Gary Plummer Notes Patrick Willis's Ball-Hawking Radar

Gary Plummer's current installment of Football 101 highlights the sensational play of linebacker Patrick Willis.

The guy has only been in the league for two seasons, yet he has been to two Pro Balls.

That is simply amazing, but so is his play.

The 49ers, long mischaracterized as a finesse team, have had some bruisin' defensive players, but Willis might be more in the tradition of a Ronnie Lott-type player.

For this topic, Plummer is showing viewers why it is important to always move toward the ball.

If you played sports, how many times did a teammate whiff on an assignment or stop pursuit?

I was the type to tackle the whiffer.

That's why it is drummed into players' ears.

"Coaches preach it and you’d think that everyone would do it, but not everyone does," Plummer said. "One guy who does it for the 49ers [is Willis]. There’s a reason that he has been to two Pro Bowls in only two years as a professional."

He hustles, he's smart and he is a ball hawk.

Plummer, who was on the 49ers when they beat the Chargers in the Super Bowl, is clearly impressed by what he sees in Willis.

Especially when Willis intercepts the ball and runs.

"Here is Patrick Willis, running to the football," he said. "This is just fun to watch. Willis turns into a running back. Most guys, even if you are a defensive player, at one time in your career, whether it was in college, whether it was in high school, or all the way back into the days of Pop Warner little league football—you played some kind of offense."

You can hear Plummer's tongue-in-cheek contempt for quarterbacks.

"Willis is showing his ability to play running back," he said. "He has the ball on the outside as the quarterback comes and tries to tackle him. He uses his hand to bat away the pesky little quarterback and then outruns the offensive players all the way downfield."

Plummer was also impressed by the fact that Willis really made a great effort to return the ball for a touchdown.

"That was an 87-yard touchdown, but he probably ran for about 187 yards," he said. "The bad part about that for Willis is that he’s got to go right back on the field and play defense. But he’ll take that every time, getting a touchdown. That was a big play for the 49ers defense."

Let's hope there are more.

The former linebacker also has some really good insights for fans into a defensive scheme.

Plummer will be a regular feature on the website this year, with pre-game analysis for his pre-game columns titled Points of the Game. This season's first obviously hasn't been written.

Football 101.

Plummer's video.