2012-GameRelease-Divisional

“He’s just a complete, all-around player,” Smith said of Brooks, the starting left outside linebacker. “(He)
sets the edge for us on the left side of the run defense, we have a pretty decent run defense and he gets
after the passer. He’s everything you want to see.”
While Brooks continues to work in tandem with left defensive end Ray McDonald, the left side of the
49ers defense has maintained its left side-strong side rivalry with Justin and Aldon Smith on the right side
of the defense.
The in-house competition has remained constant throughout the season.
“It’s year-round, all the time,” McDonald explained. “We always talk about it.”
So when the 49ers defense found itself with a three-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter of last Monday’s
win over the Cardinals, the left and strong side of San Francisco’s defense began competing with one
another to see who could be more disruptive.
“It’s how we looked at it – we need to beat them to the ball because we knew they were coming,”
McDonald added. “We told ourselves before every snap, ‘We’ve got to get there before they do.’”
Aldon Smith totaled 2.0 sacks on the day compared to Brooks’ lone quarterback takedown, but
nonetheless, it was a successful effort from the 49ers defense.
Such moments are appreciated by Harbaugh, who enjoys the teamwork involved in rushing the passer in
the closing moments of games.
“I think they’re all working so well together,” the 49ers coach said. “Ray, Justin, the linebackers, the inside
guys, the secondary, everybody’s playing really good team defense. But yeah, they’re accomplishing
some great things. You look back over the last five games, four of those games have been without the
opponent scoring a touchdown. That’s really impressive, really hard to do in this league.”
San Francisco aims to make it five out of the last six games without allowing a touchdown this Sunday
when they welcome the St. Louis Rams (3-5) into Candlestick Park.
“It’s time to get back to work and win some more ball games,” said Brooks, who will face Rams
quarterback Sam Bradford for the first time since 2010.
Bradford and the Rams’ 24th-ranked passing attack (210.3 yards per game) attack defenses differently
on tape according to Brooks.
“From what I know and what I’ve seen, they run a lot of bootlegs, so he’ll be rolling out quite a bit,” the
49ers linebacker explained. “You’ve got to be disciplined because sometimes you want to just go for the
quarterback, but the time you decide to go, that’s when they use a run play where the running back might
cut back to where we need to be at. You have to stay disciplined.”
In addition to bootlegs, Brooks and the 49ers front seven expect the ball to be coming out quickly from St.
Louis’ quarterback.
It’s actually looked at as a sign of respect.
“Any team we play we expect them to get the ball out quick, because if they don’t get the ball out quick,”
McDonald shared, “that means we’re not doing our job and they have all day to sit back there and try to
pick our secondary a part.
“It’s good thing they’re getting rid of the ball, it means we’re doing our job.”