Whitner coming un-hinged?

[Rob's House]

Donte isn't a top flight safety in the league, but the way he gets trashed around here is absurd. And if players do listen to the voice of the fans, and this board is probably one of the most accessible venues for that, I'm not surprised they aren't dying to re-sign.

 

I can imagine the convo with the agent: "So you mean I can play in a small market with no national coverage, play in the freezing ass cold, for a team that never makes the playoffs, for a meddling owner, and to top it off the fans will rage ad nauseum about how much I suck unless I'm a perennial pro-bowler (in which case half will complain about how overrated I am)? Where do I sign up?"

Edited January 16, 2011 by Rob's House

[Fezmid]

I suck unless I'm a perennial pro-bowler (in which case half will complain about how overrated I am)? Where do I sign up?"

That, sir, hits the nail on the head.

[Tipster19]

I cant say he's wrong. I dont agree with him feeling he needs to defend himself to the "fans", but after 6 years of getting constantly hated on by a group of people you are busting your butt for... I imagine it can become frustrating.

 

He's right that he kept our Secondary together. Arguably the best part of our defense, Whitner has played any position theyve asked him to, and that has turned out to be EVERY position (SS, FS, CB). Most Strong Safeties wouldnt be able to do that. Has he played them all at a Pro Bowl level? Certainly not. But he never once complained about scheme or position or coaching or anything. He has been a good soldier for this organization and should be re-signed to a decent contract.

 

Now, I dont think he should get the $7-8mil a year he is probably asking for. But if this team is serious about building, you have to find ways to keep players like Whitner and then, worst case, look to add talent around him or replace him with better talent down the road. But you cant keep letting players walk or the cycle will be never ending.

 

Very intelligent observation.

 

 

the first tweet imply's he is better than whomever will replace him.

 

the second tweet is about all the parties....err, defensive team meetings he organized at his house.

 

as far as when the CBA gets settled?....i say the players take this thru to July 4th to eliminate all the voluntary(cough) OTA's.

 

I take no offense to him believing in himself. I'm also not going to fault him for giving everything he had to this organization. Matter of fact I'm grateful that he did and I give him a ton of credit for it. Look how so many of us has whined for the last 10+ years, imagine being a player for most of that time with this "organization", and I do use that word loosely. He never complained thru these years that I'm aware of, only when it came to contract time and he felt compelled to defend himself. Shouldn't we have done that for him? I'm not suggesting to overpay him, just not over critisize him, that's all. The guy tried to take on a leadership role for us and we badmouth him??!!! C'mon people, let's be better fans than that. I wish Donte nothing but the best, regardless if he's a Bill next year or not.

Thank you. I am not a huge Whitner fan, but he is clearly a good player with a good work ethic. Is he one

of the top 2-3 safeties in the league? Probably not, but the team could do far worse. They should keep

him if his salary demands are to be paid like a good starting safety. If he insists on top 3 money, then they

have to make the business decision about whether to pay him that or not. But if they don't re-sign him,

they'll have yet another hole to fill on an already poor defense.

 

Regarding the obnoxious smart-a$$ put downs that a small number of people throw around at him and

others around here, it is absolutely shameful. These guys are all professional athletes and are very talented.

Even the very worst of them are still great athletes. Most of them work and play very hard. They don't deserve

the crap flung at them by a few around here. To be clear, I am not saying it is out of bounds to criticize a

player or coach or even to suggest that someone needs to be replaced, but some around here make Jerry

Sullivan sound like the Pope. To those people: sharpen your writing skills and formulate well-thought-out posts

with fair and balanced analyses rather than sarcastic rants that simply boil down to "he sucks because I said he does".

 

Unfortunately we seem to constantly have to readdress positions that we have all thought were fulfilled. I say we need to stop this right now under this current administration and keep our current players who have dedicated themselves to this franchise and we should start with Donte. Matter of fact I believe that it would make a statement to the other players who have patiently endured the kaos that this organization has displayed in the last several years.

 

Sorry to say that there seems to be a minority of a few bad apples that gets most of the attention, or should I say platform. It corralates with the theory that negative publicity/advertising is 7 times more powerful than the positive. Sad, isn't it?

[1billsfan]

Donte isn't a top flight safety in the league, but the way he gets trashed around here is absurd. And if players do listen to the voice of the fans, and this board is probably one of the most accessible venues for that, I'm not surprised they aren't dying to re-sign.

 

I can imagine the convo with the agent: "So you mean I can play in a small market with no national coverage, play in the freezing ass cold, for a team that never makes the playoffs, for a meddling owner, and to top it off the fans will rage ad nauseum about how much I suck unless I'm a perennial pro-bowler (in which case half will complain about how overrated I am)? Where do I sign up?"

 

 

Whaaa whaaa whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

 

Bills fans love good players, he's not one of them, get over it.

 

You don't see fans ragging on Williams do you? That's right, because he's a GOOD PLAYER!

 

Whitner is not a good player, he can't cover a tight end to save his life. The Pats have a couple of tight ends that will no doubt embarrass him if we resign him. The Bills need to find a SS that can cover a tight end period.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

All I need to see in these Whitner threads is the first comparison to Ed Reed and I know it's not worth joining the discussion since the posters have an obvious lack of basic football knowledge.

 

Strong Safety and Free Safety are two completely different positions, with different assignments, roles, and expectations.

 

It's the equivalent of comparing Demetrius Bell to Jeff Saturday.

 

Instead, why dont we try to find other Strong Safeties that play in a 3-4 with almost NO front 7 presence, and we'll see how they compare?

 

Doc, You have a good point. On the other hand, it's fairly common for the professional football media to link Troy and Reed together as 'redefining the safety position' and as others have commented, we have asked Whitner to play FS at times. So I don't think it's beyond the pale as your post implies.

 

So let's talk about SS in a real basic way, from about.com football:

A strong safety splits their duties between crushing the run and breaking up passes. If you're interested in playing strong safety, you need to have a unique skill set in being good at pass coverage, like a cornerback, but also be able to tackle like a linebacker.

 

Polumalu: check

Wilson: check

 

Can Donte Whitner actually crush the run? Can he tackle like a linebacker? Can he cover a tight end?

 

I "get it" that he'd look a lot better if he had a front 7 and that he hasn't always had support from FS.

I'd like to see us keep him, b'cuz we could do worse and we've got to stop bleeding away capable players and focus on genuine holes.

 

I keep seeing plays where he had the responsibility to cover a TE in the end zone, his thing, not the fault of the front 7, and he was just overmatched.

I keep seeing him back-tackle and miss, rather than wrapping and nailing the tackle.

 

I don't think he's a top 3-4 guy and I can't fault the Bills for not wanting to sign him when the 30% rule would mean pay a big signing bonus up front.

 

I do think we need to be on our toes and snipe for good FA players other teams couldn't resign because of the 30% cap

[Rico]

I suck unless I'm a perennial pro-bowler (in which case half will complain about how overrated I am)? Where do I sign up?"

That may be true for some of Lil Donte's critics, but not for me. The lil guy just hasn't shown anything since he's been in town. Take McKelvin... he gets hammered by many around here, but I cut him slack because he's shown the potential to be a top notch player... and I'm STILL hopeful that he can turn into one. OTOH, Lil Donte is a mediocrity thru and thru.... what you see is what you get, pretty much nothing.

[NoSaint]

mornin' message to Buffalo Bills fans..."Be careful what u wish for!"...Good day

7:42am via Twitter for BlackBerry®

 

Alot of what I do/did kept our ENTIRE secondary together.....

7:53am via Twitter for BlackBerry®

 

 

ive had his back for most of this but im just embarassed to have done so --- to do this is just insulting to your teammates and coaching staff. he just put himself above all of them. hes above average but not irreplaceable and with an attitude like that, i officially want to see him replaced. you dont see winning teams with that attitude, and i really do not think whitner can be a leader in making this a winning franchise if thats what is really in his head - insulted or not by his contract offer.

[Beerball]

I cant say he's wrong. I dont agree with him feeling he needs to defend himself to the "fans", but after 6 years of getting constantly hated on by a group of people you are busting your butt for... I imagine it can become frustrating.

 

He's right that he kept our Secondary together. Arguably the best part of our defense, Whitner has played any position theyve asked him to, and that has turned out to be EVERY position (SS, FS, CB). Most Strong Safeties wouldnt be able to do that. Has he played them all at a Pro Bowl level? Certainly not. But he never once complained about scheme or position or coaching or anything. He has been a good soldier for this organization and should be re-signed to a decent contract.

 

Now, I dont think he should get the $7-8mil a year he is probably asking for. But if this team is serious about building, you have to find ways to keep players like Whitner and then, worst case, look to add talent around him or replace him with better talent down the road. But you cant keep letting players walk or the cycle will be never ending.

Even after he tanked the final two (some say 3) games of the season?

[NoSaint]

Very intelligent observation.

 

 

 

 

I take no offense to him believing in himself. I'm also not going to fault him for giving everything he had to this organization. Matter of fact I'm grateful that he did and I give him a ton of credit for it. Look how so many of us has whined for the last 10+ years, imagine being a player for most of that time with this "organization", and I do use that word loosely. He never complained thru these years that I'm aware of, only when it came to contract time and he felt compelled to defend himself. Shouldn't we have done that for him? I'm not suggesting to overpay him, just not over critisize him, that's all. The guy tried to take on a leadership role for us and we badmouth him??!!! C'mon people, let's be better fans than that. I wish Donte nothing but the best, regardless if he's a Bill next year or not.

 

 

Unfortunately we seem to constantly have to readdress positions that we have all thought were fulfilled. I say we need to stop this right now under this current administration and keep our current players who have dedicated themselves to this franchise and we should start with Donte. Matter of fact I believe that it would make a statement to the other players who have patiently endured the kaos that this organization has displayed in the last several years.

 

Sorry to say that there seems to be a minority of a few bad apples that gets most of the attention, or should I say platform. It corralates with the theory that negative publicity/advertising is 7 times more powerful than the positive. Sad, isn't it?

 

i think hes very good -- above average, probably on the bubble for top 10. i also think that his recent run of tweets have walked him out of town. first airing contract issues the last few weeks, including during the season made me cringe. now implying that without him the secondary will crumble -- let him walk. i just have a feeling that there is no way he can return and be the respected leader to make the changes we need, when thats how he reacts to some fan tweets. if your skin is that thin, and you are that self absorbed... you arent a 7-8 million a year leader of our defense.

 

Even after he tanked the final two (some say 3) games of the season?

 

and thats the problem, once this really started to hit the fan, id never imagined he would handle it with such lack of professionalism and maturity. he proved that he is very self centered, arrogant, and immature. i think hes a good athlete, and i wanted him to be a leader moving forward. maybe even overpay by a little bit.... not worth it.

 

this is what marv meant by needing character. an offseason dui is dumb, but not being able to trust a guy on the field? cant have it. sad that marvs big pick is showing just about as little football character as i can imagine someone having.

[OldTimer1960]

I am not a big Whitner fan, but I think that every Internet Tough Guy who calls him "Lil Donte" should take a step back and consider just how hard he would be crying for his mommy if Mr. Whitner were to confront him in person.

Word! Indeed, they should take a step back to consider how hard he would be crying for his mommy if Mr Whitner's

Mommy were to confront them in person!

 

Donte Whitner is a professional athlete who works hard at his profession. I don't fault him for the fact that the Bills

over drafted him. He was not the worst top 10-15 pick in that draft for sure. He tries hard and plays

to the best of his ability as far as I can tell. I'll bet that he'd look a LOT better if his primary job wasn't trying to

cheat up to play the run to overcome the poor LB (and to some extent DL) play. I can't imagine a tougher job than

check run first and foremost and then try to cover a talented TE after he has a step on you...

 

BTW, that ties in to the lack of a TE on the Bills' offense...

Edited January 16, 2011 by OldTimer1960

[Hapless Bills Fan]

Donte isn't a top flight safety in the league, but the way he gets trashed around here is absurd. And if players do listen to the voice of the fans, and this board is probably one of the most accessible venues for that, I'm not surprised they aren't dying to re-sign.

 

First off, listening to the fans has to be bad news either way for a player. If ya listen when they're fawning, it'll go to your head and hurt your development.

If you listen when they're dissing ya, it's like letting trash talk on the field get to ya, it'll hurt your development.

 

Second, fans around here love good players and love players who achieve at or above their potential and who seem to want to help the team and get better. Donte tweets like a top 3 safety and plays like maybe a top half safety. We don't hear anything modest from him about stepping up his play, getting better, helping the team if he gets better. I think we'd hear it if he said it, I could be doing him wrong but I don't think it's there to be heard.

 

Whitner's wounds are all self-inflicted IMO. And he'd be happy to resign - if only the team would pay him according to his perception of his value (top 3)

[Coach Tuesday]

The Bills likely will stick to their guns and refuse to pay Donte the additional $1-$2 million a year he thinks he is worth. They'll let him walk and he'll sign somewhere else.

 

And then they'll panic, and overpay or overdrasft someone else.

 

It's the same story over and over again with this team. It's the Darcy Regier School of (Mis)management. The folks here who keep cheering for Donte's departure fail to realize that every time the Bills roll the rock up the hill, it falls back down the other side.

[qdawg in philly]

Isn't embarrassing? lets look at what you said.

 

"Hey Donte, because you seem to know what the fans ask for, I hope u read this. MAN THE F*CK UP! Stop acting like a b*tch! If you were that good the bills would have resigned you already, but they never said they weren't going to. Be a man and look at yourself and ask yourself do you deserve 7mill or whatever outrageous money you're asking for. Geez, what a a**hole! And yeah they ask you to play multi positions, but when they ask u to play yours, you f*cking can't! Get some nutzs and do your talking on the field! You f*cking cornball!"

 

Let's see. Stop acting like a B word,yea, classy. Obviously you don't see anything wrong with those statements so it's really no use to try to convince you otherwise.

 

if you're reading daunte, most of us aren't like this and appreciate the effort you have given to the Bills.

So he handled the situation classy, huh?

[NoSaint]

The Bills likely will stick to their guns and refuse to pay Donte the additional $1-$2 million a year he thinks he is worth. They'll let him walk and he'll sign somewhere else.

 

And then they'll panic, and overpay or overdrasft someone else.

 

It's the same story over and over again with this team. It's the Darcy Regier School of (Mis)management. The folks here who keep cheering for Donte's departure fail to realize that every time the Bills roll the rock up the hill, it falls back down the other side.

 

 

different coach and gm, but we can assume the same will happen i suppose.... seems silly though. patience.

[qdawg in philly]

Isn't embarrassing? lets look at what you said.

 

"Hey Donte, because you seem to know what the fans ask for, I hope u read this. MAN THE F*CK UP! Stop acting like a b*tch! If you were that good the bills would have resigned you already, but they never said they weren't going to. Be a man and look at yourself and ask yourself do you deserve 7mill or whatever outrageous money you're asking for. Geez, what a a**hole! And yeah they ask you to play multi positions, but when they ask u to play yours, you f*cking can't! Get some nutzs and do your talking on the field! You f*cking cornball!"

 

Let's see. Stop acting like a B word, yea, classy. Obviously you don't see anything wrong with those statements so it's really no use to try to convince you otherwise.

 

if you're reading daunte, most of us aren't like this and appreciate the effort you have given to the Bills.

And how do you know what anyone else is like? Speak for youself! And if you couldn't convince me otherwise, then why would you respond to my post? I posted those things because that's what I think of him! And I ask you this, every bill's fan is classy on this board, huh? I've read many post that weren't classy at all! Even if it is classless, its still the truth!

[Hapless Bills Fan]

The Bills likely will stick to their guns and refuse to pay Donte the additional $1-$2 million a year he thinks he is worth. They'll let him walk and he'll sign somewhere else.

 

And then they'll panic, and overpay or overdrasft someone else.

 

It's the same story over and over again with this team. It's the Darcy Regier School of (Mis)management. The folks here who keep cheering for Donte's departure fail to realize that every time the Bills roll the rock up the hill, it falls back down the other side.

 

Word is the difference is more like $4 million (Bills offering $3, Whitner wants $7 million)

 

Given the Kelsay contract extension I can't exactly blame Whitner (or anyone else) who wants just as good deal

[BADOLBILZ]

I cant say he's wrong. I dont agree with him feeling he needs to defend himself to the "fans", but after 6 years of getting constantly hated on by a group of people you are busting your butt for... I imagine it can become frustrating.

 

He's right that he kept our Secondary together. Arguably the best part of our defense, Whitner has played any position theyve asked him to, and that has turned out to be EVERY position (SS, FS, CB). Most Strong Safeties wouldnt be able to do that. Has he played them all at a Pro Bowl level? Certainly not. But he never once complained about scheme or position or coaching or anything. He has been a good soldier for this organization and should be re-signed to a decent contract.

 

Now, I dont think he should get the $7-8mil a year he is probably asking for. But if this team is serious about building, you have to find ways to keep players like Whitner and then, worst case, look to add talent around him or replace him with better talent down the road. But you cant keep letting players walk or the cycle will be never ending.

 

If you think Whitner was holding the Bills secondary together I think you need to re-evaluate your grasp on the game.

 

It seems that so much of the value assigned to Whitner by misguided fans(and himself) is based on some imaginary skill he brings to the field. The perception that he has always been the jack of all trades glue that held the secondary together is not based in fact. He can't play corner in the nickel or dime. He never made any plays as a FS. He is just an average to mediocre strong safety.

 

What is it that he does that impresses you? He doesn't play well at the LOS, so he complained that he was out of place in the tampa-2 even though he was the first damn pick of the tampa-2 regime. THEN, he gets the chance in this new defense that is supposed to allow him to play back more and make plays.............and he makes no plays.

 

There is no defense that is going to make Donte into the player he and you think he is. And if he lands on a great defense and starts making some more plays.....will it be as a $7M per year player? No. It would be because he is perceived as a weak link on a defense and gets the ball thrown his way as a result a la former Jet CB Otis Smith.

[EastRochBillsfan]

And how do you know what anyone else is like? Speak for youself! And if you couldn't convince me otherwise, then why would you respond to my post? I posted those things because that's what I think of him! And I ask you this, every bill's fan is classy on this board, huh? I've read many post that weren't classy at all! Even if it is classless, its still the truth!

hahahahahaha.......ok..... like I said, obviously you don't see anthing wrong with your statements, but hey, you stated the truth so it must be ok.

 

this board lacks a lot of class at times, that was the point

[JPicc2114]

Cant do any worse Donte..

 

 

See ya

[Cynical]

Donte isn't a top flight safety in the league, but the way he gets trashed around here is absurd. And if players do listen to the voice of the fans, and this board is probably one of the most accessible venues for that, I'm not surprised they aren't dying to re-sign.

 

Here is some shocking news for you. Bills fans are no different than any other teams fans. Yes, other teams fans are just as critical, nasty and mean as Bills fans. I know it must be hard for you to believe, but it's true.

 

I can imagine the convo with the agent: "So you mean I can play in a small market with no national coverage, play in the freezing ass cold, for a team that never makes the playoffs, for a meddling owner, and to top it off the fans will rage ad nauseum about how much I suck unless I'm a perennial pro-bowler (in which case half will complain about how overrated I am)? Where do I sign up?"

 

Let's take a close look at your criticisms:

 

So you mean I can play in a small market with no national coverage

 

There are only 32 teams in the league. If a player is more worried about 'how much coverage' he will get as opposed to earning his paycheck, then this fan doesn't want the player anyways.

 

play in the freezing ass cold

 

Every player will get to play in the freezing cold at some point. In Donte's case, this is a joke, right? You do realize Donte was born and raised in Cleveland, OH and played college ball at Ohio State? Last I checked, Ohio was not a state awash in mild temps and weather all year round.

 

for a team that never makes the playoffs

 

The only legit criticism you make.

 

for a meddling owner

 

Another laughable one. When it comes to meddling, both Jerry Jones and Danny Snyder make Ralph look like amateur. And what about Bud Adams from the Titans? Vince Young anybody?

 

to top it off the fans will rage ad nauseum about how much I suck unless I'm a perennial pro-bowler (in which case half will complain about how overrated I am)

 

Why you people like you think this only happens in Buffalo? Seriously, you cannot be this naive.