The I-Form

 ”With the eleventh overall pick…in the 2007 NFL Draft…the San Francisco 49ers select…Patrick Willis, linebacker, Mississippi.” – Roger Goodell, announcing that the 49ers selected Patrick Willis in the ‘07 Draft.

 Tackles are not an official stat in the NFL. They are calculated by coaches who study film tediously. Then, they decide who gets how many tackles. Somewhere in San Francisco-California, a 49ers staff-member decided that rookie Mike linebacker Patrick Willis (top left, white jersey) – who they took with the eleventh overall pick earlier that year – had 226 tackles. Thus, Patrick Willis holds the unofficial record single season record for tackles in the NFL. Tackles became recorded in the ’70s. That’s over 30 years that somebody else could’ve had it. If 226 tackles is correct, then that means Willis averaged just over 14 tackles a game. It’s not a surprise either. The guy’s a beast. Patrick Willis stands at 6 foot – 2 inches and tips the scale at over 240 pouds. Did I mention he ran a 4.46 40 Yard Dash time?

Willis was so good, that he held Adrian Peterson(#28 above) – who was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2007 – to three yards on 14 carries when San Francisco played Minnesota. Peterson is a widely considered to be a banger. A banger is a running back who runs even the best defenders over.

PW52 (as I thus dub him) won NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year last year. And, he was named to the 1st All-Pro team. Ahead of Brian Urlacher and Ray Lewis. Both of whom are considered to be two of the best linebackers in the NFL today. He made the Pro Bowl as well.

But I don’t think that’s enough honor for this beast. And I’m not just saying that because I think he’ll kill me. I’m saying that because he’s my favorite player. This is PW52’s story. Enter Patrick Willis.

 Patrick Willis entered San Francisco 49ers Training Camp as the second-string MLB behind veteran Derek Smith. He came out #1. Willis excelled throughout Training Camp in the 49ers’ 3-4 defensive scheme. Teams that primarily run a 3-4 scheme often have two above average middle linebackers. Whereas teams that primarily run a 4-3 scheme will have a good-to-great middle linebacker. Such as Brian Urlacher or Ray Lewis. 3-4 schemes often require veteran linebackers because they are more complicated. So, for PW52 to be able to succeed in a 3-4 defense, and call the plays as the mike linebacker is amazing.

His success is especially amazing, because he played great running backs and was successful. He faced up against Steven Jackson twice, Edgerrin James twice, Adrian Peterson once, Willie Parker once, Jamal Lewis once, Reggie Bush once, and Willis McGahee once. So, more than half of his games were played against premiere running backs.

 And despite all this Patrick Willis is not the cover of Madden 09. And is not even the top-ranked MLB. Brian Urlacher is ahead of him, and Urlacher didn’t have half the amount of tackles PW52 did in ‘07. His day should come as the second-year linebacker has plenty of years left in the league.

Good luck Pat’