Tweet
I'm sick and tired of reading all of the articles (C.Byrne and P.Moran) and posts that have become commonplace here denigrating the performance of Donte Whitner for the Bills the last two years. To read some of the stuff that has been written, you would think that Whitner has been an absolute bust who has been mediocre at best.
I know that a lot of Bills fans were upset that the team chose to pass on Haloti Ngata, who has made the Pro Bowl (what about Broderick Bunkley--how well has he played?), to select Whitner two years ago, but the criticism that has been leveled at Whitner by those who do not believe that Whitner has developed into the "difference-maker" that they believe that Ngata would have been for the Bills has, quite frankly, been unfair and unwarranted.
Whitner's critic love to point to the fact that Whitner has not put up the kind of statistics or generated the kind of turnovers that perennial All-Pro safety Ed Reed or NFL Defensive MVP Bob Sanders have. However, this ignores the fact that Whitner has played in a totally different defensive system and behind a grossly less talented front seven than Reed and that Whitner's numbers have been at least comparable to those of Sanders during the Indianapolis strong safety's first three years in the NFL.
Comparing Whitner's stats to those of Reed would be akin to comparing apples to oranges. While one can argue that Sanders, who replaced Mike Doss in the starting lineup, joined a Colts defense that was already better and more talented than the Bills defense was when Whitner first stepped on the field for the Bills, Whitner was drafted by the Bills to play the same position in a similar defensive system--to be the Bills' "Bob Sanders"--making a comparison of Whitner's performance for the Bills during his first two seasons comparable to Sanders' performance for the Colts during his first three seasons.
Bob Sanders: First Three Regular Seasons
6 4 34 29 5 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 2
14 14 91 71 20 0.0 0.0 2 1 0 0.0 0.0 0 1 1
4 4 27 19 8 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 1 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 18 152 119 34 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 9 2 3
Donte Whiter: First Two Regular Seasons
15 14 104 67 37 0.0 0.0 4 1 10 10.0 10 0 0 0
15 15 89 68 21 0.0 0.0 1 1 29 29.0 29 0 0 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 29 193 135 58 0 0 5 2 39 19.5 29 0 0 0
As one can see, Whitner's stats are at least comparable, if not, in some areas, better than Sanders' stats, particularly considering that some of Sanders' tackles his first two seasons were made on special teams.
Whitner's critics often point to the fact that he has not had a lot of passes defensed or created many turnovers during his first two seasons with the Bills as evidence of the fact that he has not shown the ability to be the kind of play-maker that Sanders has become. Yet, comparing Whitner's first two seasons to Sanders' first three seasons, Whitner has one more pass defensed and just one fewer total turnovers generated (one more interception and two fewer forced fumbles).
These statistics do not take into account the fact that during his first two seasons with the Bills Whitner has not really been in a position to concentrate on "being a play-maker" on defense the way that Sanders and Reed have on the defenses that they have played on.
Because of the weakness of the Bills' run defense, Whitner has had to concentrate a great deal on playing in run support during his first two seasons with the Bills. The Bills' run defense has been so bad that, at times, Whitner has virtually had to be a fourth linebacker, which certainly has had a negative impact on his ability to be effective in pass coverage and make plays against the opposition's passing game.
As if that were not bad enough, much of the brunt of dealing with all of the injuries that the Bills suffered on defense, particularly to their back seven, fell on Whitner's shoulders. With injuries causing almost weekly turnovers in personnel, Whitner was forced to play at least some of the game out of position for much of the season. In addition to helping in run support, there were times when he had to shade his coverage to help the linebackers in coverage. At other times, due to injuries to the Bills cornerbacks and safeties, he was forced to play cornerback or cover wide receivers in the slot. As just a second year player, Whitner was called upon to be the stabilizing force in the middle of the Bills back seven on defense and, as such, spent more time serving as a "band-aid" to cover for his teammates than he was able to spend trying to be a disruptive "play-maker".
Additionally, what the stats do not show is the leadership that Whitner provided to the Bills off-the-field--something that the Bills stated was a critical factor in their decision to select Whitner when they drafted him. While many fans, particularly those obsessed by statistics, do not care about, let alone appreciate, leadership in the lockerroom or anything that happens off-the-field, leadership is what makes the difference between the more experienced, veteran-laden Bills team collapsed in 2005 and the way that the young Bills squad of 2007 responded to the adversity that they faced.
With the crushing early season defeats and injuries that they suffered, including the near-fatal injury to Kevin Everett, the 2007 Bills could very easily have collapsed as a team. However, as has been widely reported, in response to all of the injuries that the team had sustained on defense, Donte Whitner decided to invite his defensive mates to come over to his house on their off-day for "get-togethers" that were designed to be a combination study session and "bonding". These "get-togethers" became a regular, weekly occurence that more than one of Whitner's teammates later credited with helping the team to face and rebound from the injuries and adversity that plagued the team during the season.
That kind of leadership doesn't show up in any stat columns, but is essential to the building of a winning team in any sport, but especially football. And, it should be taken into consideration in assessing Donte Whitner's performance and contribution to the Bills during his first two seasons with the team.
Considering how close Whitner's stats during his first two seasons have been to Bob Sanders' stats during his first three seasons, even if you don't take into consideration Whitner's leadership or the injuries and other circumstances that have impacted Whitner's play since joining the Bills, it is hard to comprehend how anyone willing to make a fair assessment can conclude that Whitner has been anything less than precisely the kind of player expected him to be when they decided to use the eighth pick in the draft to select him two years ago.
So say that Whitner has been mediocre or that he will never become the kind of player that Bob Sanders has been simply ignores the evidence: in his two seasons, Whitner has given the Bills more and been every bit the player that Sanders was for Indianapolis during his first three seasons. And, hopefully, Whitner will continue to match--and perhaps even exceed--Sanders' play as his career moves forward.
I know that a lot of Bills fans were upset that the team chose to pass on Haloti Ngata, who has made the Pro Bowl (what about Broderick Bunkley--how well has he played?), to select Whitner two years ago, but the criticism that has been leveled at Whitner by those who do not believe that Whitner has developed into the "difference-maker" that they believe that Ngata would have been for the Bills has, quite frankly, been unfair and unwarranted.
Whitner's critic love to point to the fact that Whitner has not put up the kind of statistics or generated the kind of turnovers that perennial All-Pro safety Ed Reed or NFL Defensive MVP Bob Sanders have. However, this ignores the fact that Whitner has played in a totally different defensive system and behind a grossly less talented front seven than Reed and that Whitner's numbers have been at least comparable to those of Sanders during the Indianapolis strong safety's first three years in the NFL.
Comparing Whitner's stats to those of Reed would be akin to comparing apples to oranges. While one can argue that Sanders, who replaced Mike Doss in the starting lineup, joined a Colts defense that was already better and more talented than the Bills defense was when Whitner first stepped on the field for the Bills, Whitner was drafted by the Bills to play the same position in a similar defensive system--to be the Bills' "Bob Sanders"--making a comparison of Whitner's performance for the Bills during his first two seasons comparable to Sanders' performance for the Colts during his first three seasons.
Bob Sanders: First Three Regular Seasons
| G | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sck | SFTY | PDef | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TDs | FF | FR |
6 4 34 29 5 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 0 2
14 14 91 71 20 0.0 0.0 2 1 0 0.0 0.0 0 1 1
4 4 27 19 8 0.0 0.0 1 0 0 0.0 0.0 0 1 0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
20 18 152 119 34 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 9 2 3
Donte Whiter: First Two Regular Seasons
| G | GS | Total | Solo | Ast | Sck | SFTY | PDef | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TDs | FF | FR |
15 14 104 67 37 0.0 0.0 4 1 10 10.0 10 0 0 0
15 15 89 68 21 0.0 0.0 1 1 29 29.0 29 0 0 0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
30 29 193 135 58 0 0 5 2 39 19.5 29 0 0 0
As one can see, Whitner's stats are at least comparable, if not, in some areas, better than Sanders' stats, particularly considering that some of Sanders' tackles his first two seasons were made on special teams.
Whitner's critics often point to the fact that he has not had a lot of passes defensed or created many turnovers during his first two seasons with the Bills as evidence of the fact that he has not shown the ability to be the kind of play-maker that Sanders has become. Yet, comparing Whitner's first two seasons to Sanders' first three seasons, Whitner has one more pass defensed and just one fewer total turnovers generated (one more interception and two fewer forced fumbles).
These statistics do not take into account the fact that during his first two seasons with the Bills Whitner has not really been in a position to concentrate on "being a play-maker" on defense the way that Sanders and Reed have on the defenses that they have played on.
Because of the weakness of the Bills' run defense, Whitner has had to concentrate a great deal on playing in run support during his first two seasons with the Bills. The Bills' run defense has been so bad that, at times, Whitner has virtually had to be a fourth linebacker, which certainly has had a negative impact on his ability to be effective in pass coverage and make plays against the opposition's passing game.
As if that were not bad enough, much of the brunt of dealing with all of the injuries that the Bills suffered on defense, particularly to their back seven, fell on Whitner's shoulders. With injuries causing almost weekly turnovers in personnel, Whitner was forced to play at least some of the game out of position for much of the season. In addition to helping in run support, there were times when he had to shade his coverage to help the linebackers in coverage. At other times, due to injuries to the Bills cornerbacks and safeties, he was forced to play cornerback or cover wide receivers in the slot. As just a second year player, Whitner was called upon to be the stabilizing force in the middle of the Bills back seven on defense and, as such, spent more time serving as a "band-aid" to cover for his teammates than he was able to spend trying to be a disruptive "play-maker".
Additionally, what the stats do not show is the leadership that Whitner provided to the Bills off-the-field--something that the Bills stated was a critical factor in their decision to select Whitner when they drafted him. While many fans, particularly those obsessed by statistics, do not care about, let alone appreciate, leadership in the lockerroom or anything that happens off-the-field, leadership is what makes the difference between the more experienced, veteran-laden Bills team collapsed in 2005 and the way that the young Bills squad of 2007 responded to the adversity that they faced.
With the crushing early season defeats and injuries that they suffered, including the near-fatal injury to Kevin Everett, the 2007 Bills could very easily have collapsed as a team. However, as has been widely reported, in response to all of the injuries that the team had sustained on defense, Donte Whitner decided to invite his defensive mates to come over to his house on their off-day for "get-togethers" that were designed to be a combination study session and "bonding". These "get-togethers" became a regular, weekly occurence that more than one of Whitner's teammates later credited with helping the team to face and rebound from the injuries and adversity that plagued the team during the season.
That kind of leadership doesn't show up in any stat columns, but is essential to the building of a winning team in any sport, but especially football. And, it should be taken into consideration in assessing Donte Whitner's performance and contribution to the Bills during his first two seasons with the team.
Considering how close Whitner's stats during his first two seasons have been to Bob Sanders' stats during his first three seasons, even if you don't take into consideration Whitner's leadership or the injuries and other circumstances that have impacted Whitner's play since joining the Bills, it is hard to comprehend how anyone willing to make a fair assessment can conclude that Whitner has been anything less than precisely the kind of player expected him to be when they decided to use the eighth pick in the draft to select him two years ago.
So say that Whitner has been mediocre or that he will never become the kind of player that Bob Sanders has been simply ignores the evidence: in his two seasons, Whitner has given the Bills more and been every bit the player that Sanders was for Indianapolis during his first three seasons. And, hopefully, Whitner will continue to match--and perhaps even exceed--Sanders' play as his career moves forward.
Comment