Archives for April 2006

‘So, instead, the team addressed strong safety and the defensive line. And I had no problem with that, considering the Bills ranked 29th in defense while going 5-11 a year ago. But I wonder if the Bills went at it backward and reached too far in the process.’

‘Still, there was a message in his selection. The “football temperament” Levy so often talked about in his 12 seasons coaching the Bills oozes from the 5-10, 204-pound Cleveland native.’

‘Half of Ohio State’s secondary will be in a Buffalo uniform. In the third round, the Bills took Ashton Youboty, a cornerback with the Buckeyes.’

‘”You’re thinking about everything you’ve been through in your life,” Whitner said later, “all the hard work you put in, going from muni-league to high school to college. Being able to have my family and friends around me to celebrate this moment — when the room erupted, there’s no way to describe it. You just feel like a weight is lifted off you.”‘

‘"We will plug him in and see where he fits best in the scheme," Jauron said. "Again the safeties are kind of interchangeable. It doesn’t matter what kind of tag you put on him. If we like a certain guy down in the box more, that guy will be down. If we like a certain guy back when we play single safety high that guy will be back whichever safety it is. And we’ll learn that as we go through camp."’

‘Everywhere McCargo has gone, the reviews have been glowing. Gil Brandt, the former vice president of player personnel for the Dallas Cowboys who is now a senior analyst for NFL.com, rated McCargo as the No. 3 defensive tackle in today’s draft. "He has a chance to be a Pro Bowl player," Brandt wrote.’

‘"What I know about Donte is he’s an extremely hard worker and a very mature guy," said Fletcher. "He left high school early to get started on his college career early at Ohio State. He’s been coached by one of the best high school football coaches in Ted Ginn who is Ted Ginn Jr.’s (Ohio State teammate) father. What I know is Donte is an excellent addition to the Buffalo Bills and to the defense."’

‘Whitner recorded 73 tackles and two interceptions as a junior in 2005 with the Buckeyes. The 5’10, 204 lb. Whitner is a strong physical player that was clocked in the 40-yard dash at the combine in 4.4 seconds.’

‘After trading with the Chicago Bears, the Buffalo Bills selected North Carolina State defensive tackle John McCargo with the 26th pick. In order to select McCargo, the Bills dealt a second-round pick (42nd overall) and third-round pick (73rd overall) to the Bears.’

‘It didn’t matter to Levy that some considered McCargo a second-round pick at best or that the player wasn’t among the 42 defensive linemen featured in the NFL’s own draft guide. “It was a calculated thing,” Levy said. “We felt, in terms of our need, this merited making that move.”‘

‘Whitner is a very good athlete with the foot quickness, speed and explosiveness to make hard hits and plays all over the field. Is consistently aggressive when coming up the field in run support and makes hard, physical tackles. Obviously, Whitner’s lack of size is the biggest weakness for him — can be dragged for extra yards by big ball carriers, misses some tackles and will struggle to maintain durability in the NFL.’

‘It was thought that the 80-year-old Levy and new coach Dick Jauron – a former defensive coordinator – would address the defensive line after the Bills ranked 31st against the run last season. Instead, the Bills decided to address the secondary. Buffalo ranked 19th against the pass last season, and released veteran safety Lawyer Milloy in the offseason.

‘Whitner is an interesting prospect. He is an excellent safety, and could have an immediate impact at that position. But, he may also have the talent to project as a cornerback for some teams, but he will need a lot of work to make that move. I believe he projects best at free safety, but will be a standout at either safety spot. This is a deep safety class, but Whitner is as good as any of them. He has an outside shot at landing in the Top 50 despite all the talent in this safety class.’

‘The Cons: He’s got to add some size, and his height isn’t ideal. He could have been a lock first-rounder if he had stayed another year and played well, but he chose to enter the draft, and that will make teams leery of him. Despite his ability to finish off at the pile, he can be handled when a downfield blocker (wide receiver) locks him up. He’ll have to get stronger to improve at getting off those blocks. His lack of height may slow him in diagnosing plays quickly from the secondary.’

‘At No. 8, the Bills could be staring at a choice between Bunkley and Texas safety Michael Huff. The Bills love tight end Vernon Davis and have a high grade on linebacker A.J. Hawk, but neither are expected to last past the first six picks. Defensive tackle is more of a need for the Bills than safety. A few teams have 340-pound Haloti Ngata rated above the 305-pound Bunkley, but Bunkley appears to be a better fit for the Tampa-style defense the Bills are running.’