For Bills, Whitner’s injury no reason to whine

By Anthony Bialy  |   Friday, November 07, 2008  |  Comments( 189 )

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Donte Whitner may cause doom for opponents with how he plays, but that doesn’t mean the Buffalo Bills are doomed without the safety. Of course, the mood around the Bills turned dismal once it became clear that the purest football player on the team was going to miss the most demanding test of the season against the New England Patriots barring a shoulder-related miracle.

But things don’t always work out perfectly, and one thing the Bills should have learned from sharing a division with the Patriots is that winners cope while the rest whine. The specific way for Buffalo to compensate is to let its healthy corners and safeties play aggressively; the 5-3 Bills can deal with being shorthanded by being meaner.

Plus, it is important to remember that, while they’ve lost one key secondary member, another is getting better: Terrence McGee is going to be that much further past his injury and will ideally be back at full speed and strength by game time. That said, the fact that nickel man Ashton Youboty might once again not play means either untested prominent rookie Leodis McKelvin or untested obscure rookie Reggie Corner would take his on his tough role.

And there’s no way of avoiding the fact that Whitner’s absence lowers the collective talent level. It means putting Ko Simpson at free safety while leaving Bryan Scott close to the line in the strong spot, and the way to compensate is to bombard a quarterback who’s been pretty good as a fill-in passer but who has been better at getting tackled.

Tom Brady replacement Matt Cassel has been sacked 28 times this season, which is the second most in the league; only San Francisco 49ers patsy J.T. O’Sullivan has been nabbed more frequently. On top of that, Cassel has run 34 times for 101 yards; that’s good for second in terms of rushing attempts for quarterbacks behind David Garrard of the Jacksonville Jaguars. The yardage is sixth-most ground gained on foot from the position with only Garrard, Cincinnati Bengal Ryan Fitzpatrick, the aforementioned O’Sullivan, Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, and the Kansas City Chiefs’ Tyler Thigpen running for more.

Those in front of Cassel on the list are a mixture of quarterbacks with either scrambling tendencies or the need to run to ensure personal safety, and, regardless of which category the Patriots’ quarterback thinks he belongs to, the point is that he’s got twitchy feet. That makes him a prime target for an aggressive pass rush.

Using Whitner’s healthy secondary teammates as fifth assailants on pass plays will alleviate some of the stress caused by his absence. Bringing Corner, Scott or Simpson on blitzes while letting a mixture of the others take coverage responsibilities is risky, but it’s better to attack than hope that the Patriots either don’t notice the unit is short its best member or kindly lays off if they do.

The only thing better than great coverage on a pass is preventing the pass from being delivered in the first place, and corner and safety blitzes will throw off New England’s throws at the source. Cassel is a mediocre implement among a fine toolset being used by a craftsman in Bill Belichick who occasionally cuts corners, and the Bills should be so relentless in the pursuit to disrupt the substitute that the 5-3 Patriots are unable to even discern that Whitner isn’t part of the stampede.
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CommentsComments: 189  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
Steve in VA		08:53 AM
11/07/2008
Prediction time. I said the Pats would beat us twice this year before the season & before Brady went down for the year. After the ...
No.2
Kegman		09:05 AM
11/07/2008
Will the Coaches let the players on Defense take some chances? That's the big question..The same old philosophy won't cut it in ...
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No.3
jim k		09:06 AM
11/07/2008
To many damded injuries.....Pats 17 Bills 10. I would just like to see the O line open up the run game a little. If they can ...
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