State of the Roster: Bills Strong Safeties

by Brian Galliford on Jan 23, 2008 8:29 AM EST in Buffalo Bills Opinion

Whitner needs to break out in Year 3 (BuffaloBills.com)

In a Cover-2 defense - the choice base alignment of our Buffalo Bills - strong safeties have historically been big playmakers in that scheme. Former Bucs SS John Lynch started the trend; players such as Chicago's Mike Brown, Minnesota's Darren Sharper, former Ram Adam Archuleta and most notably the Colts' Bob Sanders have all followed suit to varying degrees of success. Yet the Bills have not had a player who has shown the ability to consistently make plays at the position since the days of Henry Jones. We've had some big names (Lawyer Milloy) and some high draft picks (Donte Whitner) manning the position, but we're still looking for better playmaking production from the position.

Do the Bills need help at strong safety? These four guys think not...

Donte Whitner
Whitner's production dropped a bit in 2007, his second year in the league. The youngster tallied 17 fewer tackles (89, down from 106), made only one interception and in general did not improve much on his rookie season. His strength is playing down in the box against the run; he needs to become more adept at playing with the same aggressiveness in the secondary while in zone coverage. Still takes the occasional bad angle when trying to tackle, often leading to bigger gains for the opposition. To put it into perspective: Whitner's averages as a Bill (97.5 tackles, 1 INT per season) are nearly identical to the numbers put up by his predecessor, Lawyer Milloy (91.3 tackles, 1 INT, 2.7 sacks per season; he missed 5 games in '04). Different defenses, yes; similar production, yes. Whitner's due to break out, and the Bills need him to.

Will Improve in '08 if - he becomes more aggressive in pass coverage :: he becomes a more consistent tackler, and takes better angles :: the coaching staff finds a way to use his versatility to get him around the ball more often

Bryan Scott
Signed as a free agent before the Week 2 meeting in Pittsburgh, Scott found a way to work into the defensive rotation by season's end. Used mostly as a run down/blitzing safety, Scott showed a propensity to make plays in opposing backfields, and was a technically sound veteran presence in a very young secondary. He's an unrestricted free agent heading into the off-season; the Bills would be wise to re-sign the young (26) veteran, as he's a solid special teamer and has familiarity with the base scheme.

John Wendling
Wendling, a rookie last season, came into the league as highly regarded as a sixth-round pick can be. It became clear as the season wore on, however, that the coaching staff didn't want Wendling to play defense just yet - using Scott and converted wideout George Wilson in the rotation before Wendling. One of Buffalo's best special teams performers, Wendling almost assuredly as a roster spot locked up next season; the coaching staff would do him right by picking a defensive position for him and getting him some experience at it.

Will Improve in '08 if - he doesn't have to learn both safety spots :: the Bills utilize his size and athleticism in goal line defensive packages

Jon Corto
One of the better stories on Buffalo's roster - the Orchard Park native earns a tryout with his local pro team, catches a spot on the practice squad, and winds up on the active roster for the season finale. That said, the depth the Bills have developed at the safety position means that Corto will struggle to retain that roster spot in '08.

Off-Season Outlook
It's clear as crystal that Whitner - who is quickly developing into one of Buffalo's most vocal defensive leaders, and is a favorite of the coaching staff - has the starting spot locked down for the foreseeable future. Therefore, don't expect a lot of change at this position - unless the Bills feel the need to let Scott become a free agent. If that happens, the Bills will likely either let one of their free safeties (Jim Leonhard being the obvious choice) be the top backup here, or they'll put more responsibility on Wendling. Scott is the best reserve option for the club at this point; if he's gone, look for a youth movement or a re-shuffling in the reserve ranks.

Possible additions: low-round pick.
Possible subtractions: Scott, Corto.

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Comments

Henry Jones

...wow, "makes plays" and "Henry Jones" haven't been used in the same sentence since Jones' 1st year as a starter back in '92. Really, Henry Jones is the type of player I'm worried Whitner might become- solid, unspectacular, long-term starter that doesn't make plays. This is a big year for Donte Whitner and hopefully the coaching staff gives him the chance to make some plays by giving him fewer assignments this season. I also agree that Whitner needs to improve his angles on one-on-one tackles, although one of the games he really looked bad in this reagrd last season was the New England game but he was playing with a concussion for most of that game...I give Whitner credit for trying to stand up and fight while most of the team took Jauron's approach of laying down and deferring to those scumbags...Jauron should make "56-10" part of the team's vocabulary this offseason much like Bo Schembechler did with "50-14" to spur on Michigan's finally standing up to Ohio State after years of deferring to their superior talent many years ago.

Nick (Bensalem, PA)

by Nick BensalemPA on Jan 23, 2008 10:05 AM EST reply actions

Bryan Scott

I'm all for keeping him around next year. He's a solid tackler and a good heady vet. All of your back-ups can't be green rookies after all. That means keeping 5 safties would probably have to happen, so Scott will have to show he is a capable special teams player.

Who would have thought I'd miss Pete Metzelaars?

by sireric on Jan 23, 2008 10:26 AM EST reply actions

Re: 5 safeties

At this point - given the versatility of the group, the injury history, and the fact that it's happened twice in two years under Jauron - I think it's a certainty we'll keep 5 safeties next season.

Create a free account to join in the discussion, Bills fans!

by Brian Galliford on Jan 23, 2008 3:09 PM EST up reply actions

The Question is

Is it Scott or Leonhard? I vote Scott, but the last time I checked my vote didn't count.

Who would have thought I'd miss Pete Metzelaars?

by sireric on Jan 23, 2008 3:16 PM EST up reply actions

SS's

Whitner's just your average, run of the mill strong safety. I've said it before, but I don't see him ever being an elite player, one who lives up to his top 10 draft status. Everyone points out his strength being against the run, but I don't think he's all that great in run support. He missed a lot of tackles this year, took poor angles to the ball carrier and racked up most of his tackles downfield some. I can recall him making only a handful of significant stops against the run.

I like Scott a lot and hope we re-sign him. He's an excellent third safety and gives us some size at the position, along with a solid ST game.

I'm not that high on Wendling and feel he could be expendable depending on Scott's status. He is a solid ST, so that'll give him a great chance to make the team, but I don't see him contributing much defensively.

Keeping 5 safeties (Whitner, Scott, Wendling, Simpson, Wilson) would be a lot, but we saw how injuries can really decimate the position this year....

by Kurupt on Jan 23, 2008 10:38 AM EST reply actions

Re: Scott/Wendling

I, like you, agree that the Bills are going to keep 5 safeties next season. From the looks of it, Whitner/Simpson/Wilson are locks. That leaves Wendling, Scott and Leonhard to duke it out for 2 spots. For some reason, I just can't see this coaching staff cutting Leonhard - he's the one reserve safety flexible enough to play both positions, regardless of whether or not he's physically overmatched down in and down out. A lot of Scott/Wendling's fate depends on just how highly the coaching staff regards Leonhard...

Create a free account to join in the discussion, Bills fans!

by Brian Galliford on Jan 23, 2008 11:22 AM EST up reply actions

Harsh

Man, Whitner can't catch much of a break. I mean, I agree that he needs to take his game to the "next level" and be more of a play-maker, but I tend to cut him a little slack. I think that, first of all, he has only played two seasons. And, secondly, he had to make up for a lack of talent around him this year. He played this season with a FS behind him that used to be a WR and with two LBs in front of him that shouldn't be starters.

Also, the comparison to Milloy I think is misleading. One, you are comparing a veteran, former Pro Bowler's production to the first two years of a guy. And, two, Milloy had a better surrounding cast, which should have freed him up to make some plays.

Does Whitner need to improve and start making a big impact with sacks, picks, etc.? Yep. But with a better surrounding cast next year (I hope), I think he will be free to be that play-maker.

by fletcherjd on Jan 23, 2008 10:52 AM EST reply actions

Whitner

I think that when you compare Donte to a guy like Bob Sanders, it makes Whitner look real bad. Sanders was a second rounder #44 over-all to Whitner's 8th over-all, and Sanders makes more big plays in one week then Whitner does in a year, and he does it playing the same style defense.

I like Whitner, but if he is going to be anything more than an average safety in this league, he needs to start showing something soon.

Who would have thought I'd miss Pete Metzelaars?

by sireric on Jan 23, 2008 10:58 AM EST up reply actions

Aside from RB,

This is the most stable position on the team. I'm ok with all of the safeties as is.

by krytime on Jan 23, 2008 12:01 PM EST reply actions

Wendling I thought was very highly touted

when we drafted him. No way he loses a spot to Scott. I will say though, scott looked alright last year, but without having seen wendling out there I'm not sure I can compare.

Whitner, like most players, really step it up after a couple of years. They adjust, get better, make plays, and so on. Give it time. Yes, he hasn't been an immediate play maker, but he will come around. He'll show that this year, I have a gut feeling.

Do you BILLieve?

by NYTXFAN on Jan 23, 2008 1:30 PM EST reply actions