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Buffalo Bills
FS Ko Simpson is having a good offseason and is showing no effects of the broken ankle that ended his 2007 season after one game. He is the ideal center fielder because he has good range and the ability to make plays from sideline to sideline.
I actually like Simpson twice as much as WHitner. I think he's far and away the better playmaker.
I felt that way going into last year as well before he got hurt.
Simpson is a very good player if he can stay healthy. and VERY underated.
I'm not sure where you get that. Are you basing this more on what you think of his potential or on actual game footage? If you are basing it on footage then I honestly don't see it.
I personally felt that Wilson performed better last year than Simpson did at any point in '06.
SImpson has as many INT's (2) and FF (1) in one year as Whitner does in two. And Simpson has a sack, Whitner doesn't.
I'm making two points with this..
1- Whitner is being a leader off the field. Going into year three, he REALLY needs to start being an impact player on the field and justify being the 8th overall pick..He looks like an ordinary mid-round pick to me through two years.
2- I just really like Simpson. I think he can be a poor man's Ed Reed provided he is fully healthy. He has a nose for the football, and that's instinct and can't be taught.
Good news. Ankles sometimes take a long time to heal properly.
Should have known, way back in 1960 when we drafted Richie Lucas Number 1, that this would be a long, hard ride. But who could have known it would be THIS bad?
SImpson has as many INT's (2) and FF (1) in one year as Whitner does in two. And Simpson has a sack, Whitner doesn't.
I'm making two points with this..
1- Whitner is being a leader off the field. Going into year three, he REALLY needs to start being an impact player on the field and justify being the 8th overall pick..He looks like an ordinary mid-round pick to me through two years.
2- I just really like Simpson. I think he can be a poor man's Ed Reed provided he is fully healthy. He has a nose for the football, and that's instinct and can't be taught.
Well, as you know, outside of QB and RB I could care less about statistics so I won't argue that point.
I get where you are going with Whitner, to this point he hasn't really lived up to the #8 pick but I'm starting to see in him what we need on this team. He's become the LEADER on the team and isn't afraid to tell anyone to shut up. His coverage skills were much improved last year and he finally started to make his presence felt. Every rookie gets three years in my book and Whitner has one more before I start labeling him.
I'm not sure where you get that. Are you basing this more on what you think of his potential or on actual game footage? If you are basing it on footage then I honestly don't see it.
I personally felt that Wilson performed better last year than Simpson did at any point in '06.
I'm a big Simpson fan. Big enough in fact to state on the record I think he could end up being the most underated and under the radar player on this entire team.
Everyone talks about Stroud, Mitchell, Johnson and Poz returning and that's all great.. But nobody is talking about Ko coming back, and they should.
I really liked the way the kid played as a rookie in '06 and I paid extra attention to him. It seemed that every time he made a play it was a really BIG play, which is something I haven't seen from Whitner. A few examples I can remember.
A) In the GB game late in the 4th with Farve driving, Clements tipped a pass that Simpson was right there to intercept and return 76 yards, pretty much sealing the Bills win.
B) I remember the Detroit game when he had an INT in the 4th Quarter with Detroit driving and only up by a field goal.. Of course, our offense promptly squandered the opportunity.
C) He had a fumble recovery against Houston in the 2nd quarter as they were driving to get back in the game after Losman hit evans on two BOMBS early on.
He has a lot of work to do. he needs to get better on some angles and things like that.. But overall, I love the way this kid has a nose to be around the ball. I wouldnt be surprised to see him have at least 5-6 INTS this year and a few fumble recoveries
I'm a big Simpson fan. Big enough in fact to state on the record I think he could end up being the most underated and under the radar player on this entire team.
Everyone talks about Stroud, Mitchell, Johnson and Poz returning and that's all great.. But nobody is talking about Ko coming back, and they should.
I really liked the way the kid played as a rookie in '06 and I paid extra attention to him. It seemed that every time he made a play it was a really BIG play, which is something I haven't seen from Whitner. A few examples I can remember.
A) In the GB game late in the 4th with Farve driving, Clements tipped a pass that Simpson was right there to intercept and return 76 yards, pretty much sealing the Bills win.
B) I remember the Detroit game when he had an INT in the 4th Quarter with Detroit driving and only up by a field goal.. Of course, our offense promptly squandered the opportunity.
C) He had a fumble recovery against Houston in the 2nd quarter as they were driving to get back in the game after Losman hit evans on two BOMBS early on.
He has a lot of work to do. he needs to get better on some angles and things like that.. But overall, I love the way this kid has a nose to be around the ball. I wouldnt be surprised to see him have at least 5-6 INTS this year and a few fumble recoveries
Fair enough, I'm by no means saying that I don't have faith in the guy. I'm just not quite as optimistic as you are based on what I've personally seen. It's kind of hard to compare Whitner and Simpson because of the obvious, both play very different positions; but they also both have very different styles of play.
AGreed. Whitner is more of a Laywer Milloy, up in the box and hit the guy with the ball harder kind of player. If I say that Simpson can be a poor man's Ed Reed, then I guess Whitner can be a poor man's Bob Sanders.
and I totally agree about three years for a rook before putting on any labels. Whitner has this year. But I actually think he REGRESSED last year, not improved. I cant remember specifics, but I remember him taking a couple of horrendous angles on ball carriers that led to touchdowns and/or big plays. Willis owned him on that long TD run. And I think it was Ahmad Bradshaw that abused him on another running play.
I do agree he's become a vocal leader off the field. He's a stand up guy and when the team plays like **** he's one of the very few who will face the music and answer questions (reminds me of Eric Moulds in that regard from the time I was covering them). But he has to make more of an impact this year. he's looked just like one of the 11 guys on defense til this point.
AGreed. Whitner is more of a Laywer Milloy, up in the box and hit the guy with the ball harder kind of player. If I say that Simpson can be a poor man's Ed Reed, then I guess Whitner can be a poor man's Bob Sanders. I can live with that; Whiter is more of an enforcer and Simpson is more of a ball hawk. You need that combination in the C2, a Safety that can play at the LOS is invaluable.
and I totally agree about three years for a rook before putting on any labels. Whitner has this year. But I actually think he REGRESSED last year, not improved. I cant remember specifics, but I remember him taking a couple of horrendous angles on ball carriers that led to touchdowns and/or big plays. Willis owned him on that long TD run. And I think it was Ahmad Bradshaw that abused him on another running play. Part of the reason that it's so hard to break down either player is that our pass rush is so weak that the QB has forever to find a WR. The average DB can only cover a guy for 3 seconds, if you factor in that there were plenty of plays that Whitner had to cover guys like Randy Moss you can pretty much cut that number in half to 1.5 seconds. I disagree that he regressed, but he didn't progress as much as I would have liked. Regarding your comment about Bradshaw; he's a very strong runner who I saw run through a few LB's in the regular season and the SB. Part of Whitner's problem is that he tries to go for the big hit every time instead of playing sound football and dropping his hips, wrapping up the BC, and following through.
I do agree he's become a vocal leader off the field. He's a stand up guy and when the team plays like **** he's one of the very few who will face the music and answer questions (reminds me of Eric Moulds in that regard from the time I was covering them). But he has to make more of an impact this year. he's looked just like one of the 11 guys on defense til this point. At least half of this team needs to make more of an impact this season, and one of those people is Whitner. I agree.... But I don't know if I would call him a "weakness."
Keep in mind Pat that Simpson is playing "free safety"--which means he plays back and is able to roam and react to plays. Whitner, on the other hand, is playing strong safety, which means he has had to play up in the box to support the front seven against the run and then run back to get into coverage. The strong safety has much more responsibility, particularly in supporting the run, than the free safety does and the play is not always happening in front of him as it is for the free safety.
As a result, the free safety is always going to have more opportunities to make plays on the ball than the strong safety will. And, the DC is more likely to send the free safety on a blitz than he will the strong safety. Again, giving the free safety more opportunities to create turnovers that will show up in the stat sheet.
One thing that I will say about Whitner is that he did not take good angles to the ball in run support as a rookie--there were numerous times when he didn't even whiff on a tackle because he wasn't where he was supposed to be to make the tackle in the first place. He actually did a better job of getting himself into his "fits" in the run defense last season, but still showed that he needs to improve on the angles that he takes to the ball this season.
That is something that I will be looking for this season from Whitner. The other thing that I will be looking for will be continued improvement in his drops into coverage. If the front seven stays healthy and can do a better job of stopping the run--particularly on first and second downs, but also against the draw play--Whitner should show improvements in both of those areas.
What I see Simpson needing to improve on is recognizing when he needs to turn and get back--particularly to the outside, but also on routes going up the seam--to make sure that the receiver doesn't get behind him deep. Being able to read the route and react to it is something that will come with experience, though. As long as his ankle holds up, Simpson should show improvement this season as well, particularly if the front seven can do their job better as we expect them to.
Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. And, thus it was that they surrendered their freedom; not with a bang, but without even a whimper.
I actually think that Whitner takes a lot more flack than he deserves. I believe that he has been a solid player and will continue to only get better. I'm glad he's on our team.
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