Donte Whitner aka Hitner

Originally posted by Wodwo:
Why can't Brooks cover the TE? Manny Lawson could!

Lulz.

When I saw Lawson had signed with the Bills, my first thought was, "I should tell NC that we should have signed him... to play SS!"

This made my day...hilarious!!!

Originally posted by NCommand:
This is a fair point. Whitner was 3rd on the team in tackles with 83 (62 solo) which is about 40-70 tackles less than both Willis/Bowman, respectively. So we would need to find an equal replacement for his run defense.

Ideally, we'd also like a taller/physical SS in the 6'2"+ range who, schematically, VF feels comfortable playing physical up tight at the LOS esp. in the RZ/EZ where Whitner was abused last year giving taller/bigger TE's and WR's free releases every single time (and in previous years as well).

That said, I don't think even a rookie would give up 14 TD's to be honest. This is an a HUGE liability and a year older, Whitner isn't going to suddenly get better.

Now, VF is an idiot himself for schematically matching Whitner up in this scenario every time and NEVER wavering from it despite forcing extra underneath coverage by Willis/Bowman/Brooks to help out. And we STILL got torched.

This is a VERY bad sign going forward and it needs to be fixed quickly. We all love Whitner's attitude and intangibles but this is a passing league (esp. against us - why bother running?) so no doubt, I believe HarBaalke will be looking to significantly upgrade the coverage not only at FS, SS but also RCB (Rogers).

Youi make some excellent points. Whitner is really good against the run but really needs some help in coverage, and is hopeless against TEs.

I'm really hoping that Nnamdi decides he wants a SB ring and decides to play for SF.

And I hope Baalke drafts both a FS AND a SS. A FS who could start and a SS who can cover, and who could take over for Whitner on 3rd down and in the Red Zone. Woodson might be able to fill that role for a year, if he's willing to take a pay cut and switch to part time duty.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Wodwo:
Why can't Brooks cover the TE? Manny Lawson could!

Lulz.

When I saw Lawson had signed with the Bills, my first thought was, "I should tell NC that we should have signed him... to play SS!"

This made my day...hilarious!!!

Originally posted by oldninerdude:
Youi make some excellent points. Whitner is really good against the run but really needs some help in coverage, and is hopeless against TEs.

I'm really hoping that Nnamdi decides he wants a SB ring and decides to play for SF.

And I hope Baalke drafts both a FS AND a SS. A FS who could start and a SS who can cover, and who could take over for Whitner on 3rd down and in the Red Zone. Woodson might be able to fill that role for a year, if he's willing to take a pay cut and switch to part time duty.

I mentioned this in another thread. I like the idea. He'd be like a sub-joker. Could play the slot/FS/SS/OLB/AC/DC....

I trust the FO will work it all out. Whitner stays...

they're not replacing him with what's leftover from FA. I'm sure if the Niners had the cash Whitner would have already been replaced. Losing Goldson and Whitner (both know the system too well) would be a DEVASTATING blow, we all know this.

Even when the FO fixes that D-LINE rotation (will happen this season), they won't count on a rookie(s) to cover NFL receivers/savvy vets/pro-bowlers right away. BUT, they will occasionally throw him into the mix on certain downs.

With Whitner as a mentor and leader (now that Goldson is gone) in the secondary, that will benefit the youngsters and groom them for the 2013 PLAYOFFS.

It's not 100% that a FA safety or top notch rookie is going to get the system down and gel right away.

If Whitner gets replaced during the regular season to a rookie or a FA (Niners pick up later), that's fine with me--he'll be a good back-up.

Teams are still picking on Whitner. Wonder why.

this secondary is in trouble if Reid isn't back soon

as bad as Whitner is in coverage, the problems multiply when Dahl is in there. Dude was just a lost soul outside of blocking that punt

Originally posted by Ballistic:

this secondary is in trouble if Reid isn't back soon

as bad as Whitner is in coverage, the problems multiply when Dahl is in there. Dude was just a lost soul outside of blocking that punt

Reid wil be back. He had what appeared to be a minor concussion. Dude seemed fine right after but I think SF too precaution as they should. Reid looks to be a franchise player. I have rarely seen a player get a clean tackle on Lynch even after Lunch changes Reid's tackling angle. That was impressive.

It looked to me that Whitner was the only player on the team that matched Seattle's intensity. He was pulverizing people out there.

Originally posted by ziggy_gonna_rock:
Cutting him Would not save $$$. On the contrary, it would become dead money and paying for him to be making it rain .

I don't think that's true. This is the last year of his contract. The prorated cap hit for his signing bonus 3 years ago is on the books already (regardless of whether he's on the roster). The 4+ million is in addition to that hit, but it's not guaranteed money. I think cutting him would save almost 4 million. And I've been hoping they would do so since the offseason.

Originally posted by VPofCarnage:

Originally posted by ziggy_gonna_rock:
Cutting him Would not save $$$. On the contrary, it would become dead money and paying for him to be making it rain .

I don't think that's true. This is the last year of his contract. The prorated cap hit for his signing bonus 3 years ago is on the books already (regardless of whether he's on the roster). The 4+ million is in addition to that hit, but it's not guaranteed money. I think cutting him would save almost 4 million. And I've been hoping they would do so since the offseason.

Can't happen now. His salary is guaranteed. Since he was on the week 1 53 man roster, he is guaranteed $3.85M, unless he takes a pay cut. Which he has no reason to do so. He is a FA after 2013, and I doubt any team would take on that money for him, and give up a draft pick.

He's pretty bad at coverage IMO. Reid looks like a superstar by comparison in coverage.

Originally posted by BrianGO:
It looked to me that Whitner was the only player on the team that matched Seattle's intensity. He was pulverizing people out there.

Not sure what game you were watching but Whitner, again, was an automatic mismatch. He gave up the critical 50 yard bomb on 3rd down that got the ball rolling for Seattle. Sure, he made a nice hit after a 15 yard catch that put them in FG range, so? That said, I do agree that he ALWAYS plays his butt off...period...he is just very very limited in his skill set and with no Reid to cover him up, it was even more salient.

He can't cover receivers period.

Reid is the real deal. He can hit, tackle and cover.

Does anyone think w/ Reid out they mgt. will bring in Kerry Rhodes?

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
He can't cover receivers period.

Reid is the real deal. He can hit, tackle and cover.

Does anyone think w/ Reid out they mgt. will bring in Kerry Rhodes?

Who knows. This is a very complex defense (despite it looking very vanilla). I was somewhat surprised not to see Spillman in @ FS. Dahl did OK off the bench but the Hawks did a nice job of exploiting the void down the middle of the field with Ian and Reid out and our ILB's constantly stuck in coverage. On the flip side, why didn't we overload the left side of the OL when their LT went down? Once again, this coaching staff was insanely outcoached.