QB either. He's NEVER played aginst anyone any good in a playoff game, until he got killed by Manning last season...Montana played, and dominated, both Elway and Marino.
I'm just not sure Belicheck is as great as his recent reputation. The Pats are not a dynasty in the way real dynasties like Dallas, 49ers, Steelers, etc. have dominated the game.
I think the Pats are a pretty bloated team, and the coaching, while good, is nothing spectacular...just my 2 cents.

tdwclark

by tdwclark on Jul 30, 2007 5:43 PM PDT up 0 recs

3 SBs in 4 years isn't a dynasty?

I believe, sir, that your criteria are too harsh.

The difference between Belicheck and everyone else is pretty simple. Crap players become good players, and good players become stars, when they come to New England. The reverse happens when they leave. He's had some truly mediocre rosters in the past few years (largely because the salary cap makes it difficult to hold dynasties together-- you simply can't sign all of your star players) and gotten good results out of them.

Also, you seem to be forgetting that Brady beat Manning twice before in the postseason. This is not to diss Manning-- who, assuming he keeps something like his current form for another 5-6 years, will retire as the greatest QB in football history-- simply to point out that New England hasn't been cakewalking its way to victory.

by PaulThomas on Jul 30, 2007 6:01 PM PDT up 0 recs

youre right about Brady...

I forgot. And i think the Pats/Belicheck are/is good..just not great.
The game itself is less of a game than when Walsh was at the fore. Look at the last several SBs...they have been horrible games.
I agree NE has gotten a lot from their players...but youre point about them being mediocre is self-evident. Any one of those teams would have been CRUSHED by the 49ers of the 80's...or Dallas of the 90s, or GB when they were good.
As far as the dynasty thing is concerned, even NE fans are reticent to throw that term around...it just seems like "genius" and "dynasty" are a little to oversimplified when taking about Belicheck and the Pats.
Maybe its all relative to the salary cap...either way these teams of the last several years are just not as good as the teams during the Walsh years...even the Shanahan Broncos and the Holmgren Packers were much better. I think either of those teams would beat both Indy and NE of the past few seasons. Its all just speculation, though.
RIP Caoch Walsh.

tdwclark

by tdwclark on Jul 30, 2007 7:22 PM PDT up 0 recs

True dat

but no team these days could afford to keep Steve Young as a backup to Joe Montana. I don't think today's players are worse-- if anything, they're better-- but the cap spreads out talent, and when players get hurt the backups just aren't as good as backups on good teams once were. Of course, the flipside is that the starters on BAD teams are much better than they once were.

Good to see Sportscenter had all the Niners greats on to talk about him. He deserved the lead obit.

by PaulThomas on Jul 30, 2007 9:44 PM PDT up 0 recs

This news has me crying.

I fell in love with the Niners when we moved to California in 1977. Walsh was a great and it feels like a personal loss.
It's a very sad day...when such a great and brave man passes away. Condolences to his family.

by IM4Oakgal on Jul 30, 2007 1:09 PM PDT 0 recs

To a man who made my childhood happier...

RIP Bill, we will never forget you and always remember how you revolutioned the sport.

Bring back Hammer.

by OaktownPower on Jul 30, 2007 1:25 PM PDT 0 recs

RIP to The Genius

Bill Walsh made Bay Area football something worth watching again. His effect, not only on the Bay, but on football as a whole, will never be forgotten. As a lifelong 49er fan and avid Bill Walsh supporter, I will miss him greatly. Hopefully the 49ers put up a season this year that would make him proud.

Larry Davis is an All Star: Further proof that literally anything is possible.

by ZeroIndulgence on Jul 30, 2007 1:44 PM PDT 0 recs