Witherspoon heads into playoff with confidence
SANTA CLARA >> Ahkello Witherspoon unmasked one of the 49ers’ few mysteries heading into their playoff opener: He’ll still be starting at right cornerback.
“That was told to me before we started the week,” Witherspoon said Wednesday.
Is he the weakest link in a 49ers’ defense that hosts the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday? He could be if he again plays “average,” which is how he described his last outing in Seattle and what eventually got him benched for the final, harrowing minutes of the Dec. 29 victory.
Witherspoon’s confidence is unshaken, and it’s no wonder after hearing defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s spirited defense of him.
“To say he played a poor game vs. Seattle, I’ll be honest with you all, it would be inaccurate,” Saleh said.
So then why did Witherspoon, after yielding his second touchdown pass, get benched in favor Emmanuel Moseley?
Saleh politely declined to explain. Nor did he confirm who’d start, merely saying Witherspoon and Moseley were “both competing.” Coach Kyle Shanahan said Tuesday he had “a pretty good idea” who’d start, and that he’s confident in both.
Witherspoon thanked reporters for allowing him to explain his benching after stewing over it for 1 ½ weeks: “They felt the Seahawks were targeting my side, which, I play across from Richard Sherman, so, like, OK. But that’s what I do. That’s what I signed up for. That was the reason.”
More specifically, Witherspoon felt he played “average,” which is not up to his nor the 49ers’ standard. It certainly didn’t reflect his exceptional form the first couple games this season before a foot injury benched him six-plus games.
“It’s not about good or bad. The potential I have in my body and what I’ve done already with my body with my gifted abilities, I have to capitalize and make certain plays,” Witherspoon said. “I’m expected to make the great plays as often as possible.”
OK, bygones. So now what? The Vikings’ Kirk Cousins surely will target him the way the Seahawks’ Russell Wilson did. Witherspoon said he believes he’ll benefit greatly from this week’s return of three defensive kingpins: pass rusher Dee Ford, linebacker Kwon Alexander and, most important for the secondary’s communication, strong safety Jaquiski Tartt.
What also could help Witherspoon: Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs (illness) hasn’t practiced this week, and Adam Thielen (ankle) showed up as limited on Wednesday’s injury report.
Said Saleh: “I’ll be honest, when you look at it from the surface, it’s very easy to see: There’s Ahkello, there’s a guy catching a football. But people don’t really understand what happened. They don’t understand if somebody busted (coverage) and he was making up for it.
“When you look at the tape, Ahkello played a pretty good football game,” Saleh said. “There were a couple situations he got caught in a bad situation. His ability to put those to bed and compete will always define he can finish and play games at his best.”
“Witherspoon’s his own guy and plays with a lot of confidence,” Tartt said.
• Alexander (pectoral) “looked pretty good” to Saleh in tackling drills and it’s still looking like Alexander will come off injured reserve for Saturday’s game. Alexander hopes to follow the lead of Houston Texans star J.J. Watt, who also returned from a lateOctober pectoral tear and played 52 of 85 snaps in Saturday’s playoff opener.
“It was very encouraging,” Alexander said. “He went out and made some big plays. I can’t wait to get out there myself, just to get that feeling back.”
Alexander has been in contact with Watt since their injuries, and the 49ers’ energetic leader did so again after Watt’s return. “I know he’s feeling legendary and going back out there was easy for him,” Alexander said.
Saleh said regardless of Alexander’s return, weakside linebacker Dre Greenlaw will remain part of the game plan, to some extent. Alexander said he’s in shape for any workload, adding: “I’m a go-getter, so wherever the ball is, I’m going to go get it.”
Saleh added: “The juice and energy he brings to everybody around him is really priceless.”
• Tartt, out since a Dec. 1 rib fracture, is coming back just in time, not only because of the playoffs but also their opponent’s tactics.
“This game is going to be kind of difficult, because they love the quick snap, so a lot of things we need to have pre-snap ready and communicate,” said Tartt, whose ability to line up the secondary often was missed the past month.
What else is on his radar about the Vikings? “They know how to run the ball well. They do a good job of setting up the play-action too,” Tartt answered. “For us, it’s going to be a simple game and try to be on all our keys.”
Tartt noted that he’s still not 100 percent recovered from his rib fracture but simply needs to mentally push through the pain.
• Speaking for the first time since his Saturday interview with the Cleveland Browns, Saleh wouldn’t elaborate on his pursuit of that head-coaching job.
“I’ll be honest, I’m very grateful for Cleveland coming out here and their hospitality, but I’m so locked into Minnesota,” he said.
Cornerback Richard Sherman said he believes “100 percent” Saleh deserves a head-coaching job based on his ability to “manage the room” and relate well to players. Of the five NFL teams that have hired or will hire a head coach this offseason, the Browns are the only team that interviewed Saleh, an Arab-American with experience coaching in Houston, Seattle and Jacksonville.
Sherman points to a leaguewide diversity issue in hiring coaches that NFL owners are unwilling to address.
“Every now and then there will be owners that go out of the norm and hire some coaches but I think it’s unfortunate because there’s a lot of very qualified coaches of color and female coaches that deserve a job and deserve to get opportunities to be head coaches,” Sherman said.
• Like Tuesday, the 49ers’ injury report showed only Ford (hamstring), guard Mike Person (neck) and defensive tackle Kentavius Street (knee) as being limited.
• George Kittle on wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders’ offensive impact: “Other than him winning three or four games by himself, him and Jimmy, he’s been pretty helpful.”
• Kittle on his first playoff week: “I know if you lose, you’re done, which is a weird feeling, because we haven’t had that yet. … We’re just excited to play football on Saturday.”