SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -After just 21 games with the San Francisco 49ers, Patrick Willis is awash in the trappings of NFL stardom.
The linebacker who grew up on Buck Ditch Road in tiny Bruceton, Tenn., has bought four cars in the past year or so, ranging from a 1970 Malibu Chevelle to a late-model Aston Martin coupe. He has a comfortable Silicon Valley home where he can keep both his Xbox and his collection of trophies and mementos from his All-Pro rookie season.
A captain’s “C” is stuck prominently to his uniform, and one of his nicknames – “Bam Bam,” given to him by a certain Cincinnati Bengals receiver who’s apparently obsessed with aliases – seems to be catching on with San Francisco’s fans. Willis’ scowling face and No. 52 jersey adorn quite a bit of the 49ers’ team paraphernalia, from billboards and bus-side ads to tickets and magnetic schedules.
e first installment was decidedly PG-rated.
The NFL’s leading tackler last season is enjoying every bit of his sun-kissed success in California, yet nobody around the 49ers believes he’s getting spoiled. After all, he’s still not a household name outside the Bay Area, and San Francisco (2-3) is still struggling to win consistently despite Willis’ outsized talents.
“I’ve been blessed to have a lot of good things happen to me in the NFL,” Willis said. “I know that it came from hard work and my God-given talents, but I don’t take them for granted, either one of those things. I’m mostly interested in just helping the 49ers get back to the playoffs and back to the Super Bowl, which is where this franchise belongs, I believe.”
After an NFL debut season that began with a 15-tackle performance and ended with a Pro Bowl selection and Defensive Rookie of the Year honors, Willis is still devoted to a demanding daily regimen of weightlifting and film study that keeps him on a rigorous timetable nearly every weekday of his life.
Five games into the 49ers’ season, the results seem clear: Willis’ coaches and most opponents believe he’s even better this year, and it might not be too long before he’s recognized as the NFL’s best linebacker.
entored Willis through the transition from rookie phenomenon to consistent contributor. “He’s not yet where he’s going to be before he’s done with this game, and he’s still hungry to get there. That might be the most exciting thing of all to those of us who are trying to teach it to him.”
Willis made 226 tackles last season, and his 46 tackles this season trailed only Cincinnati’s Dhani Jones entering the weekend’s games. Tackling is a skill that demands athletic precision, yet it’s judged by inexact statistics that often change between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. But that’s just another way to measure Willis’ burgeoning talents.
The 49ers coaches who review game tape invariably discover more big plays by Willis that were missed by the league’s statisticians during the game. For example, Willis was credited with 18 tackles during San Francisco’s loss to the New England Patriots last week, yet Niners coaches still found four more tackles, unofficially breaking his previous career high of 21.
While his coaches add up the tackles that others missed, Willis said he rarely enjoys watching himself on film. He invariably sees mistakes, “whether it was slipping a block this way, or getting a better drop this way, or having a better read here, a better read there.
. “That’s the way I’ll feel now until the day I don’t play any more.”
Willis is thriving again this season despite taking on even more responsibility in a risky scheme by coach Mike Nolan and coordinator Greg Manusky. The Niners have played long stretches of San Francisco’s last three games with just two linebackers on the field. Using a 4-2-5 alignment designed to guard against big plays, Willis and newcomer Takeo Spikes shoulder much of the tackling responsibility behind Justin Smith and the defensive line.
The defense requires Willis to roam every part of the field for tackles while also occasionally contributing on pass defense. Willis was one of just three NFL rookies to play every snap last year, so he’s used to heavy workloads. But Nolan’s unorthodox defense probably wouldn’t work without Willis’ singular talents in the middle.
When Willis allows himself to think in selfish terms, he realizes he’s already achieved almost every individual honor possible in this consummate team sport. Although he can add duplicate trophies or statistical titles to the ones he already earned, he won’t make that next big leap forward in his career until the 49ers shake their string of five straight losing seasons and challenge for another title.
played like he thought he could win it himself – yet San Francisco didn’t even come close, losing 30-21.
Willis normally answers reporters’ questions patiently after every game or practice, yet he sat at his locker in a wordless funk after losing to New England. With obvious pain in his eyes, he declined to speak to the media for maybe the first time in his brief NFL career.
“I felt all week it was going to be a chance to get a big win for our program, our organization,” Willis said. “Even when the game started, I thought it was going to be good, but it was heartbreaking, it was sad. I just needed a chance for some reflection on what I could have done to be more successful.”
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