SIP, I am glad that you continue question Whitt, I see your questions as valid. He still has proving to do for me but I like him as a guy (but trying not to sound too Rivera-esue)
There was an interview I listened this off season, I think if I recall it was Jori Epstein on Galdi who shared that she was told that Dan Quinn isn't always a softie and they mentioned him chewing out Whitt over something as an example.
It might mean nothing but I am keeping it in the back of my head.
Ryan Clark is supposedly Whitt's best friend and isn't shy to heap praise on people and has praised Whitt in the past in his role running the secondary. Don't recall any praise from Clark so far for Whitt's job running this defensive unit, if so that's maybe interesting. At a minimum, he might not be convinced he'd have someone echo him if he did it.
I am sort of where Sheehan is on this. Sheehan makes the point lighter than me but specifically as to stopping the run he's said from time to time, the players on this defense aren't that bad if you look at it individual to individual -- implying this unit plays perhaps as a lesser than the sum of its parts.
I feel the same way, a team that had Payne, Allen, Wagner, Luvu and Chinn shouldn't be epically bad against the run. i get that the issue was the edge primarily. But I pointed this out after watching the Eagles-Commanders playoff game -- that unit came off disorganized as to maintaining gaps. Logan Paulsen also alluded to the same point as to a key problem stopping the run is players not filling their assignments well.
He talks to death as does Quinn about ball is life. Yet, Forbes, St. Juste, Lattimore were arguably worse than they were the season before. They had one less pick than Del Rio's unit the season before.
Don't get me wrong I don't love the talent on this unit. But I do think this unit doesn't always look hotly coached. The one thing they overacheived on was something I believe Quinn put his stamp on which is manufacturing pass rush.
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