Green grass and an extra time victory.
That’s what Arizona Cardinals receiver Sean Morey noticed in entrance of him as quickly as he snagged a brief move from Kurt Warner in extra time of a Week 12 recreation in 2007.
The solely factor left for Morey to do was use his 4.47 pace to race to the finish zone and spike the ball.
Instead, he heard footsteps. It was the sound of the San Francisco 49ers’ rookie center linebacker. It was the low rumble of the future roaring up from behind.
“When you watch it on film,” Morey stated, “it just looks like he’s disappearing and reappearing like there’s a glitch in the Matrix.”
Patrick Willis zeroed in on Morey in a manner that will turn into acquainted to ball carriers throughout the NFL for the subsequent decade. But again then, he was a rookie nonetheless making a reputation for himself.
All that modified the instantaneous the 242-pound defender wrangled Morey to the floor. The breathtaking, game-saving tackle heralded the arrival of a future Hall of Famer.
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“That was probably the beginning of people saying, ‘Wow. Who really is that guy?’’’ Willis, 39, said by phone Thursday. “I would count that as the moment that those who were watching probably said, for the first time, ‘We want to know more about him.’’’
The tackle that first put him on the map stands out not only because it underscored the linebacker’s rare speed but because it epitomized his hunger. The 49ers were a bad team that season, one that went into Arizona on an eight-game losing streak.
There was nothing on the line — certainly not the playoffs — when Morey turned up the field and ran for daylight.
With Willis set to receive his Pro Football Hall of Fame Ring of Excellence on Sunday when the 49ers face the Cardinals, it’s worth revisiting a play that explains so much about how he got here.
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“There’s nobody in front of him! It’s a footrace!”
That was the name from play-by-play man Ron Pitts on the Fox broadcast as Morey raced towards the finish zone. The pleasure was justified.
Warner already had thrown for 421 yards, had engineered a final-minute drive to tie the recreation and, with 10:18 left in the additional interval, had caught the 49ers on a blitz. On high of that, in his rush to get to Morey, certainly one of San Francisco’s safeties, Keith Lewis, had slammed into the cornerback on that facet of the area, taking each defenders out of the play.
Which meant there have been no white jerseys round Morey when he turned upfield at the Arizona 16-yard line.
When Sean Morey initially caught the move, there was nothing however inexperienced grass as he turned upfield. (Screengrab courtesy of NFL)
“I knew if I got outside — outflanked — the flat defender, then I was gonna catch it and be off to the races,” Morey stated in a cellphone interview with The Athletic. “And when I turned, I didn’t realize how much the corner had bit on the slant. So I was really set up to get a chunk gain, maybe score.”
“I thought we were gonna win, especially when he caught the ball,” recalled then-Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt. “And we might have if that dadgum linebacker hadn’t run him down and tackled him.”
That dadgum linebacker, Willis, had already stood out that afternoon with double-digit tackles, a half-sack and a move breakup, and he’d achieved all of it with a plaster membership defending his damaged proper hand.
Morey wasn’t certainly one of the Cardinals’ common receivers. He was a particular groups ace who completed with 11 receptions in 9 NFL seasons and who was in the lineup due to accidents at the place. Still, the 5-foot-11, 193-pounder was no slouch as a runner having clocked a 4.47-second 40 popping out of Brown in 1999.
“Was I a threat to score every time I touched the ball? No, I wasn’t,” Morey stated. “But could I run? Absolutely. That’s why I did so well as a gunner on punts. My straight-line speed was sort of an asset for me. So when I turned the corner after catching the ball, I was running with momentum.”
Morey stated he remembers seeing a 49er out of the nook of his eye as he began up the sideline. But that participant was behind him and coming from the principal formation.
To Morey, the solely actual risk was security Michael Lewis, who’d began on the different facet of the area.
Morey had spent two seasons with Lewis in Philadelphia and knew his former teammate may transfer.
“So I just went into high knees and high elbows and tried to lengthen my stride and gain as much ground as I could,” he stated. “And hopefully beat him to the end zone.”
As Morey streaked down the sideline, his principal concern was security Michael Lewis (No. 32) at the backside of the display. (Screengrab courtesy of NFL)
When he reached San Francisco’s 35-yard line, Morey realized he won't outrun Lewis, who had the angle on him. At that time, he lined the ball with each arms to guard it.
That’s when he felt an arm — and a membership — wrap round his waist.
“It’s not over till the whistle is blown,’’ Willis explained Thursday. “I know others thought that game was lost, but to me, it’s not over until the man’s down.”
Both Morey and Willis had been on the 16-yard line when Morey caught the move. Morey was simply past the numbers whereas Willis was even with the hashes, that means they had been separated by virtually 12 yards. By the time Morey crossed the 50-yard line, Willis had closed the hole to 2 yards. And once they reached the 30-yard line, Willis was dragging him down.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Morey stated. “I was kind of looking at Mike in my periphery and then I get somebody sort of wrangling me down from behind by my waist and my legs. When I got up, I was pretty surprised to see it was the inside linebacker.”
With a full-out dive, Willis lastly caught as much as and corralled Morey. (Screengrab courtesy of NFL)
Willis would find yourself main the league in tackles in 2007 and was the runaway winner for Defensive Rookie of the Year. Over the years he amassed practically 1,000 tackles however only some that ranked with this one. (Willis stated folks simply as typically cite the lick he placed on New York Jets receiver Brad Smith.)
But whereas different performs showcased his bodily expertise, the Morey tackle revealed the depths of his relentlessness.
“It took me back to being a young kid growing up in Tennessee, where I played backyard football with my cousins,” Willis stated. “And my mindset has always been, ‘See ball, go get ball.’’’
Still, the Cardinals celebrated. The play gained 62 yards and set them up on San Francisco’s 24-yard line.
“In the old overtime rules, you’re thinking it’s over,” Whisenhunt stated. “All we’ve got to do is kick a chip-shot field goal.”
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Arizona ran 4 extra performs — with Willis making his seventeenth and 18th tackles of the recreation — earlier than making an attempt a 27-yard kick on second down. Neil Rackers made it, however the Cardinals had been flagged for delay of recreation. When Rackers tried once more from 5 yards farther again, his kick went extensive left.
Warner and the Cardinals bought the ball again as soon as extra, at their 3-yard line with 5:03 remaining. This time, nonetheless, Warner was stripped by defensive tackle Ronnie Fields and Tully Banta-Cain recovered the free ball for a landing. San Francisco’s eight-game skid was over.
What does Willis bear in mind about that wild sequence and the curler coaster of emotion?
Not a lot, really.
“I don’t recall everything that happened after (the tackle),’’ he said with a laugh. “But hearing you speak on it, man, let’s just say the football gods have been gracious to me. I was always just grateful to be out there. And I feel like that’s part of our fight, is having that gratitude. Great things just happen when you put forth the effort.”
Patrick Willis had a game-high 18 tackles in the 49ers’ 37-31 win. (Stephen Dunn / Getty Images)
When Whisenhunt and 49ers coach Mike Nolan met at midfield, they shared greater than only a terse “good game.” The two had coached along with the Jets and chatted for a bit. Nolan stated he remembered Whisenhunt lamenting that Nolan’s center linebacker had run down his extensive receiver.
“I think I did say something like that — thanks for reminding me,” Whisenhunt stated with amusing. “We didn’t really know much about (Willis) at that time because that was his first year. But the fact that a guy that size and playing that position was able to close the distance, it was very impressive. He tormented us over the years because he was such a good player.”
Morey, in the meantime, had an opportunity to reminisce with Willis about the play after the 2008 season when each made the Pro Bowl. Morey advised the linebacker he’d by no means scored a landing in the common season.
“Basically it was, ‘That was the closest I was ever going to get — thanks a lot!’” Morey stated.
Willis had nothing however mutual respect for Morey and recalled how a lot assembly time 49ers particular groups coaches devoted to making ready for him. The linebacker laughed when The Athletic learn Morey’s greatest quote to him over the cellphone, the line about “there’s a glitch in the Matrix.”
“He made me sound pretty cool!” Willis stated. “I appreciate Sean for that. Sometimes (opponents) have a way of seeing a decent play and diminishing it. But hearing what he said, it brings me joy.”
Willis prefers superhero analogies, so he countered Morey’s praise with: “I had to be The Flash at that moment to go get Zoom. So shout-out to Sean and the career he had, and much love to him.”
Morey stated he considered the play once more final month when he listened to Willis’ Hall of Fame speech from August, one through which Willis talked about watching VHS tapes of Walter Payton when he was a sixth grader and studying about the legendary work ethics of gamers like Jerry Rice, Roger Craig and Mike Singletary.
“You cannot cheat the grind, for the grind knows what you put in.” – @PatrickWillis52 #PFHOF24
📺: @ProFootballHOF Enshrinement on NFLN/ESPN
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/3GHRNSuNqN— NFL (@NFL) August 3, 2024
Morey nodded alongside as he listened. Willis had the identical work ethic, the identical need. Morey skilled it firsthand.
“He has all these amazing tools,” Morey stated. “But that’s all they are. The strength, the speed and quickness, the toughness — those are tools. The thing that separated him was his Herculean effort. He never relented. That’s the thing that made Willis a Hall of Famer.”
(Top photograph of Patrick Willis chasing down Sean Morey: Gene Lower / Getty Images)
