S Donte Whitner (Buffalo Bills)

[osugrad21]

NFL.com

BUFFALO: Two rookie safeties are bolstering Buffalo, as first-round selection Donte Whitner (Ohio State) and fourth-rounder Ko Simpson (South Carolina) have started six of seven games together. Whitner leads the team's defensive backs with 49 tackles and earned NFL Defensive Rookie of the Month honors for September. Simpson has racked up 40 tackles -- including a sack -- and both players have an interception.

[osugrad21]

Link

Bills look forward to free weekend

Leo Roth
Staff writer


(October 27, 2006) ? ORCHARD PARK ? The Buffalo Bills long-awaited bye weekend began at approximately 11 a.m. Thursday when the team wrapped up practice and was given the OK by coach Dick Jauron to go home.
With three days off, it's the first extended break for coaches and players since training camp opened in late July. Except for a few injured players coming in for medical treatment, Ralph Wilson Stadium will be a ghost town until Monday.
"The bye week comes at a great time for us," said linebacker London Fletcher, not needing to elaborate.

The Bills are riding a three-game losing streak and their record is 2-5.
Many Bills planned to return to their hometowns; the team has players from 23 states.

Rookie Donte Whitner will be in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday to watch his alma mater, Ohio State, play Minnesota.
Watching NFL football on TV seemed to be high on a lot of player's "to do" lists.

"It's a chance to watch other teams and to see what we want to do and how we're going to do it," quarterback J.P. Losman said.
Injured players Roscoe Parrish (hamstring), Sam Aiken (hamstring), Ryan Denney (hamstring, groin), Ryan Neufeld (heel), Tutan Reyes (shoulder) and Jabari Greer (undisclosed injury) continue to receive treatment.
Meanwhile, linebacker Takeo Spikes, who missed four games with a hamstring injury, is hoping that the extra week of rest will push him closer to being 100 percent.
"Yeah, it's frustrating," Spikes said. "When I can't do certain things the way I'm used to (because of the hamstring), and add on top of that, I'm trying to govern myself about not putting too many reps on my Achilles'. There are a lot of things coming into play, but progress is being made. This bye, though, it couldn't have come at a better time for me."

[Buckskin86]

Whitner Finding His Way
by Chris Brown, Lead Journalist Last Updated: 10/27/2006 2:50 PM ET

Seven games into his rookie season Bills top pick Donte Whitner is making progress. Though a lot of the big plays have yet to come down the pike from the rookie, he has been productive. The starting strong safety is third on the team in tackles with 49, has one interception and a pair of pass breakups.

"I feel like things are going pretty good," Whitner said. "I'm learning. With a record of 2-5 not everything is going the way I want it to go. I want to win football games and this is the first time I've been on a losing team. I've never lost this many game in high school or at Ohio State. We just want to get it turned around. I'm learning every day from the vets and the coaches."

Whitner feels more comfortable on the field now than he did the first couple of weeks of the season, but he knows there's more work to be done within the scheme.

"I'm still learning some of the small details of the defense like everybody," he said. "This is a simple defense, but there are a lot of details to it. I feel like I'm getting lined up well, communicating with my teammates, hustling to the football and tackling. But there are still a lot of things to improve on."

Bills defensive backs coach George Catavolos has been working with Whitner on some of those details.

"He has to be more disciplined on his keys and watch his keys longer," said Catavolos. "He sometimes gets caught up in a lot of backfield movement and it slows his movement at times to a run fit. If he reads his keys they'll take him to the run fit."

While in most cases Whitner is in the right place as a play unfolds, Catavolos is working to improve his effectiveness in pass coverage as well.

"Same thing in his pass drops," Catavolos said. "When he's playing a zone defense he has to get to his landmarks and then read the route progression and make the proper adjustment, but we're pleased with his progress."

The coaching staff recognizes that there's a lot on Whitner's plate with the position he plays in Perry Fewell's defensive scheme, which is why they're tolerant to a degree with some of his inconsistent play.

"In his position sometimes he's a safety, sometimes he's a linebacker so he's got to learn a lot of positions," Catavolos said. "He's a young man who has been pressed into action this year and has a lot of things coming at him and he's handled them very well."

One thing Whitner's body was not prepared for was the length of the NFL season. Every first year player who is getting significant playing time often experiences a stretch of sluggishness where their body is a bit worn out. That's why Whitner was thankful that the Bills had a bye week right in the middle of the season.

"I'm starting to hit that rookie wall," Whitner said. "Right now the college season is starting to close and that's what my body is used to, so I'll try to get past that point and work hard every day."

Where Catavolos and the rest of the coaching staff has been placing emphasis is on the basics, especially during the three day bye week practices which wrapped up Thursday.

"Everybody can improve on fundamentals," said Catavolos. "Some games he tackles exceptionally well, other games he doesn't have his feet underneath him and he's shooting his arms instead of swinging them. But that's not just him, that's everybody on our football team."

The bottom line is Whitner is only getting better with each passing game, and though he admits he still feels like a rookie, he likely won't be playing like one come December.

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?news_id=4322

[osugrad21]

Whitner glad for break from non-stop football
By RODNEY MCKISSIC
News Sports Reporter
11/1/2006

For more than a year it's been all about football for Donte Whitner, so the Buffalo Bills rookie used the bye week to catch his breath.
"The first year is tough and it's almost like playing two seasons in one," Whitner said. "Last year I went straight from camp at Ohio State to the season to training for the NFL Combine to the [organized team activities]. You really don't get any rest."

His play at safety in the first seven games indicates Whitner deserved to put up his feet and relax.

He finished with a career best 11 tackles, including nine solos, against Chicago and in his first start against Miami, Whitner broke up a two-point conversion pass in the fourth quarter that ended the Dolphins' chances of a comeback. Whitner, the league's Defensive Rookie of the Month in September, is third on the team with 49 tackles.

The numbers don't reflect it, but Whitner admits he's a bit drained.

"That's why your first season is tough, that's why you hit that rookie wall," he said. "I'm starting to get a little tired, my body is getting a little tired, so I'm trying to get more rest than I did at the beginning of the season. I did need this week to recover . . . and now I'm going to go into the second half of the season and step it up a notch."? ? ?


Link

[osugrad21]

Link

Old teammates meet: Sunday's game will feature two of the top 10 picks in last year's college draft, Bills' strong safety Donte Whitner (No. 8) and Packers' linebacker A.J. Hawk (No. 5). Whitner and Hawk were among five Ohio State players selected in the first round and both are starting. Hawk leads Green Bay in tackles with 67 and Whitner is third on the Bills with 38.
"It's nice to see him having success," Whitner said. "A.J.'s a good guy and a great player. He goes 100 percent."

[Buckskin86]

In an OHIO STATE of mind
'Amongst each other, we talk about our school. We brag about our school.'

By BUCKY GLEASON
News Sports Reporter
11/5/2006

Donte Whitner had the dream again last week. He can never remember exact details, but each time he's back with his teammates at Ohio Stadium, the famed Horseshoe, and patrolling the Ohio State secondary. There's no opponent or score or anything, just that feeling that comes with winning.
And then he wakes up.

Whitner has lost more games with the Buffalo Bills (2-5) this year than he did in any season on any level in his career. He's been soothed by a six-year contract that includes some $13.5 million in guaranteed money, but part of the pure joy of playing has been extracted from the rookie strong safety.

"You have a lot of fun in college," Whitner said. "On this level, you tend to get away from having fun because it's so much business, business, business. We have to win. I do think about that sometimes. It's a lot more fun when you win."

It should be little surprise that he returned to Columbus during the bye week and reacquainted himself with his ex-teammates and a winning atmosphere. As he stood on the sidelines and watched top-ranked Ohio State blow out Minnesota, 44-0, he couldn't help but envision himself still playing for the Buckeyes.

"It was a reminder of what I want to get back to," Whitner said, "and what we need to get here."

What the Bills really need are a few more Buckeyes. Ohio State had been a football factory for decades and in recent years has served as the unofficial feeder program of the Buffalo defense. Whitner and rookie cornerback Ashton Youboty gave the Bills four ex-Buckeyes on defense, including three in the secondary.

"The Buffalo organization likes hard-working,tough, blue-collar guys," Ohio State coach Jim Tressel said by telephone. "We've been fortunate over the years to have our kids be attractive to the mentality that Buffalo has."

Whitner and Youboty had one year of eligibility remaining when they jumped to the NFL. Imagine how good Ohio State's defense, still among the best in the country, would be if the two rookies stuck around. No matter what happens this year, at least they can take comfort in the Buckeyes.

It's the same way for cornerback Nate Clements, who was selected 21st overall in the 2001 draft, and defensive tackle Tim Anderson, chosen in the third round in 2004. The Buckeyes had five players selected in the first round alone last season. All told, the program has produced 39 players who are on NFL rosters.

"Amongst each other, we talk about our school," Clements said. "We brag about our school. We talk about it. We're around each other so much, so we're talking about it during the course of the day."

It prompts the question: Could the Buckeyes beat the Bills or any other NFL team?

"Naah," Anderson said. "But I'll bet you there are some people that could make a pretty legitimate argument."

Clements has been the Bills' most productive ex-Buckeye. He was a three-year starter at Ohio State and learned plenty from Antoine Winfield, another former first-round pick who spent five seasons with the Bills before signing with Minnesota. Clements is making $7.2 million this season and could make much more if he hits the open market, as expected, after the season.

Anderson started the final 12 games last season and the first four this season before sharing duties with rookie Kyle Williams. In college, Anderson started for three seasons and won a national championship in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, the game in which Miami running back Willis McGahee blew out his knee.

Whitner has started the last six games at strong safety and has been superb under difficult circumstances. He intercepted a pass from New England quarterback Tom Brady in the opener and was third on the team with 49 tackles going into today's game against the Green Bay Packers.

Youboty is waiting for his opportunity. He was absent for more than three weeks after his mother died in August. He started his final two seasons at Ohio State and was considered one of the country's better cover men.

"Every week, the guys from big-time schools want [Ohio State] to lose so we can lose bragging rights," Youboty said. "These guys keep winning. They're learning pretty fast. A lot of guys have pride in their alma mater, but we're on top right now."

And that's not good for running back Anthony Thomas.

See, Thomas is the lone player on the roster from Michigan, which was ranked second in the country behind its archrival. The two teams are expected to keep the top two spots before a showdown in two weeks. Many believe the winner of the Nov. 18 matchup will win the national championship.

The trash talking has been kept to a minimum, but that's expected to change. Clements is certain to run his mouth during the week leading into the game. Anderson suggested maybe the loser wear the archrival's jersey. Youboty was thinking about what he could cook up. Whitner could only dream.

"Whatever school you came from, it's all good," Whitner said. "We might be talking a little junk, but it's all in fun."

Lately, that's what has been missing.

e-mail: bgleason@buffnews.com

http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial...05/1008650.asp

[osugrad21]

Link

The Buckeye biographies

11/5/2006

DONTE WHITNER
Draft: First round (eighth overall), 2006
Position: Safety
Most memorable moment at Ohio State: "It would have to be my first win against Michigan. It was my sophomore year."
Most memorable moment in the NFL: "The interception against Tom Brady in the first game."

[osugrad21]

SI

Named to the Rookie Impact team.

[MililaniBuckeye]

Originally Posted by osugrad21

SI

Named to the Rookie Impact team.

Three Buckeyes on the team...not too shabby.

[osugrad21]

CPD

Police arrest Whitner on domestic charge


Friday, November 10, 2006 From wire reports
Buffalo Bills safety Donte Whitner, a former star at Ohio State and at Glenville High, faces a harassment charge after an alleged domestic dispute with his girlfriend.
Whitner was arrested in the Buffalo suburb of Hamburg, N.Y., last Saturday after police were called to his home in response to a fight with a woman, police said. He was arraigned on the violation and released on his own recognizance.
Whitner declined comment after practicing with the team Thursday.
Bills spokesman Scott Berchtold said in a statement the team was aware of the charge and was gathering the facts.
"The National Football league has a personal conduct policy that governs these types of situations and the Buffalo Bills will adhere to that policy if there is any truth to the accusation," Berchtold said.
Whitner is due in court Nov. 20. Hamburg Town Prosecutor Dennis Gaughan said the non-criminal offense is punishable by 15 days in jail and a fine of up to $250.

[Taosman]

WTF!

[IronBuckI]

Harassment and non-criminal. Looks like a lot of yelling and name calling to me.

[osugrad21]

Link

Hamstring leaves Bills' Whitner questionable
NFL.com wire reports

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (Dec. 7, 2006) -- Strong safety Donte Whitner hurt his hamstring in practice, leaving the Buffalo Bills potentially minus another defensive starter when they play the New York Jets on Dec. 10.
Coach Dick Jauron listed Whitner as questionable after the first-round draft pick was hurt early in practice.
"It's worrisome, but it's just part of the deal," Jauron said. "And if he's not up, then somebody else will come up and play."
Whitner described the injury as "a tweak." He added he expected to return to practice Dec. 8 and should be ready to play.
The Bills (5-7) are banged-up as they travel to play the AFC East rival Jets (7-5).

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Canton

Whitner misses another practice Bills starting strong safety Donte Whitner missed his second day of practice Friday because of a hamstring injury and remains questionable for Sunday. The eighth overall pick in the April draft, Whitner hurt his hamstring at practice Thursday and was limping along the sidelines during Friday?s workout.

[SanAntonioBuck]

Donte had a big day today! 14 tackles, 11 solo, 3 assist.