Returning to the scene of his lone NFL touchdown, Ahmad Brooks recalled the play with ease on Super Bowl XLVII Media Day.
Sitting in the Super Dome stands at his appointed spot for interviews, he identified the side of the field and pointed to the exact spot where he stepped in front of a Drew Brees pass in Week 12 and did not stop until he reached the end zone in a momentum-changing play.
During a season of big defensive plays by the 49ers, none were bigger than the interception returns for touchdowns by Brooks and Donte Whitner on back-to-back Brees' passes.
The scores helped turn a 14-7 late-second quarter deficit into a 28-14 lead early in the third, propelling San Francisco to a pivotal 31-21 win over New Orleans. The Saints had recovered from a dismal 0-4 start to be 5-5, and the Dome was rocking.
Enter Brooks, who anticipated a short Brees pass from the Saints’ 47, snagged it and ran 50 yards for a score 22 seconds before halftime.
“They were trying to get in field-goal range,” Brooks said. “Drew Brees tried to throw the ball to Jimmy Graham on a stick route to the inside. I picked the ball off and there I went. It gives me a lot of good memories to go back there and try to do the same thing.”
To beat San Francisco on Sunday, Baltimore will have to avoid the mistakes that sank the Saints in the same location against the 49ers’ athletic defenders.
Brooks’ touchdown was no routine play.
Colin Kaepernick, in his first road start, had just thrown an interception, giving the Saints a chance to take a double-digit haltime lead. Instead, Brooks dropped into coverage and reaped the benefits
“Being 10 to 12 yards away from Drew Brees and him throwing the ball on a beeline, there’s not too many players that could have caught the football and then had the speed to outrun the receivers to the end zone,” Whitner said. “Very few people could have done that.”
Brooks is the 49ers’ least-heralded linebacker, an indication of how many difference-makers they put on the field. His 6.5 sacks are 13 fewer than fellow outside linebacker Aldon Smith. He is not a tackle machine like NaVorro Bowman (149 stops) or Patrick Willis (120).
But opponents have to account for him.
Whitner has built a reputation as a big hitter rather than a cover guy at strong safety. His pick-6 --his only interception of the season and the second touchdown of his career -- came after a Brees throw deflected off the hands of leaping receiver Marques Colston as free safety Dashon Goldson upended him. Whitner grabbed it and ran 42 yards to give San Francisco a 28-14 lead.
It was the 49ers at their best -- a big hit leading to a big play.
“We always want to be the best defense on the field, especially on the road,'' Whitner said. '”When you play us, you are going to get hit. That's our identity -- smart, hard-nose, physical football.”
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