The Whitner signing in retrospect

I’d say a solid A- to a B+ performance. He laid a great hit in the Saints game that helped set a tone for the rest of the team. Throughout the season, he was solid, great in the run support, and in the pass protection was pretty good to really good at times. The negatives was that he sometimes would get burned for the big pass plays, especially in the first half of the season, it seemed that he would bite on double moves or he was out of position and would get burned by speed. Another negative is that he would sometimes go for the big hit and whiff, but that wasn’t that often.

He was also a media favorite, he won a award given by the local media for being the player that was the most pleasure to interview, so take that for what it’s worth.

Overall, I hope the Niners lock him up for a few more years, he is a nice cog in a stout Defense.

Reggie Smith would have been the alternative and having him on the field has lost this team enough football games over the past couple of seasons.

I honestly didn’t realize just how young Whitner was until midway through the season. That signing was an absolute STEAL.

Whitner role for the 49ers was to play the run and destroy opposing ball carriers. He did a great job of both all season, and really picked up his game in the playoffs. He was somewhat of a liability in coverage, but that wasn’t his primary job, and the way I see it his 10 pass defenses and 2 interceptions were gravy.

He was also the signal caller for the 49ers secondary, so he was responsible for coordinating a group of DBs who were either new to SF (like Carlos Rogers), new to the NFL (like Chris Culliver), or new to the starting lineup (like Tarrell Brown). With no offseason to pick up an entirely new defense, Whitner had to not only learn his position but all the other positions in the back 7 to be effective. He was able to do just that, and that was one of the big reasons the 49ers got as far as they did.

Great pickup by the 49ers. He’s got a bright future with this squad.

Without a doubt, our safeties played great this year… granted they took their share of chances, but when your front 7 is as good as they are, and the corners are doing a decent job, you can get away with taking a few chances. I don’t think they had to pay much for him, he’s locked up for another 2 years, and he’s clearly the best SS they’ve had in a few years.

He was instantly forgiven for missed coverages. Whitner plays a lot like Dashon Goldson, good tackler, viscious hits, but sometimes takes too big of risks for the big hit or interception and allows a big play.

Overall, very happy with him.

The only game we blew was the Dallas game in OT. I wish we had signed Gholston and Rogers to similar deals. If we had we would have plenty of cash to bring in Bowe and Garcon!

Oustanding pick-up, especially on the deal we got him for. Brilliant athleticism, great against the run, and hugely underrated in pass coverage.