Fred Warner's demolition of Raiders leaves 49ers in awe: ‘He's playing out of his mind'
· Yahoo Sports
On Sunday, about 15 minutes after the San Francisco 49ers' 38-17 beatdown of the Raiders, Fred Warner had just finished a live interview with NBC Sports Bay Area outside the team's locker room when members of the All-Pro linebacker's fan club approached.
Visit arroznegro.club for more information.
A 15-year-old boy wearing Warner's No. 54 had a request: Could Warner sign the back of his jersey? Done. Then a 14-year-old boy wanted a selfie. Warner posed.
There was more. But Warner had to cut it short. He was on a tight deadline. He apologized - "Sorry, I've got to get going" - and he jogged to the locker room, where he later explained to a reporter why he'd looked a little harried. His wife, Sydney, was waiting with their 2-year-old son, Beau, and 10-month-old daughter, Bella.
"I had to rush," Warner explained, "because my wife tells me I always take too long to get to the fam."
The scene of Warner, a semi-flustered husband running behind, was proof: One of the NFL's most instinctive defensive players can actually get out of position.
Warner, 29, capped the latest virtuoso performance in a season that's been stuffed with them, by, again, playing like he spent the afternoon in the opponent's huddle. With five minutes remaining, Warner, patrolling the middle of the field, began running to his left, toward running back Ashton Jeanty, as quarterback Kirk Cousins was scanning the field.
The result: It looked like Warner knew Cousins was going to throw a screen pass before Cousins did. Warner dumped Jeanty for a 7-yard loss.
The nine-year veteran was asked about the play as he walked to the auditorium for his postgame news conference.
"It's a product of just playing ball for so long now," Warner said. "So it's just the film study with the ability to play off instincts. The game has slowed down to a different level where I can really take my chances and try to make more plays. But within the scheme though, right? It's not me trying to do anything extra."
While not doing anything extra, Warner had an extraordinary, 10-minute, second-half stretch Sunday. First, with the 49ers leading 28-17 midway through the third quarter, he used his patented right-hand punch to pop the ball from the grasp of tight end Brock Bowers, forcing a fumble linebacker Dre Greenlaw recovered at the 49ers' 31-yard line.
Las Vegas' next possession: Warner recovered tight end Michael Mayer's fumble in the end zone. The Raiders' next drive: On first-and-goal at the 1, Warner perfectly timed his Superman leap on a QB sneak, soaring over center Tyler Linderbaum to drill Cousins just as he received the snap, dropping him for a 2-yard loss.
It saved six points: Cousins tossed an interception one snap later. The highlight-reel play wowed two Pro Bowl teammates: defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and pass rusher Nick Bosa.
"I turned around and me and Nick were just laughing," Buckner said, "It's like, ‘Holy, crap. That's pretty cool.'"
The leap was reminiscent of the over-the-line dives once made by Pittsburgh's Troy Polamalu, the last safety to win the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year award (2010). Warner's latest performance raises the question: Could he become the first linebacker to win the award since Carolina's Luke Kuechly in 2013?
Consider: Warner is tied for the NFL lead with five forced fumbles, putting him on pace to break the all-time record of 10 held by Osi Umenyiora and Charles Tillman. In addition, Warner ranks fifth in the NFL with 77 tackles, and his 164-tackle pace would shatter his career-high (137).
"He's playing out of his mind. Insane," defensive tackle Osa Odighizuwa said. "I mean, even if I wasn't his teammate, just seeing the performances he's putting together week in and week out, I'd be saying he's having a (DPOY) type of season, for sure."
When asked about his DPOY candidacy, Warner reflected on where he was 13 months ago, after he'd suffered a season-ending broken ankle in a Week 6 loss at Tampa Bay. Having football ripped from him was excruciating. He'd missed one game in his first seven seasons. After his grueling rehab, Warner returned with a focus on feeling the joy that came from being back on the field.
That is, after previously writing down his goals before each season, a DPOY award isn't on his mind.
"This is the first year I didn't write anything down in terms of what I wanted to accomplish," Warner said. "A year ago, I was relearning how to walk, you see what I'm saying? So every time I get to go out there and play this game again - after what happened to me last year - this is by far the biggest blessing in the world.
"The fact that I get to go out here and play this game with a smile on my face and have the fans chant my name, see (No.) 54s out there, like all that is so worth it. I couldn't care less about whatever else goes on on the outside."
On Sunday, Warner was in position to recover Mayer's fumble in the end zone after the tight end's 24-yard catch because he ran to the ball. Again. Warner wasn't covering Mayer, but he trailed the play and pounced on the loose ball after cornerback Upton Stout punched it free.
The play was illustrative of the effort that many teammates cite as Warner's most impressive quality. Odighizuwa, pass rusher Keion White and rookie linebacker Jaden Dugger - none of whom played with Warner before this season - were asked Sunday if they had a deeper appreciation for Warner after seeing him up close.
"Having high effort is in my DNA, it's definitely something ingrained in me," Odighizuwa said. "But then just seeing Fred firsthand, I mean, it just makes you want to take it to another level."
Said Dugger: "I mean, as a rookie coming in, I'm seeing one of the best players in the NFL running to the ball every play. So why can't I do that? How can I not give extra effort? Fred Warner is doing it. So I'm not too good for that."
After White joined the chorus, he was asked what was so hard about running to the ball every snap. Sounds sort of simple.
"Consistency is hard as a human," White said. "It's hard to be consistent in anything."
Off the field, however, it sounds as if Warner had been consistently tardy getting to his wife and two children after home games this season.
On Sunday, after Warner's news conference, he acknowledged a throng of fans shouting his name outside the auditorium and shared a brief handshake with an acquaintance. But otherwise, he never broke stride, walking briskly down the hallway before turning left through double doors, a linebacker who, as always, knew exactly where he needed to be.
Subscribe
There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Fred Warner's demolition of Raiders leaves 49ers in awe: ‘He's playing out of his mind'.