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Patrick Willis' childhood was rough at times, with his biological father battling addiction and Willis serving as a pseudo-father to younger siblings while finding jobs as young as age 13 to support himself and the family.
These days, with financial security, perennial success in the NFL and an improving relationship with his father, the San Francisco 49ers linebacker is certainly grateful this weekend.
Willis is also thankful for a competitive coach in Jim Harbaugh who is "crazy" enough to return to the team's facility the same day he underwent a procedure to correct an irregular heartbeat, a young player in Colin Kaepernick, who turned in an "amazing" performance in a victory over the Chicago Bears to spark a quarterback controversy with Alex Smith, and a talented...
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