East Brady Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I think you mean Anthony Smith You are correct and I always get those smiths and thomas's mixed up, thanks for the spankin, my bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf Fub Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I think he's been about as solid as a rookie can be at the postion. Dr.Z had him pegged as a sleeper pro bowl selection. He was D rookie of the month for September. You hear people nationally mention Simpson and Whitner as being impressive for rookies on a regular basis. I think people are dissatified with the pick because, it's not a glamorous position and it's hard to judge everything he does just watching the game on TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BADOLBILZ Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I think people are dissatified with the pick because, it's not a glamorous position and it's hard to judge everything he does just watching the game on TV. No, I think it's because this draft was advertised as rich with great players, and turned out to be, and it appeared then AND now that the Bills got a good one instead of a great one despite a high pick. There is no question that Whitner gets overmatched by big tight ends and gets washed away at times in run defense. You would hope that a guy you take with the #8 overall is pretty special, especially when that guy is at a position that is traditionally manned by players NOT drafted that high. As far as it being hard to judge everything he does....I disagree, he's pretty front and center. In a number of games, teams targetted him in the run game. In the San Diego game, Gates just devoured him(Fewell should have put Clements on Gates). He was mostly good though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Koufax Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Yeah, Dante might not be great, and Ngata might be the better player. But we have a very solid starter who is going to contribute a lot over the next five seasons, and contributed a lot this year. Not a glamorous pick and maybe not the absolute best player we could have gotten, but far from a bust. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
generaLee83 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 undersized SS. This is the most important aspect posted in this entire thread. Whitner just seems too small, he doesn't "play big" like some undersized players do. He got owned today by Heap and has gotten owned often by other TE's. He'll be adequate at that position but when his salaray jumps way up I wouldn't be surprised to see him released. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oneonta Buffalo Fan Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Whitner played great this year. Even though he was only a rookie he played like a pro at times. He'll only get better. You'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stussy109 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 But look at the surrounding cast Ngata has in Baltimore. I think the defense is moving in the right direction from last year all things considered. Now the key is at least keep Clements and either re-sign Fletcher or find a suitable replacement to prevent a step backwards next year. As think if the defense can play as well as it has this year and the offense can improve there's no reason we shouldn't be a playoff team in 2007. To me my biggest concern today was Coy Wire playing CB instead of McGee in the base defense as also have to ask where's Yobouty and just shows how valuable Nate is going to be. Let's also remember about Sanders and Polamalu made their impact in their 2nd seasons not as rookies. I was at the game... Coy wire played "corner" when baltimore was in there goalline formation in non goal line situations, he is a good run support guy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stussy109 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 The plays you dont see the safteies getting credit for every game are shutting down the big pass plays. How many of those can you recall this year, almost none... Also props to Nat Clements in shutting down a nother receiver today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Hot pockets in Ailse 4. 16 starts from a rook at one of the toughest positions to break in on? I'll take it, and look for Whitner and Simpson to get even better next year. In my mind, DW was at least as good as Milloy as a rookie...his upside is very much a positive building block for the team in '07. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmyk12 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Whitner was 2nd on the team in tackles with 114 and will make every all-rookie team out there. Hardly a bust. Also, they could have taken a safety later in the draft---oh wait they did--Ko Simpson--now they are set at safety for many, many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buffalo Wing Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Couple minor comments... (1) Regarding the comments that Whitner got schooled by Antonio Gates. News flash here kids - GATES SCHOOLS MOST (IF NOT ALL) SAFETIES! (2) Regarding the comments that we should have kept Milloy. As I seem to recall, Milloy was one of the players last year that created dissention in the ranks. Him, Moulds, and Adams. That's why Marv let them all go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tomcat Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I was hoping to see some Roy Williams, Sean Taylor type of hits out of him as well this year. However looking at it, he was rookie starting next to a rookie. I think we'll see more next year from both of them. I'll give him a "B" to a "B+" and be happy for the fact he now has a full year under his belt and look for some progress next year. I don't think Milloy would have added much more then Whitner and Whitner has many more years coming. Having 114 tackles is pretty impressive in my book also. Far from a bust. Next year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lurker Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I was hoping to see some Roy Williams, Sean Taylor type of hits out of him as well this year. There's a lot more to playing SS than knockout hits. IMO, Roy Williams is terrible in coverage. I can't recall DW getting beat horribly very often this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Tomcat Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 There's a lot more to SS than knockout hits. IMO, Roy Williams is terrible in coverage. I can't recall DW getting beat deep much at all this year. Agreed....but coming in @ #8 I figured he must have been a monster. I'm still glad we got him though.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillnutinHouston Posted January 1, 2007 Author Share Posted January 1, 2007 No, I think it's because this draft was advertised as rich with great players, and turned out to be, and it appeared then AND now that the Bills got a good one instead of a great one despite a high pick. There is no question that Whitner gets overmatched by big tight ends and gets washed away at times in run defense. You would hope that a guy you take with the #8 overall is pretty special, especially when that guy is at a position that is traditionally manned by players NOT drafted that high. I agree 100%. And, asking if Whitner was an "impact" player is neither unfair nor inflammatory. I could care less if Whitner was "sold" as a non-impact player. How a GM "sells" (or markets, or spins - take your pick of words) is IRRELEVANT to how a guy is judged, particularly at the #8 draft position. Show me production and game-changing ability from #8. Whitner is solid. But not an impact player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeF Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 Whitner had a very nice hit on Heap yesterday that caused a dropped ball on sure completion--it was a smack in the back that was clean and very well timed...It was not like Ed Reed's hits on Roscoe (3 jacks) but the difference is Roscoe held on to all 3...tough little bastard. I was actually impressed with Donte yesterday. Heap had 5 for 60 but a lot of that 60 came on a couple of McNair roll outs that Donte was caught in no man's land--allowing McNair to run or staying with Heap. The longest Heap catch came on a safety blitz where McNair audibled a hot read to Heap...it was a great call... Out of the 5 catches--Donte got totally schooled on one and semischooled on another..I am okay with that against an all pro... Forgot to add that Heap was option #1 on about 4 plays in the Red Zone yesterday....did Heap have any touchdowns---hmmm let's see -- he had two thrown to's (including the wide receiver pass) and 0 touchdowns...Whitner had him one on one on 3 of the 4 plays--help from, Believe it or not, Spikes on the other... (Who by the way had a really good game yestereday).. Donte may not be all-world this year--but he accounted himself well in my eyes yesterday...most of the crucial plays happened right in front of us... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JStranger76 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I never expected big hits or great run support from a safety who is barely 5'11 and 205 lbs. He was drafted to be a versitile match up type guy for the cover 2 D we were going to run. He has been solid, but he is still kinda short to be a true match-up on TE type. I preferred Ngata, but I still like the pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 nothing like the offseason roller coaster in full swing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 He had a very good year for a rookie. Hey, there are a lot of top 10 picks that fail. He will not be one of them. You have to look at a guy that is also a good fit for the Bills. Ngata may have completely come in and stunk. And at the time Bunkley was pegged by many as as good as Ngata. Go watch all of these guys game in and game out. You will always be more critical of players on your own team. Roy Williams---gets beat constantly in Dallas. Sean Taylor--the few times I've watched the skins has gotten beat too. I think he is a good fit for the Bills and what they are trying to do right now and create a very good defense. The guy prepares well, studies hard, loves football and is great physically. A safe pick that is panning out for the Bills. You will go places if you continue to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olaf Fub Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 No, I think it's because this draft was advertised as rich with great players, and turned out to be, and it appeared then AND now that the Bills got a good one instead of a great one despite a high pick. There is no question that Whitner gets overmatched by big tight ends and gets washed away at times in run defense. You would hope that a guy you take with the #8 overall is pretty special, especially when that guy is at a position that is traditionally manned by players NOT drafted that high. As far as it being hard to judge everything he does....I disagree, he's pretty front and center. In a number of games, teams targetted him in the run game. In the San Diego game, Gates just devoured him(Fewell should have put Clements on Gates). He was mostly good though. We were 19th or 20th against the pass in 2005. This year we were 7th or 8th. The safeties were the biggest difference between the two squads. I'd say that's a significant impact. He got burned at times and at times he missed tackles. He's a rookie. He was also all over the field and in on a lot of plays. His percentage of bad plays was very low considering how much he contributed. He was the team's #2 tackler with 105. Ngata was placed into one of the best Defenses in the league. He also had a solid season for a rookie but he didn't get a sack until week 15. The Bills had one of the worst Ds in the league in 2005. Whitner improved it greatly. Did he make it a good D? No, but I doubt Bruce Smith could have done that. Comparing the the seasons of the two players, I'd still take Whitner. Looking at picks 9-32 for the last draft, I really don't see a lot of players I'd rather have than Whitner. Hali in KC stands out, but if we would have taken him at 8 people would still be saying we took him too high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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