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Parrish playing strong as 49ers' new safety

By GREG BEACHAM
AP Sports Writer

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) Tony Parrish has been an exceptional replacement for Lance Schulters with the San Francisco 49ers except in one key area.

``Tony doesn't do as much of the trash talking as Lance did,'' cornerback Ahmed Plummer said. ``Not much cursing, not much screaming. He just plays.''

``It's a lot quieter out there this year,'' cornerback Jason Webster said.

He might not yap at other teams as much as Schulters nobody does, according to his friends and former teammates but Parrish leads in many other ways.

San Francisco's only new starter on defense this season has been a huge success in his first weeks with the club. In addition to his aggressive, hard-hitting style of play, Parrish has caused a turnover in all four of the 49ers' games the first three on opponents' first drive.

``I really feel like I'm off to the best start of my career, and I didn't expect that when I was coming to a new team,'' Parrish said. ``I didn't have much of a transition period when I came into the league, and I don't have one now. I'm just trying to get to the ball, and good things are happening.''

Parrish faced a difficult task when he left the Bears in the offseason to sign with San Francisco. Schulters, a former Pro Bowl strong safety and one of the 49ers' defensive leaders, went to Tennessee in free agency after San Francisco refused to meet his salary demands.

Meanwhile, Chicago dropped Parrish without so much as a competitive offer, preferring to rely on younger players even though Parrish started all 64 games he played with the Bears.

When he decided to return home to the West Coast with the 49ers, Parrish was given a big role on a team that relied on Schulters' physical play and leadership for three years.

``We love having this guy,'' coach Steve Mariucci said. ``He's been a gem. He's still learning, because we ask him to do a lot of different things, play a lot of positions, so he's just going to get better and better. He seems to be around the ball a lot, and he's very opportunistic.''

After starting his career as a free safety, Parrish now excels in the hard-hitting, run-stopping aspects of a strong safety's job something Schulters also loved.

Parrish is one of the 49ers' strongest players, but he's also fast enough to keep up with the St. Louis Rams' receivers a prime necessity for any player in San Francisco's secondary.

``It seems the organization knew exactly what it was doing bringing guys in,'' Webster said.

Parrish, a California state triple-jump champion in high school, credits much of his success to hard work in the offseason. Besides all the normal conditioning and weightlifting, Parrish has worked with a sports relaxation therapist who helped him learn better concentration methods both on and off the field.

``It's hard to describe,'' he said. ``It's almost like I'm focusing energy and telling it where to go.''

Parrish tied for the team lead with nine tackles last Sunday against St. Louis, and he also intercepted a pass deep in 49ers territory, returning it 50 yards to set up a field goal in the second quarter. With nine takeaways and only four turnovers, San Francisco is tied for third in the NFL in turnover margin.

When the 49ers visit Seattle on Monday night, Parrish will play his first NFL game in the city where he was a collegiate star at Washington. Parrish will never be the brash leader Schulters was, but he thinks his teammates will follow him anyway.

``I don't have a brash personality,'' he said. ``That's not something I worry about. I'm off to a good start, but we've only played four games.''

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