“Speaking of youngsters, [Patrick] Willis revealed an interesting leadership technique he leaned on that involved, of all things, the weight room music. He said that although he knew his veteran status allowed him to play whatever he wanted, he let the kids play whatever they wanted, even if it grated on him. “I learned that if you allowed them to express themselves on little things like that, the trust would show up on the field,’’ Willis said. “There was a trust.”
“A lot of times, guys reach higher speeds because they have the opportunity,” assistant general manager Adam Peters said.