(Photo by Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images)
Donte Whitner made a Pro Bowl and was a key piece to 49ers teams that made it to three consecutive NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl from 2011-2013. That almost didn’t happen, Whitner revealed on KNBR Tuesday afternoon.
Drafted as the eighth overall pick in 2006 by the Buffalo Bills, Whitner was forced to play in a Tampa 2 defensive scheme, one that requires the safeties to make tackles in the run game frequently. At 5′ 10″, 208 pounds, Whitner was undersized for that system, and was ready to hang up his cleats after his fifth season in Buffalo, when he led the team with 140 tackles. His body couldn’t handle it anymore.
“I actually feel like I wasted some of those years playing in that Tampa 2 scheme,” Whitner told Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks. “Because I was naturally a smaller safety who ran 4.3 at the combine. That Tampa 2 scheme normally has bigger guys, 6′ 3″, 215 pounds, that can come down on the edge, take out the fullbacks each and every play. I ended up having 140 tackles one year, to where I thought I wanted to retire. ‘I don’t know if I can do this for another couple of years.’ I just felt like death in the offseason.”
The move to San Francisco came at the perfect time for Whitner, who was able to play more to his skill set as a coverage safety that could come up and make the occasional big hit.
“So moving to a quarter system where I could use the speed and agility, the ability to read defenses and get up on guys really quick and make big hits, that really played into my skillset. Yes I was always able to do those things, but I wasn’t always able to showcase it on the field because we were so bland on defense, didn’t have a great pass rush, and we were sitting back there in a Tampa 2 scheme against Randy Moss and Tom Brady in their prime. There’s a reason why we got beat 63-9 on Monday Night Football. He was just launching it. It was tough.”
Listen to the full interview below.
