I know I'm in the minority here, but I was not impressed with Whitner last year, at all.

As you mentioned, Brian, Whitner was steady, but lacked the playmaking skills we expected. Again, as a rookie, it's hard to gauge expectations, but as a top 10 pick who starter pretty much the whole season, I was expecting more. After his INT of Brady in week 1, where was he?  I don't remember him making any sort of impact after that, in both the running and passing games.  I thought he was adequate against the run, but not very impactful.  He made few plays in the backfield despite lining up close to the line very often.  Though he didn't get beat deep or over the middle that much during his rookie year, his play in passing situations didn't real stand out at all.

In saying this, I'm not writing him off in any way and do realize that him performing as he did as a rookie was more than we could ask for.  In fact, I'll add some credit to his play as he seemed to come in and not miss a beat despite starting late due to Ohio State's academic calender and for his holdout during the preseason. So in that respect, he probably outdid some expectations.  However, my major gripe with his play is the lack of big plays from him or even a glimpse of them.  He played deep enough last season, on obvious passing downs and long yardage situations, that he should have been a bigger impact in our secondary.  Most rookies show glimpses of big play potential if they have it, but Whitner showed none of that outside of one play in the opening game.  That's what has me worried the most, as well as his recognition of run plays.  Too often last season we saw Whitner coming up late to make tackles when the ball carrier had already amassed 6-8 yards.  Either he was getting blown off the ball by blockers at the line, or he had trouble recognizing and diagnosing the play.  Either way, he needs to get to the ball much quicker in his second season for us to improve in the run game.

This year, I expect we'll see a much improved Whitner.  Following a full offseason trainging program and film study, I think he will be more than ready to assume a playmaking role in our secondary. He's a student of the game and works his tail off, so I have no problem counting on him for leadership, direction, steady play and hopefully some big plays this year.  Getting comfortable in the Cover 2 takes some time, especially if a large chunk of valuable time has been missed, so him having the chance to work all offseason with Fewell, his position coach, and the rest of the secondary should really allow him to take the next step forward.  If we don't see the playmaking that the Cover 2 safety should be providing this year, I will be extremely worried and would be inclined to believe Whitner was indeed a reach at #8.  He needs to step it up this year and show he was worth that pick.  Right now, I am somewhat skeptical, but am leaning strongly toward believing he'll be great for us.  He just needs to improve all around and help take that next step.

As for Ko Simpson, I'm even less secure with him.  He was embarrassed numerous times last year in the open field and also lacked the big time playmaking ability we hoped for.  Again, he was an inexperienced rookie, so I'll chalk his play up to that, but he definitely has some work to do to improve his run support and centerfield play in the cover 2. As a 4th rounder, much less was expected of him, but like Whitner he started for the majority of the season, so he is now experienced enough in the system and with the NFL game to really show what he can do.  It's time for him to combine with Whitner to become the safety duo so many Bills fans already think they are.

The DL is probably more important in passing situations in a cover 2 than in your typical 4-3 D.  It is required that the DE's can rush the passer and the DT's also, which is part of the reason it is not a requirement to have top notch DB's in the C2, though good Safeties are necessary.

If we can get another strong season from Schobel and anything out of the overpaid Kelsay regarding rushing the passer and our DT's step it up from last year, our DB's will be helped immensely.  It'd be nice to finally get some consistent pressure up the middle from the DT's and with Tripplett, McCargo and hopefully Walker, we have those type of guys, along with a Hargrove as well to push the pocket inside.

Either way, it's time for Whitner to step it up bigtime regardless of how the DL performs.  Sure, his job will be easier with better play out of them, but he needs to become the QB of the defensive backfield and really make it hard for receivers to make plays over the middle.  As a top 10 pick, he HAS to become a playmaker or he'll have been a big reach.  I have faith in him, but his play last year left me a little worried, as I mentioned.

Also, another great topic from you Brian.  I enjoy reading your diaries daily and just wanted to point out that you're doing a great job here.  I really enjoy this site and hope as the season approaches we'll get more dialogue going....

Kurupt....I echo your sentiments regarding the lack of big plays from Whitner last year.  I was pumped to have him, and after week 1 intercepting Brady, I was really excited.  But Him and Simpson, never did anything to really stick out last season, and if anything I think when whitner was challenged he most of the time failed.  He got schooled by Antonio Gates in the chargers game, as just one example on a red zone touchdown.  I felt he lacked the ability to use his instincts to make big plays.  Maybe he was playing too conservative, or it was all a little too much for him, but the tape doesn't lie.  He needs to stronger against the run, in shedding linebackers, and he most importantly needs to use his instincts and attack quicker.  

The one major telling sign of a disappointment, is that he did not have any BIG HITS.  So that means he wasn't reading the QB well.  I mean, McGee obviously had his problems, but I think that was due to some extent, Simpson and Whitner not knowing their reads as well either.  I can't tell you how many times I saw WR running fly patterns down the sideline and our CB's dropped and our Safeties had no idea what to do.  Most noticeably the Vikings game, when Marcus Robinson was WIDE OPEN, but he dropped what would have been the go ahead touchdown with just 2 minutes left.  

The DL needs to improve greatly at the point of attack.  The LB's need to be able to attack the RB's and TE's out of the backfield.  I think we will miss Fletcher in that respect because he never missed an open field tackle.  

I hope that with a year under their belt, Simpson and Whitner can make more plays, but right now this secondary scares me.  I think the lack of a veteran back there, really hurts us.  But, that's the way it is, and hopefully Whitner can become that leader that we need him to be.