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2012 NFL top linebacker corps

Found September 11, 2012 on Shatter The Backboard:
PLAYERS: Patrick Willis,  Navorro Bowman,  Ahmad Brooks,  Aldon Smith
TEAMS: San Francisco 49ers
The defending NFC West champion San Francisco 49ers came out of nowhere last season to become one of the league's top teams, especially on defense. One of the main factors in their new-found dominance is a quartet of LBs (Patrick Willis, Navorro Bowman, Ahmad Brooks and Aldon Smith) who are arguably the best unit in the NFL. Willis and Bowman both made the First-Team All-Pro and totaled 240 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles and 20 pass deflections between them in 2011. Smith, a rookie last season, had 14 sacks and forced 2 fumbles, while Brooks collected 7 sacks and a forced fumble. The foursome helped the 49ers to second in the league in points allowed (14.3 per game), tied for first in takeaways (38) and their 77.3 yards per game allowed rushing topped the NFL. It certainly wasn't the offense that took the 'Niners to the NFC title game.
Original Story: http://shatterthebackboard.com/2012-n...
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