SANTA CLARA – Patrick Willis is saying all the right things to promote Super Bowl LX and its fan-friendly experiences coming to the Bay Area.
What 49ers fans want to hear most from the Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker: How his former team can show up for that Feb. 8 title bout at Levi’s Stadium.
Willis is in the know. He’s shadowed the 49ers all season, from practice-field cameos to most games, both at home and on the road.
“Offensively, you have to eliminate your turnovers, and win the turnover margin. On defense, it’ll be huge to be more stout in the run, just work on those first- and second-down runs,” Willis said this week while sitting in Levi’s Stadium’s auditorium, 10 years after he announced his retirement there.
“All in all, they’ve got to keep showing up and keep making plays,” Willis added, “and most importantly play for four quarters.”
The 49ers (9-4) are 8-0 when leading at halftime, having won their season opener in Seattle via a fourth-quarter comeback.
They close the regular season playing 3-of-4 games at Levi’s Stadium, including Sunday’s against the Tennessee Titans (2-11), with just one remaining road game, Dec. 22 at Indianapolis.
Not only is Willis working with the 49ers as an alumni ambassador, he has been pitching fans to attend the Super Bowl Experience at San Francisco’s Moscone Center in the days leading up to Super Bowl LX. Here are six topics Willis hit in an exclusive interview with this news organization:
1. On how the 49ers’ defense is overcoming injuries:
Willis: “They’ve done a heck of a job overcoming the adversity they’ve had in losing their defensive line guy in Nick (Bosa) and then their linebacker and captain presence of Fred, who’s all-world, then Mykel (Williams), who was coming on as well. For them to lose those guys but continue to fight and have the grit they have, that’s kudos to the coaches and the players for believing in themselves enough to keep showing up and not having excuses.
“Obviously they’re not perfect but some of the guys, it’s their first time playing. Rookies are getting first-year reps where in a year for now they’ll be better for it. But it’s all about the now.”
2. On relating to Brock Purdy’s toe injury that kept him out eight games and how comparable it is to the issues that ended Willis’ career after 7 ½ seasons:
Willis: “My feet were different. I had chronic pain in my big toes, to the point it was almost equivalent to NASCAR tires you couldn’t change and the tread was wearing thin. I told him, ‘You’re going to feel it tender for a while, but it should be OK. Do what you need to do for you.’ Obviously he’s feeling fine and it’s working for him. I haven’t seen him have to run as much this year.”
3. On quarterback Philip Rivers coming out of a five-year retirement to play for the Colts and whether Willis could do the same for the linebacker-thin 49ers:
Willis: “That’s a great question. I have stayed active. I haven’t done football drills and it’s been 10 years, but I’ve always had this philosophy ‘stay ready so you don’t have to get ready.’ That’s just life in general.
“Yes, if I absolutely had to (play) and it needed to be done, I think anything is possible. I’m not just saying that. I still feel decent. Obviously I’d have to see how these toes would feel. But doing regular drills now, I’m so excited to put my shoes on, because there was a time I was playing that I didn’t want to put my cleats at times because how my feet felt. I feel so much better today that I don’t want to jinx the way that I feel. That was part of the reason why I made the decision (to retire) then, so I could feel this way now.
“Shoutout to Philip Rivers. I am curious as to how his quick-twitch muscles will fire, but he was never a quick-twitch guy. Who knows, maybe it works out for him. But, man, that’s intense.”
4. On how retirement is going at age 40:
Willis: “I look at the game of football like a love you had to depart from for certain circumstances. You always love it to a point where, ‘Man, what would it be like to rekindle that relationship.’ But psychologically, I’ve learned the mind is a powerful tool, and if you’re not careful, you can get yourself into a lot of stuff. I try to keep it level and grounded, and most importantly have the gratitude that I’m grateful for the journey I had but allow guys now the opportunity to fortify their own legacy. I don’t even know how it would play out with somebody already being in the Hall of Fame and coming out (to play). How would you measure it? But you saw T.O. … you saw Kobe, around 40, think they can still play with the youngsters and then something happens.
“There’s not a moment or time where I’ve not felt, ‘You know what, I think I can still whoop these cats’ (butts) or whatnot, but I just don’t have to.’ Where I came from, the South, the old heads would say, ‘I might be older but I’ve still got it.’”
5. On what he recalls playing in the Super Bowl 14 seasons ago, a 34-31 loss to Baltimore in New Orleans:
Willis: “Oh man, it was intense. It was nerve wracking. When I think back on it, I understand now what they mean when they say, ‘The team who’s been there before usually has an upper-hand or edge, because they know what to expect.’ After the game, I couldn’t … It was honestly a surreal week. I was in disbelief.
“For me, knowing where my body and everything was, ‘Man, we have to make it count. You have to win because, one, making it is so freaking hard, and, two, for me, I didn’t know how much longer I have. To get that close and come up short …”
6. On why former 49ers all-time leading rusher and former teammate Frank Gore should join him in the Pro Football Hall of Fame; Gore is among 26 modern-era semifinalists, while 49ers predecessor Roger Craig is a Seniors category finalist:
Willis: “I’d say, how can you not let one of the most complete backs into the Hall of Fame. But then I also think about Roger Craig. I always say I’d love to see the old heads get in and then us youngsters have our time. All in all, those are two great running backs, two guys that have had phenomenal careers. For Frank top-three rusher, and t come in with the knees he had and people doubting him, but to show up year after year and be consistent, there was not one thing in his game he did not do. It’s one thing if you’re only a scatback. Frank was a power runner and all of the above. He still loves the game and has an eye for the game, as well.”