S Donte Whitner (Official Thread)

[Buckskin86]

Know Your Bills: Safety Donte Whitner
by Buffalobills.com
Last Updated: 4/25/2007 4:49 PM ET


It's been a busy few months for Bills safety Donte Whitner. Watching his newborn son (Donte Jr.) grow, getting some new tattoos and taking care of his cancer-stricken grandmother had him traveling back and forth a lot between Buffalo and Cleveland. Back at One Bills Drive now Whitner spent a few minutes with Buffalobills.com to catch everyone up on his first NFL offseason.

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=4722

 

[mooktarr]

good article . good luck this year Donte.

 

[NFBuck]

From the article...

Buffalobills.com: You've got some new tattoos on both of your forearms, care to share the meaning behind them?
DW: I wanted to get some new ink. I have the number eight pick here on the inside of my right wrist and on the other side I have some words. One says, 'It was all a dream.' This one says, 'My life, my way.' And closer to the elbow here it reads, 'Thank God for coach Ginn.' And I've also got the Glenville (high school) symbol here. On my left arm I've got some of the things I could have been doing if I took the wrong path. I have here on the inside 'Lost Time' because my father spent a lot of time in prison. I've got my mother's eyes crying over all of this stuff. I've kind of got the good arm and the bad arm.

That's really cool...

 

[mdtrackman]

Wow normally I don't like tatoos a whole lot, but that's really cool... the good arm bad arm thing..

 

[MaxBuck]

So many young men praising the influence Coach Ginn has had on their lives. Thank God for Ted Ginn Sr. What a man!

 

[Buckskin86]

Bills should expect plenty from Whitner in Year 2
By Connor Byrne on June 12, 2007 12:44 AM


The Buffalo Bills were met with incredible amounts of criticism from fans and media alike when they used the eighth overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft on Donte Whitner, who had previously starred as a safety for the Ohio State Buckeyes. Those against the Bills' selection believed he was taken too high -- saying they could have traded down to grab Whitner -- and that safety was hardly the team's biggest need.

Over a year later, though, the addition of Whitner has proven to be a safe one for Buffalo. He did manage to earn All-Rookie honors in his first season, becoming the Bills' starting strong safety last summer and never relinquishing the job from there. Now, after a successful debut season that included an eyebrow-raising 104 tackles, it appears the 5-foot-11, 205-pounder is set to become a fixture in Buffalo for at least the next few years.

The question is, How much better will Whitner be in his sophomore pro season?

Buffalo Bills "Should expect plenty from Donte Whitner in Year 2" - Realfootball365.com

 

[Best Buckeye]

Buffalo Bills "Should expect plenty from Donte Whitner in Year 2" - Realfootball365.com

I look forward to Donte having a very great year and hope to see him play many times. He is just an enjoyable person to watch play the game of football. Even in his freshman year I thought he would be a good one. And he has been.

 

[Buckskin86]

Whitner turnover motivated
Today Posted By: Chris Brown | Time: 8:20 AM

WHITNER TURNOVER MOTIVATED: When I spoke to Donte about this upcoming season and talked to him about how he was criticized by some national media outfits for managing just one interception last season, he gave me a look. One of those looks that gave you the feeling he was saying, 'I'll show them.' After a long pause Whitner looked me dead in the eye and said.

"We'll see, we'll definitely see."

Inside the Bills Homepage - Buffalo Bills

 

[Buckskin86]

Donte with added responbility playing the slot receiver (video- including highlights and interview with Donte)

Multimedia - Buffalo Bills

 

[Oneshot]

Playing receiver, eh? That would be awesome.

 

[Buckskin86]

my bad...i meant covering the slot receiver :tongue2:


Here is a good breakdown on his role this year

Whitner's Role
It appears that instead of cramming Whitner in the box solely to help out in the run game this season, the Bills are actually going to expand his in-the-box role by sending him on blitzes and covering slot receivers. From the sounds of it, Whitner is looking forward to this opportunity:

"That option is there and it does excite me. That's what I made a living on in college, playing the slot receivers, playing in nickel, blitzing, jumping on bubble screens and things like that so I'm really excited about the opportunity."
Whitner may turn into this team's "jack-of-all-trades" defensive back, playing multiple positions and carrying several responsibilities; there's a reason for this - the team needs him to make plays. By giving him short zone coverage responsibilities and sending him after the quarterback on occasion, it's pretty apparent that the coaches are looking for a way to get more impact plays out of their second-year defensive cornerstone. If Whitner can get comfortable in this role, he could be very good.

Multiple Nickel Packages?
With Whitner getting more time in coverage on slot receivers, it's very likely that the team will have two nickel packages that they use - one for the pass, one for the run. This makes sense in a lot of ways - having Whitner as the nickel man gives the team a little more beef in the box on run fronts, and having Kiwaukee Thomas there with Whitner deep (instead of Jim Leonhard, who replaces Whitner when he moves up) gives them better pass coverage. Thomas had this to say on the subject:

"Sometimes offensive schemes just come at the nickel... all a receiver has to do is shield you off and they're going to run at the nickel a lot... One week it might be him in there, one week it might be me in there based on the game plan."
That's all but a confirmation to me. Having the two nickel packages provides better matchup possibilities for the defensive backs and takes a little pressure off of the young guys to "do it all", so to speak.

Buffalo Rumblings :: Bills Mixing and Matching their Defensive Backs

 

[Buckskin86]

Bills' defense holding a couple of aces
Whitner, Simpson are a safety net of strength

Leo Roth
staff writer

For Whitner, it's no longer about proving that the Bills were smart for using the eighth overall pick on him. Though it's just his second year, the Ohio State product has graduated to a leadership role now that the page has turned on Takeo Spikes, London Fletcher-Baker and Clements.

And if you want his eyes to shoot daggers through your chest, bring up the idea of a "sophomore jinx."

"You're the first person to say something about sophomore jinx," he said. "I don't believe in those things. I'm going to go out, play hard. The things I did well last year, I'll do well this year. We just want to take this defensive unit to a new level, put pressure on people, force them to beat us and win more games. We're not backing down."

Democrat & Chronicle: Bills

 

[Buckskin86]

Bills S Whitner questionable for exhibition
Print this | E-mail this | Comments on this article: 0
Posted: August 9, 2007

PITTSFORD, N.Y. (AP) -- Bills safety Donte Whitner returned to practice Wednesday night, but could miss Buffalo's preseason opener at New Orleans Friday because of a strained hip.

Whitner, who was hurt Monday, was held out of most team drills as a precaution.

"It's a little sore, so we'll just wait on that and see how that goes," coach Dick Jauron said.

SportingNews.com - NFL - Bills S Whitner questionable for exhibition

 

[Buckskin86]

Whitner Wearing Life Under His Sleeves
by Chris Ostrander, Contributing Correspondent Last Updated: 8/15/2007 8:35 AM ET

There is a story behind every tattoo. But, there are few tattoos that tell the story on their own. This offseason Donte Whitner had some stunning artwork inked onto his forearms.

Whitner sat down in a Cleveland, Ohio tattoo parlor for two sessions to get his forearms tattooed. His right arm took five hours; the left took four and a half. For Whitner the tattoos are a representation of the good and bad that he has endured growing up.

Designating his right arm for the good and his left arm for the bad, Whitner allowed tattoo artist Jimmy Williams to illustrate the ideas that Whitner had for his tattoos.

"I wrote these things down; it was so easy to do. I just wrote them down and let him free hand it," said Whitner.

Of all the artwork on his right arm Whitner had an extensive story on his high school coach, Ted Ginn Sr. On the top of his right forearm are the words 'Thank God for Ginn'. Ginn was the man who inspired Whitner to transfer to Glenville high school in Cleveland so that he could pursue football seriously.

"There were times when I was going to high school when he would get me up at five in the morning to come in and lift. I would go to school all day, then I would go to basketball practice and halfway through basketball practice he would get me and take me up to track practice and after school I would have to go to a personal trainer," said Whitner.

Whitner's tribute to his coach and school are completed with the Glenville logo on the underside of his forearm. Whitner has a lot of football related artwork on his right arm; a football cleat, his initials with a number 20 and a number eight with wings to represent the spot he was picked in the draft.

Whitner Wearing Life Under His Sleeves - Buffalo Bills

 

[Buckskin86]

Bills S Whitner gains confidence entering second year as starter
44 minutes ago

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) ? Now that he's had an entire off-season to reflect, Donte Whitner gets a big kick out of reviewing game tape from his rookie year.

"Man, I was young," Buffalo's second-year strong safety said.

A little over a month since turning 22, Whitner still isn't old by NFL standards - or any others, really. But the year of experience, after being thrust into a starting role immediately, makes the 2006 first-round draft pick feel like a tested veteran.

"It seems so long ago, but it wasn't," Whitner said. "But my knowledge of the game and the defence at that point and this point is like night and day."

It's showing.

Fewell is impressed with Whitner's approach, recalling Whitner telling him he wanted to be the one to step up as a leader.

"He's taken that upon himself. And I thought that was pretty mature for a young man just entering his second year to say that," Fewell said. "I sense that he is ready to have a breakout season."

The Canadian Press: Bills S Whitner gains confidence entering second year as starter