49ers star LB Fred Warner steels himself for first-ever battle against Tom Brady

SANTA CLARA — Fred Warner isn’t the type to be star-struck but concedes Sunday will be a milestone.

Warner, of the NFL’s best middle linebackers for the 49ers, will be looking across the line of scrimmage and directly into the gaze of Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady for the first and possibly only time in his career.

“When you take a step back and look at it, it’s a pretty special moment,” Warner said Wednesday as the 49ers (8-4) began preparations for their Week 14 matchup against the Buccaneers (6-6) at Levi’s Stadium. “I’ve played against the Patriots and the Bucs, but never against Tom on either of those teams so it would be cool seeing how it’s going to be on the other side of the field.”

Warner, despite his status and league-wide rep, is only 26. And when you consider Brady has faced the 49ers only three times in a career that began in 2000 — when Warner was 4 years old — the fact that they’re seeing each other for the first time is not surprising.

Brady, 45, has stared across the line at 49ers defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans, who was a 22-year-old rookie with the Houston Texans in 2006 when they played New England and lost 40-7. Brady recently broke 10,000 passing yards (including postseason games). He led Tampa to a 17-16 win over New Orleans Monday night with two touchdown drives within the final three minutes.

“He has the seven rings but you really watch him and it’s unlike anybody who ever played (quarterback),” Warner said. “He’s so exact (about) where he’s going with the ball. You wonder, how do you stop it? It’s going to take some extra film study and taking a good look at him.”

Warner believes he is playing the best football of his career. He and Talanoa Hufanga got their signals crossed on the first snap of the game against Miami and it resulted in Trent Sherfield breaking free on a 75-yard touchdown pass from Tua Tagovailoa.

But Warner later came back for a key pass breakup — the same kind of play Aaron Rodgers victimized him in Week 3 last season to set up a game-winning field goal — and throughout the season has been the heartbeat and emotional leader of the NFL’s top-ranked defense.

He closed out the game against Miami backup Skyler Thompson with an interception.

Coach Kyle Shanahan, who was on the wrong end of Brady’s 19-point comeback in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl LI (the Patriots won 34-28 in overtime), has given up trying to figure out when the quarterback will show his age.

“He plays the position better than anyone better than anyone ever and he’s definitely the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) from what I’ve seen, but I don’t say that just because he has won Super Bowls,” Shanahan said. “I say it because of how he plays the position.”

Brady, Shanahan said, can calculate the clock, matchups and coverages in an instant and know the right move based on down and distance.

It is because of that skill that Warner doesn’t plan on attempting to think with Brady. Rather, the 49ers defensively will play their style, depend on their athleticism and personnel and hope that’s enough.

Quarterback Tom Brady has thrown 16 touchdown passes with three interceptions at age 45. 

“I don’t want to over-think things to see, ‘Oh, he thinks I’m going to do this, so I’ll do this (instead),’ ” Warner said. “You can go down a rabbit hole if you do that. I think it comes down to doing what we do and being on assignment and running and hitting.”

Brady remains precise, completing 66.3 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and just three interceptions, but Tampa Bay has struggled to run the ball and scoring has been a problem.

To which Warner replies: “You don’t want to be the team where they finally figure it out and drop 30 or 40 on your head.”

One thing the 49ers could see is more no-huddle. The Bucs floundered against Tampa Bay right up to the point where Brady took over in a two-minute situation and then produced yards and puts instantly.

“If they’re down that much, he’s going to start being aggressive, but it’s never stupid,” Shanahan said. “New Orleans had a couple of chances to finish it. They came up just a bit short and when that happens versus Tom, that’s why he’s done it more than anyone.”

Jerry McDonald has been with the Bay Area News Group for 40 years covering the NFL and Major League Baseball as well as college and high school sports.