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Whitner Outlines Bills' Struggles with TE's
Joe Buscaglia Reporting
JoeB@wgr550.com
Orchard Park, NY (WGR 550) -- Buffalo Bills safety Donte Whitner has been scrutinized more than any other season he's experienced so far.
The former 2006 first round pick has been noticed by the fan base for being out of position and not following through on his assignment when he's covering a tight end down the field.
Whitner had a chance to address some of those concerns with the media.
"It's different coverages that we're using," said the Bills safety. "It's not really one guy on a tight end, you don't want to show your hand like that. We've played some really good tight ends. They've scored some touchdowns and we have to do better against them. But we're not doing that right now. We have to be better against the tight ends that we face. "
Head coach Chan Gailey mentioned yesterday that Whitner does so much for the team on the field that sometimes he gets lost on a play.
"I make all the calls out there," remarked Whitner. "[I] set the defensive secondary where guys should go and where they shouldn't go and where the blitz should come from."
Whitner was asked point blank if he was struggling in general with the Bills' adaptation to the 3-4 defensive scheme.
"I don't feel like that's the case. My coaching staff doesn't feel like that's the case," stated Whitner. "Sometimes some of those plays out there if you sit down and watch them, you'd know the insight of the coverage and where guys are supposed to be."
Buffalo got back to practice on Thursday without only one player on the practice field.
Both Jairus Byrd and Demetrius Bell returned to practice after missing on Wednesday. The lone player absent was offensive tackle Cornell Green, who's still dealing with a knee injury.
Gailey said Bell just needed a rest day after playing through a lot of the game on Sunday. Byrd, Terrence McGee and Keith Ellison were all limited at practice on Thursday.
Twitter: @JoeB_WGR
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