- Programming Note: Watch Matt Maiocco’s interview with Dre Greenlaw on “49ers Pregame Live” at 9 a.m. PT on Sunday on NBC Sports Bay Area.
Everyone wants to be the best.
But to be the best, you have to beat the best. And sometimes that could be the guy standing right next to you.
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For 49ers’ star linebackers Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner, the dynamic duo feeds off of each other while maintaining a great friendly competition.
“Me and Fred, we kind of just know each other. We got a good feel for each other,” Greenlaw told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco. “It’s like, sometimes when you’re in a relationship with your girl and she does something or you do something, she just looks at you and you know you’re in the wrong.
“We kind of see eye to eye together so it just makes things easier when you got somebody like Fred that’s vocal, that’s a leader, that’s accountable, that’s going to do everything that the coaches want him to do.”
Greenlaw continued to explain how Warner sets the tone for San Francisco’s defense, adding how it’s like a domino effect when the All-Pro tackle makes a good play.
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And like any true competitor, Greenlaw said the two are a little selfish regarding who’s doing more on the field. But in the end, it’s used as motivation to want to do more.
“When he makes a play or I make a play, we’re both pretty greedy people. We want to make all the plays,” Greenlaw said. “But when we see each other be able to make plays, it’s like a feeling of ‘Alright, I got it now. Let’s go.’ I see Fred go make a tackle, I’m like ‘OK, Fred laid the foundation down, now it’s time for me to go and cap it off.’ It’s just fun going out there to get a chance to play with him.”
Through five games so far this season, Warner has recorded 34 tackles.
Greenlaw has 49.
Of course, there’s still plenty of football left to be played. But Warner, who keeps up with the stats, is aware of those numbers.
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“I’m not as big on the stat sheet as he is, but I will say every guy wants to be the best. Every guy wants to lead the team in tackles. That’s his mindset,” Greenlaw said. “He goes out and he thinks he’s the best. But then I have to remind him ‘No, I’m the best.’”
Greenlaw laughed as he continued.
“It’s a friendly competition but we just bring the best out of each other, we do. I see Fred rolling and getting down and dirty, then I know I got to do the same thing because I’m not going to be watching film the next day and Fred got all the tackles and I’m not out there tackling nobody.”
Well, one thing is for sure. The dominant duo has fueled the best defense in the league.
And aside from their internal competition, their goal with the 49ers remains the same: Win.