Patrick Willis, middle linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers, has won the Defensive Rookie of The Year award on Thursday after having a spectacular rookie season. The 49ers season was not good, going 5-11 for a team that had many thinking that they could compete for the NFC West division crown. Instead, they would go on to have a losing season and there were questions about whether head coach Mike Nolan would be staying. Willis is the fifth straight linebacker to win the award, joining Terrell Suggs, Jonathan Vilma, Shawne Merriman, and DeMeco Ryans. He led the NFL in tackles with 174 with 135 of them being solo tackles. He also had four sacks to go along with his league leading amount of tackles. He received most of the votes. The only other rookie who received votes was Jon Beason of the Carolina Panthers. Willis' standout game was against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he had 20 tackles and 2 sacks in a 21-19 victory. Willis is the third player from the 49ers to win the award, joining Dana Stubblefield in 1993 and Bruce Taylor in 1970. The 49ers have a lot of work to do in order to become a successful team. Quarterback Alex Smith has not shown much improvement from last season and it is important for Smith to develop into the quarterback the 49ers want to be. It seems like they have a constant on defense. Will Willis be the kind of player the 49ers need to become successful again? Can he be an established leader?
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