Over 29 years of fanhood Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Welcome to the club! One of my largest peeves ever on TBD is the " tackles 7 yards downfield" crew... It just makes you want to . Yep. If the Safety is not making those tackles 7 yards downfield it's becasue he whiffed and its a TD. On average, our D is on the field 33:42 per game which gives them about a 20% increased exposure to the opposition's O. How many more hits could a MLB player get with 20% more at bats? It's not insignificant. So since all the LB's stats are inflated by this logic too, then I guess there should be some of them in the top tackling ranks, by fluke only of course. Then converely Stevie & Fitz are actually 20% better then thier stats show. So if you lose a game in overtime should you get 1.25 losses instead of 1? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 (edited) Regardless of stats, anyone who has watched the games (without an agenda) can easily see Donte is playing much better this season in our new defense. He's around the ball and in on almost every tackle, he's made some great hits to separate receiver and ball, and he's been in the backfield making some plays as well off of the blitz. Edited December 2, 2010 by Ramius Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jumbalaya Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Whitner's stats are inflated. Stats DO NOT tell th ewhole story. Many of his tackles are on running backs after they've gained ten yards because our porous run defense is the league's worst. The front seven gets gashed and the safties are making the tackle. Really? That's what we always said about London Fletcher until he had Pat Williams in front of him, so he took his class act to Washington and proved it again. if Whitner's stats are inflated, I believe the same could be said for Lee Evans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawgg Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Regardless of stats, anyone who has watched the games (without an agenda) can easily see Donte is playing much better this season in our new defense. He's around the ball and in on almost every tackle, he's made some great hits to separate receiver and ball, and he's been in the backfield making some plays as well off of the blitz. He's certainly picked up his play during the past few weeks, but he has been abysmal for most of the year. The bolded part is where I disagree. Yes, he blitzes but he rarely makes plays when given the opportunity to do so. For example: when he had a clear path to Shaun Hill, instead of nailing him for the sack, he jumped. That's classic Donte Whitner. When the opportunity is there for a big play, he comes up small – whether it's the onsides kick recovery against Dallas, a potential INT that goes through his hands, or a running back that puts him on the wrong side of a highlight reel. Not to mention we're talking about a 5-year veteran who (according to Gailey) needs to learn not to jump on a blitz. He shies away from contact, often tackling with his back. That's the antithesis of what you want in your starting safety. He has dropped 3 interceptions. He's a serviceable NFL starter but is he easily replaceable? You bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Regardless of stats, anyone who has watched the games (without an agenda) can easily see Donte is playing much better this season in our new defense. He's around the ball and in on almost every tackle, he's made some great hits to separate receiver and ball, and he's been in the backfield making some plays as well off of the blitz. He is also one of the better open field tacklers in the league (que the moron to point out his miss against LDT). Whitner is not Troy P or Ed Reed, but he is a damn good safety. Letting him go would jsut create another hole that we don't need to fill yet. Fact is that mostp eople who hate on Whitner can't get over the fact he drafted #8 overall (how dare he didn't refuse to get drafted that high!) or he has twitter. But I suspected most of the posters that still hold that against him still are crying about that girl who dumped them in 8th grade too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawgg Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 He is also one of the better open field tacklers in the league (que the moron to point out his miss against LDT). Whitner is not Troy P or Ed Reed, but he is a damn good safety. Letting him go would jsut create another hole that we don't need to fill yet. Fact is that mostp eople who hate on Whitner can't get over the fact he drafted #8 overall (how dare he didn't refuse to get drafted that high!) or he has twitter. But I suspected most of the posters that still hold that against him still are crying about that girl who dumped them in 8th grade too. Letting him go would not create an insurmountable hole to fill. That's the point. It has nothing to do with his draft status or his attitude, but rather his play on the field, which has been ordinary at best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bananathumb Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Threads like this will just encourage the FO to extend this weak safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 The guy is having a decent year why crap on him? Give credit to the few on defense that deserve it. If you want to crap on someone in the D start with Stroud then all the LBs... I for one have grown tired of watching him tackle/knock OOB a player and slapping the player on the helmet or butt even though the opposition just got a first down. It's like he's saying...'I got you good that time.' Do that on crucial 3rd down stops if you must, not plays that keep drives alive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 I for one have grown tired of watching him tackle/knock OOB a player and slapping the player on the helmet or butt even though the opposition just got a first down. It's like he's saying...'I got you good that time.' Do that on crucial 3rd down stops if you must, not plays that keep drives alive. I've noticed that as well. But that's the league now. Everyone is friends. But I don't think he ever lets up on hitting someone as hard as he can during the play. He plays hard during the whistle and has for respect for the opponent after. Bruce used to help Marino up after plays and that was a million times more important games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purple haze Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Who would have guessed? Perhaps his contract is up soon. Or, perhaps he's been on the field 500 plays more than any other DB in the league. Just a hunch, how many of those tackles were +/- 3 yards of the line of scrimmage? He's been paid way more than he's worth since he's been with the Bills. Alas, he might even get a raise. Bills always pay above market value for mediocre players. Most of his tackles should be beyond the LOS. He's a safety not a LB or DL even though he has to act like one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pBills Posted December 2, 2010 Author Share Posted December 2, 2010 I agree that Schobel was a solid pass rusher, but his loss cannot explain the dive our D has taken. Teams don't bother passing on us anyway. Having a solid DE compliments defensive play against the run and pass. He's certainly picked up his play during the past few weeks, but he has been abysmal for most of the year. The bolded part is where I disagree. Yes, he blitzes but he rarely makes plays when given the opportunity to do so. For example: when he had a clear path to Shaun Hill, instead of nailing him for the sack, he jumped. That's classic Donte Whitner. When the opportunity is there for a big play, he comes up small – whether it's the onsides kick recovery against Dallas, a potential INT that goes through his hands, or a running back that puts him on the wrong side of a highlight reel. Not to mention we're talking about a 5-year veteran who (according to Gailey) needs to learn not to jump on a blitz. He shies away from contact, often tackling with his back. That's the antithesis of what you want in your starting safety. He has dropped 3 interceptions. He's a serviceable NFL starter but is he easily replaceable? You bet. Ok, John Clayton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaPolian8693 Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 What the heck are you guys watching? He has not been playing at an elite level whatsoever this year. He is mediocre. He's not terrible, but he's far from an impact, top-tier safety. He is just getting in on a lot of tackles that the linebackers couldn't make. I will agree, though, that the new scheme suits him better as it seems to have him doing more run support, and he is much better in run support than pass coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armchair GM Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Great job Whitner... for all of the crap you receive it's nice to hear this: Whitner, tied for fourth in the league with a team-leading 104 tackles (most among all NFL defensive backs), credited the change from former defensive coordinator Perry Fewell’s Tampa 2 system to current coordinator George Edwards’ 3-4. He also leads the league in "hits after TD reception." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webster Guy Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 "Leads the League in Hits After TD receptions" dude that was seriously funny. Nobody can deny that Whitner is delivering some crushing hits this year. He says it's the new scheme, and maybe it is, but I just never remember him laying the leather so hard as he is now. He still has his challenges in coverage, like most SS's do, but I love the monster hits. He's downright obliterated some guys this year. If only he was a second round pick the poor guy would get so much less criticism than he does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingon Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Let's not forget that Whitner is still only 25 years old. He hasn't even reached his peak as an athlete yet, and it's not a surprise he continues to improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawgg Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 Ok, John Clayton Any response to the substance of the post? Didn't think so. Hopefully you'll get your #20 jersey autographed by the man himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gomper Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 (edited) Please...Whitner is ALWAYS a step late when getting to the receiver. The angles he takes are almost always wrong. The FO is insane if they give him anything over 8% of what he's making now. I'm sure they can find plenty of S"s in the off-season that come cheaper and play better. Also, he loves to take stupid penalties at the worst times. The sooner they cast him off the better. Edited December 2, 2010 by gomper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thoner7 Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 When you give up 200 yards a game in rushing your SS is going to have a lot of tackles, especially when he cannot cover anyone. If this is a career year, then he truely has had a weak career Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob in STL Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 He is haivng a good year, and maybe his best year, but I want to know one thing. Who is supposed to be covering all of those wide open TE's that have killed us all season? He also leads the league in "hits after TD reception." No. That would be Byrd. He is usually in the end zone behind the receiver making the TD catch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted December 3, 2010 Share Posted December 3, 2010 He shies away from contact, often tackling with his back. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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