Linebacker
Brandon Moore stepped into the 49ers starting lineup midseason last year and saved the season for the defense, leading the team with 114 tackles. For his efforts,
he had his starting job taken from him today.
Assistant head coach Mike Singletary let rookie linebacker Patrick Willis know he had won a starting job when Willis showed up for work Monday at the 49ers' team facility.
Willis greeted the news with one word: "Wow."
It shouldn't be a surprise that Willis is now the starter, as he's been pegged for that role since the 49ers drafted him. He's a great and intelligent athlete with incredible character, one of those players that you feel couldn't possibly bust. What is a surprise is that declining weak inside linebacker
Derek Smith isn't the one out of a starter's job. Willis sat behind Smith on the depth chart, but instead of being demoted Smith is being bumped over to Moore's old spot at strong inside linebacker.
Moore has struggled this preseason with the same thing he excelled in last year, tackling, but those troubles were attributed to typical preseason rust. It was still widely assumed he'd remain in the starting lineup, and, besides experience, brings more to the table than Smith does. Maybe, with a rookie (no matter how spectacular),
Mike Nolan feels that experience is more crucial. Or maybe this is just temporary. Willis, however, isn't moving, and if 49ers fans are lucky, it'll be another 10 or so years before that spot is vacated.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer
