In his second season with the San Francisco 49ers, Donte Whitner totaled his second-most tackles in seven years in the NFL.

Whitner, who joined the 49ers as a free agent in 2011, recorded 119 tackles in his first ever Pro Bowl season. The hard-hitting safety was a key member of last year’s NFC Conference championship club and sounded eager to get back to work in 2013. In fact, Whitner only took two weeks off at the end of Super Bowl XLVII.

“We had a taste of it,” Donte said of the team’s Super Bowl appearance in 2012 which followed a loss in the NFC title game in 2011. “The third time’s the charm.”

Whitner shared some of his thoughts on the upcoming season in a Friday morning appearance on NFL Network’s “NFL AM” show.

“We feel like we’re the best defense in the NFL,” Whitner said. “We have pass rushers. We have a tremendous front seven.”

Whitner praised his inside linebacker tandem of Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman as two of the best in the league.

Asked how the 49ers would replace outgoing safety Dashon Goldson, Whitner explained that the 49ers front seven would help whoever steps in as a replacement. In Whitner’s mind, pressure from the defensive front can really help the back end of a defense.

“We have a bunch of possibilities,” Donte said. “When we step out on the field we’ll be ready.”

More 49ers headlines can be found in today’s Morning Tailgate.

Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com reviewed San Francisco’s pre-draft depth on offense and defense.

Maiocco also examined the best 49ers draft of the past 10 years.

49ers.com shared the pre-draft comments from ESPN analyst Mel Kiper Jr.

TV49’S CLIP OF THE DAY

TWEET ABOUT IT

Workout time! Then back to @nflnetwork for more fun. Check me out!—
TWHITNER (@DonteWhitner) April 12, 2013

Donte TV.

The 49ers Faithful have spoken. Now it’s time for one final vote.

In recent weeks, 49ers.com has brought you the top 5 takeaways, touchdowns, sacks, big hits and big plays and asked for the Faithful to vote for their favorite plays of the year. For the last round of voting, a winner will emerge from the Final Five candidates as picked by the 49ers Faithful.

The Final Five features a great mix of breakneck offensive plays, bone-crushing defensive plays and game-changers. Until 5 p.m. PT on Monday, you can vote for the 2012 Play of the Year at the bottom of this blog post. Let’s take a look at the top play for each category.

1. Dashon Goldson’s open-field hit vs. the Arizona Cardinals

When pushed to choose one of Goldson’s best tackles in 2012, the open-field, jarring hit delivered on Cardinals wideout Early Doucet stood above the rest. It also took place in front of a national viewing audience on “Monday Night Football.”

With the 49ers maintaining a 24-3 lead in the fourth quarter, Goldson put the exclamation mark on a dominant defensive outing. Arizona quarterback John Skelton looked to dump off a quick slant pass to Doucet, but it wasn’t such a good idea.

Goldson saw the route developing and patiently waited his turn to strike. The 49ers safety timed up a perfect open-field hit that would leave Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott thoroughly impressed.

Doucet wasn’t able to hold on to the football. Not many play-makers this past season could maintain possession once the 49ers safety known as “The Hawk” applied an open-field hit.

2. Aldon Smith’s 5.5 sacks on MNF vs. the Chicago Bears

Jason Campbell probably doesn’t have fond memories of the evening of Nov. 19. As the quarterback of the Bears, Campbell was pummeled repeatedly by linebacker Aldon Smith, who set a “Monday Night Football” and 49ers single-game record with 5.5 sacks.

Smith already had a history of showing up on the Monday night stage, posting 4.5 sacks in his first two contests, but he blew those performances out of the water with an all-time great effort. It didn’t matter if he came from the left side or the right side, Smith was going to get to the quarterback.

The marquee outing highlighted Smith’s 19.5-sack regular season, which eventually earned him first-team All-Pro honors and the first Pro Bowl invite of his career. It also proved to be a big reason for the team’s 32-7 win over the Bears, who entered the contest with a 7-2 record.

3. Ahmad Brooks’ interception return for a touchdown vs. the New Orleans Saints

San Francisco intercepted respected Saints quarterback Drew Brees twice in a Week 12 road victory. Both takeaways were returned for touchdowns, too. Donte Whitner’s 42-yard pick-six was impressive, but it didn’t get the nod over Ahmad Brooks’ 50-yard interception return.

Brooks, a 6-foot-3, 259-pound outside linebacker, correctly read Brees’ eyes as he dropped into coverage. The pass-rushing linebacker wound up in the quarterback’s throwing lane and somehow managed to pluck a quick pass from Brees out of the air and return it 50 yards untouched for a touchdown.

The 49ers trailed 14-7 at the time of Brooks’ game-changing play and never looked back from it. San Francisco out-scored New Orleans 17-7 after the defensive touchdown, an impressive athletic play turned in from one of the most physical players on the front seven.

4. Colin Kaepernick’s 56-yard TD Run vs. the Green Bay Packers

Erik Walden thought James had the ball, but he was wrong. The Green Bay defensive end was lined up against the right side of the 49ers offensive line in the third quarter, with the score knotted at 21 in the NFC Divisional Round.

Kaepernick kept the ball in James’ belly for a second, before pulling it back to himself and sprinting around Walden and down the right seam untouched for a 56-yard touchdown, thanks in part to a great downfield block by Ted Ginn Jr. By the time Bruce Miller engaged Walden near the line of scrimmage, Kaepernick was long gone to give the 49ers a 31-24 lead in the eventual 45-31 win in the final game of the season at Candlestick.

Kaepernick’s big run was the highlight of his record-setting evening, as he carried the ball 16 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns to post the highest single-game quarterback rushing total in league history. It also jumpstarted a 21-0 run by the 49ers to put the game out of reach.

5. NaVorro Bowman’s 4^th-down Stop vs. the Atlanta Falcons

The situation was simple: Get a stop and go to the Super Bowl.

The 49ers held a 28-24, fourth-quarter lead at the Georgia Dome in the NFC Championship, when the Falcons faced a 4^th-and-4 at San Francisco’s 10-yard line. When the Falcons broke the huddle and Roddy White lined up in the right slot, Bowman knew the ball was headed his way.

So the two-time All-Pro linebacker held his ground against the talented wideout, who tried to cross in front of his face near the first-down marker. Bowman swatted the pass to the ground with his left hand and his teammates raised their arms in unison, celebrating their ticket to New Orleans for Super Bowl XLVII.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Colin Kaepernick for winning the vote for 2012 Play of the Year!

We need your help in selecting the top plays from the 2012 season. We’re asking our Faithful fans to choose the top takeaway, touchdown, sack, big play and biggest hit of the season. Next, the winning five plays (one from each category), will move on to the championship round to determine 49ers.com’s “Top Play of 2012.”

Watch our “Top 5” video highlights on the best plays for each category, then vote in the poll section of the corresponding blog post to see which top play will reach the championship round.

Help us crown the top play of 2012 by choosing your favorite big hit from this past season. You can vote for your favorite big hit up until Wednesday at noon. Let’s take a look at the five nominees.

1. NaVorro Bowman’s perfect form-tackle vs. the New York Giants

San Francisco’s defense included six Pro Bowl performers, including two-time All-Pro linebacker NaVorro Bowman. The former third-round pick, who signed a five-year extension through 2018, made his first Pro Bowl in 2012 thanks to another season filled with big-time tackles in the open-field.

Just ask recently released Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw about them. When San Francisco and New York met in a marquee Week 6 matchup, Bowman, the ultra-athletic linebacker, displayed his speed, technique and tenacity all in one play.

With the Giants facing a 2^nd and 8 on the first play of the second quarter, the third-year linebacker recognized an inside run designed for Bradshaw and immediately darted his way through the line of scrimmage. Upon reaching Bradshaw in the backfield, Bowman applied a textbook form-tackle that would make all of his Penn State colleagues proud.

The representative of “Linebacker U” not only showed the instincts to recognize an inside run; he ran right through the Giants offensive line to plant Bradshaw in the backfield for a 1-yard loss.

2. Dashon Goldson’s open-field hit vs. the Arizona Cardinals

San Francisco’s two-time Pro Bowl safety could warrant consideration five times over in this category. Dashon Goldson’s hits in 2012 were just that good.

But when pushed to choose one of Goldson’s best tackles in 2012, the open-field, jarring hit delivered on Cardinals wideout Early Doucet stood above the rest. It also took place in front of a national viewing audience on “Monday Night Football.”

With the 49ers maintaining a 24-3 lead in the fourth quarter, Goldson put the exclamation mark on a dominant defensive outing. Arizona quarterback John Skelton looked to dump off a quick slant pass to Doucet, but it wasn’t such a good idea.

Goldson saw the route developing and patiently waited his turn to strike. The 49ers safety timed up a perfect open-field hit that would leave Hall of Fame safety Ronnie Lott thoroughly impressed.

Doucet wasn’t able to hold on to the football. Not many play-makers this past season could maintain possession once the 49ers safety known as “The Hawk” applied an open-field hit.

3. Aldon Smith’s quarterback hit vs. the Arizona Cardinals

Minutes after Goldson’s smashing tackle, second-year linebacker Aldon Smith got in on the act with a solid takedown of his own.

With the offense enjoying an efficient performance on the national stage, the 49ers held on to their 24-3 lead with constant second-half pressure on Skelton who was sacked four times on the night, twice by Smith.

With 13:40 left to play in the fourth quarter, San Francisco’s first-time Pro Bowl linebacker beat Cardinals right tackle D’Anthony Batiste with a quick inside move and found his way to Skelton for his first sack of the game.

Perhaps even better than the quick-striking sack from the man who recorded 19.5 sacks on the season was Smith’s baseball-inspired home-run celebration to accentuate the play.

4. Donte Whitner’s body slam vs. the Miami Dolphins

When your safety tandem earns the moniker, “The Lumber Co.” hard hits are expected on a weekly basis. That was exactly the case in San Francisco’s Week 14 home victory over the Miami Dolphins.

San Francisco claimed a 13-3 lead in the third-quarter and continued to display dominant play when Donte Whitner, a first-time Pro Bowl selection, absolutely corralled Dolphins running back Reggie Bush in the open field.

Rookie quarterback Ryan Tannehill dumped off a short pass to Bush in the right flat that went for an 11-yard gain, but on the 11^th yard, Whitner met Bush in front of the Dolphins sideline and brought the do-it-all running back down to the ground with one swift body slam.

Whitner’s tackle somewhat rivaled a wrestling maneuver, but it was effective in bringing down the game-breaking runner in a quick instant.

5. Delanie Walker’s special teams tackle vs. the Baltimore Ravens

The 49ers comeback bid in Super Bowl XLVII was fueled by several standout plays, including a devastating tackle on a third-quarter kick-off return.

The “Ooooooh” receiving hit came from jack-of-all-trades Delanie Walker – the 49ers tight end known for being an effective tackler on special teams.

With the Ravens hanging on to a 28-23 with 3:14 left in the third, Walker got through Baltimore’s blockers to deliver a jarring tackle. Walker scooped up return man Jacoby Jones at the 28-yard line and slammed into the Superdome turf in an instant.

The 25 yard return was a drastic improvement from Jones’ 108-yard kickoff return for a touchdown at the start of the third quarter.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Dashon Goldson for winning with nearly 70% of the vote!