Donte Whitner going back to OH-IO as honorary captain.

[Block "O"]

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/article-1/whitner-returning-to-ohio-state/f6f15fe8-f428-4943-8d60-face0fb0b946

A lot of Bills players have plans for their bye weekend. Some are returning to their hometowns to reunite with family. Others are taking a weekend vacation. Bills safety <nobr>Donte Whitnerhttp://www.buffalobills.com/assets/img/icon-article-link.gif (http://www.buffalobills.com/team/roster/donte-whitner/e9a05bf2-0ea7-4ef4-9882-e6e7730540b3/)</nobr> is going back to school.
Buffalo’s defensive co-captain will be serving his alma mater as an honorary captain for the Ohio State-Purdue game at Ohio Stadium (the Horseshoe) in Columbus on Saturday.
“Coach Tressel asked me if I would like to be an honorary captain and I said, ‘Yes,’” said Whitner. “So I’m going to be there to toss the coin and watch the game.”
Whitner has always been big on college pride, but credits Buckeyes head coach Jim Tressel with keeping the tradition alive at Ohio State.
“At some schools you go to they don’t pay much attention to tradition, but he keeps all the tradition going,” Whitner said. “They still sing the alma mater to the marching band after every win. That’s why guys love to come back.”
Tressel also has a former player serve as honorary captain each week. In addition to making the coin flip on game day at midfield, Whitner will have to address the team Saturday morning.
“The day before the home games we stay in the hotel and he’ll have one of the previous all-Americans from the 50’s or 60’s all the way up to his former players come to captain the breakfast and speak to the team after pre-game meal. Coach then gives him a coin with his face on it that he will flip for the game.”
Whitner will also get an opportunity to spend time with his younger brother Dawawn Whitner a 6’5” defensive tackle that is currently a grey shirt for the Buckeyes. Basically he’s a practice player enrolled at Ohio State, and then next year will be part of the 2009 recruiting class, at which point he can be redshirted or play his freshman season.
“I’ll be able to hang with my brother,” said Whitner. “He has an apartment down there now and he’s only 18 so I’m going to check it out and see how he’s living over there.”
Whitner, who was an All-American in 2005 as a junior, also has a tree planted for him in Buckeye Grove near the southwest corner of the stadium and plans to see how much it has grown.
“If you’re an all-American they’ll plant a tree with a plaque with your name in front of it kind of like the Hollywood walk of stars,” said Whitner. “And the tree grows outside of the stadium forever, so if you want to take your kids there 20 years from now and show them that you were an all-American there and tell them, ‘This is my tree.’”
Whitner said his tree is not as big as some of the others.
“You have guys like Orlando Pace who have been in the league for 10 years now and their trees are huge now,” said Whitner. “But you look at a tree like mine or A.J. Hawk’s and they’re not big at all. But every year you come back and see how much your tree has grown. It’s nice.”
What will be really nice is seeing his younger brother and his likeness on the head of a coin.
“They print it on there your picture when you were at Ohio State and after the coin flip they allow you to keep the coin. So I’m keeping it,” said Whitner. “It’ll be cool.”



Let me know if you see me on FGs or extra points, I'll be in Block "O" rocking my Bills Donte jersey about 8 rows up!!!!

http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u188/osucollegebuckeye/whitner-1.jpg
http://i168.photobucket.com/albums/u188/osucollegebuckeye/donteyouboty.jpg

Go Bills!!! Go Bucks!!!

[Night Train]

That would be cool if they let him dot the "I" in Script Ohio.

[LtFinFan66]

Yeah but you REALLY have to be someone for that honor

[mayotm]

What do you mean he's going back to Ohio State during the bye? He should be practicing the entire time because he sucks. He hasn't earned a break.

Signed,

OP

[Night Train]

Yeah but you REALLY have to be someone for that honor

Indeed

[OpIv37]

What do you mean he's going back to Ohio State during the bye? He should be practicing the entire time because he sucks. He hasn't earned a break.

Signed,

OP

This is the only break they get for the entire 17 week season so they should have a few days off.

I am pissed that Jauron gave them the extra day off though. Clearly they need the practice. When Jauron canceled the last day of mini-camp, everyone said it was "positive reinforcement" for what the team accomplished. Well, what's the excuse now? There certainly wasn't any positive to reinforce this week.

Seriously, over the first 4 games, this coaching staff had me somewhat encouraged and I was starting to think that I had been too harsh on them. But this past week, they've reverted to all the aspects that pissed me off and allowed us to lose in the past.

[mayotm]

This is the only break they get for the entire 17 week season so they should have a few days off.

I am pissed that Jauron gave them the extra day off though. Clearly they need the practice. When Jauron canceled the last day of mini-camp, everyone said it was "positive reinforcement" for what the team accomplished. Well, what's the excuse now? There certainly wasn't any positive to reinforce this week.

Seriously, over the first 4 games, this coaching staff had me somewhat encouraged and I was starting to think that I had been too harsh on them. But this past week, they've reverted to all the aspects that pissed me off and allowed us to lose in the past.OP, half the team was sitting out of practice due to minor injuries anyway. In the realm of a 17 game season, I really don't think an extra 2 hours of practice during the bye week makes much of a difference. But you are certainly entitled to your opinion.

[Dr. Lecter]

They were given the day off because it was flu shot day.

And that day off in mini-camp certainly made them unprepared for the opener, eh?

[OpIv37]

OP, half the team was sitting out of practice due to minor injuries anyway. In the realm of a 17 game season, I really don't think an extra 2 hours of practice during the bye week makes much of a difference. But you are certainly entitled to your opinion.

A day here, 2 hours there, easy training camp..... there are only so many opportunities to practice. It all adds up after a while.

[OpIv37]

They were given the day off because it was flu shot day.

And that day off in mini-camp certainly made them unprepared for the opener, eh?

they need an entire day to get flu shots? WTF?

[mayotm]

A day here, 2 hours there, easy training camp..... there are only so many opportunities to practice. It all adds up after a while.Again, your opinion. The fact is that the Bills are 4 -1. You can gripe about their easy schedule, that they haven't played well in all the wins, etc. But the bottom line is that they are 4 -1. "You are what your record says you are."

[OpIv37]

Again, your opinion. The fact is that the Bills are 4 -1. You can gripe about their easy schedule, that they haven't played well in all the wins, etc. But the bottom line is that they are 4 -1. "You are what your record says you are."

give it time. If they don't practice and fix some of these problems, that record is going to be saying something much different in a month.

[mayotm]

give it time. If they don't practice and fix some of these problems, that record is going to be saying something much different in a month.You seem to be a bright enough guy, so I assume you know the difference between an opinion and a fact. You tend to throw around your opinions like they are facts. Or that your opinions are more informed than those who oppose them. The fact is, you don't know what the Bills records is going to be over the next month any more than I do. I certainly have my concerns about the team, but have also seen a lot that I like. They are young and I expect (hope) that they will continue getting better. You focus mostly on the negative and ignore the positive. The Bills are 4 - 1 and I'm enjoying it.

[OpIv37]

You seem to be a bright enough guy, so I assume you know the difference between an opinion and a fact. You tend to throw around your opinions like they are facts. Or that your opinions are more informed than those who oppose them. The fact is, you don't know what the Bills records is going to be over the next month any more than I do. I certainly have my concerns about the team, but have also seen a lot that I like. They are young and I expect (hope) that they will continue getting better. You focus mostly on the negative and ignore the positive. The Bills are 4 - 1 and I'm enjoying it.

Because over the last 3 games, the negative has outweighed the positive. We can beat Oakland and St. Louis playing like we've been playing, but you saw what happened against Arizona, and the next 4 teams on our schedule are playing at or above Arizona's level.

You are correct- neither of us know what's going to happen. But it's pretty clear that this team has to play better to win the upcoming games, and it's hard to figure out how they're supposed to do that by taking days off from practice.

[mayotm]

Because over the last 3 games, the negative has outweighed the positive. We can beat Oakland and St. Louis playing like we've been playing, but you saw what happened against Arizona, and the next 4 teams on our schedule are playing at or above Arizona's level.

You are correct- neither of us know what's going to happen. But it's pretty clear that this team has to play better to win the upcoming games, and it's hard to figure out how they're supposed to do that by taking days off from practice.I agree that they need to play better. Especially now that the competition is going to pick up. The difference is that I think that they can and will play better. You on the other hand, don't think it's possible. 2 -2 over the next four games would set things up nicely for them. I don't think 2 - 2 is a stretch at all.

[OpIv37]

I agree that they need to play better. Especially now that the competition is going to pick up. The difference is that I think that they can and will play better. You on the other hand, don't think it's possible. 2 -2 over the next four games would set things up nicely for them. I don't think 2 - 2 is a stretch at all.

I don't think they can play better because they haven't shown the ability to play better. This team put together a solid effort for the entire game against Seattle. They didn't look particularly good against Jacksonville, but I'll throw that out because a) they won, b) Jacksonville has a good D and c) it was on the road in brutal heat. So far this season, we've had 1 good game, three bad games and 1 neutral game. You could argue that the St. Louis game wasn't a bad game, but the reality is that if we put together a first half like that against NE or SD, we'd be down 24-6 at the half instead of 14-13.

The two things that really scare me:
1. The center of the OL. They're just brutal.
2. Defending the quick slant. Arizona showed we can't defend it and now every team will be running it against us. Obviously some teams are better at it than others, but the Bills better figure out how to defend it by next Sunday or else we're done.

[madness]

This is the only break they get for the entire 17 week season so they should have a few days off.

I am pissed that Jauron gave them the extra day off though. Clearly they need the practice. When Jauron canceled the last day of mini-camp, everyone said it was "positive reinforcement" for what the team accomplished. Well, what's the excuse now? There certainly wasn't any positive to reinforce this week.

Seriously, over the first 4 games, this coaching staff had me somewhat encouraged and I was starting to think that I had been too harsh on them. But this past week, they've reverted to all the aspects that pissed me off and allowed us to lose in the past.

You're pissed that he gave them the day off to get flu shots?

[OpIv37]

You're pissed that he gave them the day off to get flu shots?

I'm pissed that it takes a whole day to get flu shots. How long are most practices? 2-3 hours? Why not have the practice in the morning then they can have the rest of the day to get flu shots? It's not something that takes all day.

[Dr. Lecter]

The deal was is everybody gets a shot they get the day off.

So everybody came in, got shots and were allowewd to leave. Since there is little game preparation that would have occurred it is no big deal.

[Block "O"]

What do you mean he's going back to Ohio State during the bye? He should be practicing the entire time because he sucks. He hasn't earned a break.

Signed,

OP

somewhere there is a village missing an idiot and a tool box missing a tool.

[Dr. Lecter]

'k let's not turn this into a Op bashing thread.

[OpIv37]

The deal was is everybody gets a shot they get the day off.

So everybody came in, got shots and were allowewd to leave. Since there is little game preparation that would have occurred it is no big deal.

How about practicing all the basics like tackling and blocking and protecting the ball because they did it so poorly last week?

[Block "O"]

A day here, 2 hours there, easy training camp..... there are only so many opportunities to practice. It all adds up after a while.
I agree it does add up. Its adds up to being first place in the AFC east. Arm chair coaches make me LMAO. But thanks for hijacking my Whitner/Ohio State thread.

[OpIv37]

I agree it does add up. Its adds up to being first place in the AFC east. Arm chair coaches make me LMAO. But thanks for hijacking my Whitner/Ohio State thread.

sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread.

Btw, we're all arm chair coaches on here- if we weren't there would be nothing to discuss.

[mayotm]

sorry, didn't mean to hijack your thread.

Btw, we're all arm chair coaches on here- if we weren't there would be nothing to discuss.Can't let you take all the blame for hijacking the thread. I'm equally to blame.

[Dr. Lecter]

It is Whitner's fault the thread go hijacked!!!!!! He can't do anything right!!!

Getting a thread hijacked is a right of passage kinda like your first beer, first kiss or first lay.

[Dr. Lecter]

Back on subject - it is clear that Whitner is a leader type and was in college to get to do this.

[DrGraves]

WOW WTF. after that defensive showing last sunday the whole defensive should be busting their ass getting ready for the chargers.

[Block "O"]

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How's that taste Buckeye haters!!! LMAO