The Tahs lost their first two Super Rugby games, by 18 to the Crusaders and 20 to the Blues, each time paying the price for botching potential scoring opportunities with poor ball control.
In the two instances NSW held onto the ball for more than eight phases against the Blues, they scored tries.
"As coaches, the last thing we're going to tell the boys is to stop the offloads," Whitaker said.
"We're not a team that can go out there and just play one pass, tuck it under their wing and carry into contact because we're not big enough to do that.