Donte Whitner the mentor

[The Spaz]

Donte Whitner was just on 97 rock and on Draft day he called both James Hardy and Leodis McKelvin told them he is there for them and will be watching out for them. He said it was his choice and that he can relate to a lot of things both McKelvin and especially James Hardy has went through in not having a father. Also he says his house is the place to be to hangout watch game film and just relax and encourages teammates to come there. Just thought I would share.

[Tatonka]

that is pretty cool. i hope with the additions to the defense that he can turn the corner and become an elite saftey, now that we have some talent around him.

[M]

:bf1: Way to step up Donte. And it will give Hardy a reason not to go back to Indiana. He needs more people like this in his life.

[justasportsfan]

that is pretty cool. i hope with the additions to the defense that he can turn the corner and become an elite saftey, now that we have some talent around him.They didn't call him a young Fletch for nothing :up:

If the DL lives up to their potential, I think he can become a probowler as long as the coaches know what the hell they're doing.

[Romes]

I hope Hardy takes him up on his offer.

[TigerJ]

Good! Every team needs leadership like that.

[The Spaz]

Whitner also had the following to say:

1. Thinks the additions of Stroud, Mitchell, McKelvin are huge.

2. Believes James Hardy has a lot of talent based on a few great plays he displayed on the first day of OTA's.

3. Says he has a great feeling about this team. Says he can just sense it. The team has a different attitude about it. Also like the fact of the great attendance at OTA's and that they are practicing at the intensity of training camp already. (within the rules I am sure)

4. The safety positions on this defense are interchangeable. Says he has been talked to about lining up in the fee safety spot at times and is preparing for that.

Will try to think of anything else but this is the gist of it. :up::beers:

[madness]

That's not good enough for a 1st rounder!! :mad:

[madness]

:snicker:

[Romes]

speaking of reach...its a good thing whitner is reaching out to the youngsters...

[madness]

speaking of reach...its a good thing whitner is reaching out to the youngsters...

:spit:

[jamze132]

Whether or not he plays like the 8th pick in the draft, he brings enough to the team to justify his draft position.

[dasaybz]

Whitner needs to make some game changing plays this year. A few interceptions and a couple of forced fumbles would be nice.

[DMBcrew36]

Ha hangout at Whitners, sip gin&juice and smoke blunts.

[Dujek]

Good leadership off the field, if he can show the same on the field this year he'll have a very good year indeed.

[raphael120]

Well for a young team, its nice to see some of original "Marv" players are stepping up to the plate and being a good influence. Now if he can lead with his words AND his play...that'll be great. I think this is a perfect scenario for Whitner to have a breakout season. We've got all the new beef up front, our LB corps is supposidly improved..

Hard not to be excited about this upcoming season and it's even more exciting to see how the players all showed up for voluntary OTAs...that says something...I remember in years past Chris Brown mentioned a lot of people who didnt show up...remember the days of McGahee and his Miami people hangin out in Miami the whole offseason...nice to see everyone is on the same page and really feeling like the fanbase feels...they can feel something up ahead. And it might be big. Might not...but the excitement is there, the attitude is there. And it hasn't been there for a long time...not since Donadope and all the big name players.

[patmoran2006]

That's fantastic..
You know what else would be fantastic? If he improves on the 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 6 passes defended and 0 sacks he's had in his first 30 career NFL games.

I know, I know.. god forbid a former first rounder not Losman got criticized at all on here.

WHitner is obviously a strong leader off the field. Now i'd like to see him become on ONE the field. He's looked like just one of the guys through 2 seasons thus far. maybe some better talent will help him break out into the kind of player you'd expect when you go 8th overall.

[Captain gameboy]

That's fantastic..
You know what else would be fantastic? If he improves on the 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 6 passes defended and 0 sacks he's had in his first 30 career NFL games.

I know, I know.. god forbid a former first rounder not Losman got criticized at all on here.

WHitner is obviously a strong leader off the field. Now i'd like to see him become on ONE the field. He's looked like just one of the guys through 2 seasons thus far. maybe some better talent will help him break out into the kind of player you'd expect when you go 8th overall.

With all due respect Pat, and I do like you're participation, I don't think anyone in any press box or message board can accurately judge what Whitner was probably called on to do last year, re the injuries.

One week you are a first round draft choice with no credible pass rush from your D'line.
A few weeks later you have the same D'line and you are lining up next to a practice squad receiver who is playing safety.

Here you go Donte-make it happen.

Sheesh---give the guy the benefit of the doubt.

[justasportsfan]

Sheesh---give the guy the benefit of the doubt.
He does give every player the benefit of a doubt. He will flipflopp on a player defending on the results. Love you now, hate you later , love you again,etc,etc.

[The Spaz]

Here is a podcast link: http://podcasting.fia.net/6707/2680510.mp3

[LifetimeBillsFan]

That's fantastic..
You know what else would be fantastic? If he improves on the 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, 6 passes defended and 0 sacks he's had in his first 30 career NFL games.

I know, I know.. god forbid a former first rounder not Losman got criticized at all on here.

WHitner is obviously a strong leader off the field. Now i'd like to see him become on ONE the field. He's looked like just one of the guys through 2 seasons thus far. maybe some better talent will help him break out into the kind of player you'd expect when you go 8th overall.

You know, Pat, you're right: it would be nice if Whitner improves on those stats. If the players around him stay reasonably healthy, it is quite reasonable to expect Whitner, entering his third season in the league, to step up and be more productive than he was last season.

But, it would also be nice if you checked out the stats of Bob Sanders--the player that Whitner was drafted to be for the Bills' Tampa 2 defense--over his first couple of seasons on NFL.com. Or, at least, had read the information that I posted comparing Whitner's first two seasons with the Bills to Sanders' first three seasons with the Colts before you criticize Whitner's stats.

The numbers are eerily similar: in 24 games (22 starts), Sanders had 119 solo tackles, 33 assists, 4 passes defensed, two interceptions, no forced or recovered fumbles--Sanders, who got some of his tackles on STs, also missed 22 games over those three years with injuries.

While Sanders had a good sophomore season, comparable in numbers to Whitner's rookie campaign, he was not yet the force that made him the NFL Defensive MVP until he returned from the injury that caused him to miss 12 games during his third season and played a major role in the playoffs in 2006.

If you read the comments that were made about him after he was drafted by the team, the Bills drafted Whitner not only to be their Bob Sanders on the field, but to be a team leader. And, this is just more evidence of the fact that he has stepped to become the leader that they drafted and expected him to be.

Now, with cast of players around him, if his teammates can stay reasonably healthy, perhaps Whitner will be able to concentrate on becoming more of a play-maker and difference-maker for them on defense this coming season. Hopefully, he will be able to step up and fill that role on the field.

[madness]

:goodpost: