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Simpson and Whitner Likely To Man Deep Middle
by Chris Brown, Lead Journalist Last Updated: 9/13/2006 6:04 PM ET
With Troy Vincent on injured reserve and Matt Bowen questionable for Sunday, there's a strong likelihood that a pair of rookies will be manning both safety positions for the Bills on Sunday. While it might sound like a monumental task, Donte Whitner and Ko Simpson are going in confident.
"I feel that I'm ready," said Simpson who is expected to man the free safety spot. "I feel I'm good enough to play and I have the ability to play at this level. I'm ready to show what I can do and try to help this team."
"I feel good about my personal game," said Whitner. "I'm very confident in myself."
Since the day they arrived together at One Bills Drive they have carried a strong belief in their abilities. And that didn't change even after they each got their feet wet with extended action in Week One against the Patriots.
"I believe it went alright," said Simpson of how he performed when he replaced the injured Vincent in the first quarter. "I stepped in and played alright. There were a couple of mistakes I made that I'm learning from, but I thought I played okay."
Simpson had six tackles while Whitner finished with eight takedowns and his first NFL interception. Neither of them looked overwhelmed by the situation.
"Everybody makes a big deal about being a rookie," said Whitner. "But if you're poised and you know what you're doing out there, being a rookie really means nothing. We weren't like that, we knew what to do out there. We had some mistakes, but I don't believe you can play a football game no matter who you are."
The only big play that occurred in the middle of the field against them in Week One was a 34-yard completion from Tom Brady to Ben Watson.
Part of the reason Whitner and Simpson have such an air of confidence about them is because of the college conferences in which they played. Whitner played at Ohio State while Simpson was at South Carolina.
"I feel like the SEC is one of the best conferences and it has the better athletes," said Simpson who started at safety as a freshman. "There's a lot of speed. I think it helped my game a lot."
"I did feel like it helped," said Whitner of playing in the Big Ten conference. "It's really no different from college to the NFL."
But at the same time the two rookie safeties, who were good friends prior to being drafted by Buffalo, realize teams are going to try and pick on them every week.
"Going in there we know they're probably going to try to test us a little bit," said Simpson of this week's game at Miami. "Matt Bowen told me to be ready, so we know that going into this game. So I'm just going to try to go out there and make some plays."
"We have to step up," said Whitner. "Me and Ko have to contribute. We have to get the job done."
Leonhard
Recently re-signed safety Jim Leonhard is a strong addition with Buffalo thin at free safety. He's a heady player who is well versed in defensive coordinator Perry Fewell's defensive system.
He knows how to get a secondary lined up, which might not be something Ko Simpson is fully prepared to do at this stage in his career. With the heat expected in Miami this weekend, he figures to get at least some playing time Sunday.