BillsFanForever19 Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Good luck to Donte, no hard feelings. Thanks for being a Bill. +1 Funny thing is, I actually started to come around to the idea of him coming back with his tweets yesterday. I thought "Hey, if he's been humbled and wants to accept a marginal deal, why not? We could do worse and he has experience with the team". But just as I started feeling that, he signs with Cinci. Which is fine too. I wish him luck. But in retrospect, if he wanted to come back here and he ended up signing a two year deal for 4 mil in Cincy; Nix must have REALLY not wanted him back. You have to assume he was told "you're not getting another offer from us and the other one's off the table, pal".
Billsguy Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 @SalSports Sal Capaccio Former #Buffalo #Bills safety Donte Whitner has confirmed to me via text that he has agreed to a 2-year deal with the #Cincinnati #Bengals. @SalSports Sal Capaccio Whitner via text: "It was a long wait but I learned a lot from this and....(cont)... @SalSports Sal Capaccio ....it will only Make me a better father, person and football player. Go #Bills! 4 Life" So the Bills lose another 1st round draft pick and get nothing in return. I can think of another AFC East team (can you guess?) that would have traded him last year and picked up a draft pick(s). I'm just thinking there are more logical ways to do business than the Bills approach. It's no accident why some teams flail about for years and never seem to make progress. Speaking of Cincinnati ....
KD in CA Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 So the Bills lose another 1st round draft pick and get nothing in return. I can think of another AFC East team (can you guess?) that would have traded him last year and picked up a draft pick(s). I'm just thinking there are more logical ways to do business than the Bills approach. It's no accident why some teams flail about for years and never seem to make progress. Speaking of Cincinnati .... I think a better way of doing business (and the reason some teams flail about) has more to do with making horrible draft picks in the first place. It's hard to fathom how a team could make bad decisions on a high #1 pick year after year after year.
billsfan89 Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Was looking at that Bengals board and they are a very positive bunch about the Whitner signing. Its actually not a bad signing at all for the Bengals. If I had to grade Whitner on a scale of 1 to 10 (With 5 being average) I would give Whitner a 6. Now if you didn't have a safety worth a dam picking up Whitner for 2 million a year is a nice deal. But he isn't a player that is going to put you over the top. He is a nice piece to have if you don't have anyone better. For the Bills I only think its a loss as far as depth goes. Wilson is also a 6 type safety. Its only a loss from a depth perspective.
stony Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Was looking at that Bengals board and they are a very positive bunch about the Whitner signing. Its actually not a bad signing at all for the Bengals. If I had to grade Whitner on a scale of 1 to 10 (With 5 being average) I would give Whitner a 6. Now if you didn't have a safety worth a dam picking up Whitner for 2 million a year is a nice deal. But he isn't a player that is going to put you over the top. He is a nice piece to have if you don't have anyone better. For the Bills I only think its a loss as far as depth goes. Wilson is also a 6 type safety. Its only a loss from a depth perspective. I agree with all of your post. I really like George Wilson, but think he just keeping the seat warm for a real (Searcy?) strong safety. No offense to GW, but as bad as Donte is in coverage, George is in run support.
MAGIC MAN Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 The cincy board reminds me of that line from American President "They're so thirsty for it they'll crawl through the desert toward a mirage, and when they discover there's no water, they'll drink the sand.: ... " -- Desperate fans clinging to a mirage !!
eball Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 So the Bills lose another 1st round draft pick and get nothing in return. I can think of another AFC East team (can you guess?) that would have traded him last year and picked up a draft pick(s). I'm just thinking there are more logical ways to do business than the Bills approach. It's no accident why some teams flail about for years and never seem to make progress. Speaking of Cincinnati .... Who are these teams of which you speak, who will give up draft picks to acquire players about to become free agents?
5 Wide Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 I agree with all of your post. I really like George Wilson, but think he just keeping the seat warm for a real (Searcy?) strong safety. No offense to GW, but as bad as Donte is in coverage, George is in run support. Well lets just hope the new beef in the front 7 will let Wilson play to his strengths and not be one on one with a RB like our defensive backs were so often last year.
Mark Long Beach Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 I agree with all of your post. I really like George Wilson, but think he just keeping the seat warm for a real (Searcy?) strong safety. No offense to GW, but as bad as Donte is in coverage, George is in run support. well hopefully our improved DL & LB corp means he wont have to make a tackle!
Captain Caveman Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 2 years, $4M. He's a marginal player and was paid like one. $4M total? or per season?
Mike In Illinois Posted August 4, 2011 Author Posted August 4, 2011 $4M total? or per season? $4 million for each INT he gets for the duration contract.
Captain Caveman Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 That's a ****ty deal for Cincy then. He'll probably wind up with about 7 INTs, and the opposing teams will gain 40+ TDs due to blown coverages.
Erik Flowers Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 So the Bills were offering him 5 per on a longer term deal and the best he can get in free agency is 2x2? HAH, HAH, HAH! Jokes on him. Top 5 safety, my ass! He'll be offering ramen noodles to his buddies at those late night film study sessions in his studio apartment. Thanks for doing us a favor, Lil' Donte!
Malazan Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 So the Bills lose another 1st round draft pick and get nothing in return. I can think of another AFC East team (can you guess?) that would have traded him last year and picked up a draft pick(s). I'm just thinking there are more logical ways to do business than the Bills approach. It's no accident why some teams flail about for years and never seem to make progress. Speaking of Cincinnati .... You think the *one* team that was interested was going to give up a pick for him?
BobbyC81 Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Ahh...and finally one sordid chapter ends. Good luck in Cincy, Donte. See you in Week 4. And he joins another former Bill in Clements.
Marv Levy Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 I know Wilson will take his spot, but where does Jarius Byrd fit into the defensive backfield? A little help here. Thanks!
eball Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Cincy official website blog reporter (i.e., their Chris Brown) writes about Whitner: "he worked mostly underneath but has been known to work the back line with a rep as a good cover guy." I didn't even know Donte could sing.
Turbosrrgood Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 (edited) Cincy official website blog reporter (i.e., their Chris Brown) writes about Whitner: "he worked mostly underneath but has been known to work the back line with a rep as a good cover guy." I didn't even know Donte could sing. Haha, I just saw that, you beat me to posting it. That might be the funniest thing I have read in weeks....Where did this magical "rep as a good cover guy" come from? If Rex Ryan was the opposing tight end he STILL wouldn't be able to cover him... I know Wilson will take his spot, but where does Jarius Byrd fit into the defensive backfield? A little help here. Thanks! I wouldn't be so quick to appoint Wilson the replacement starter (although he probably has the edge). Bryan Scott has a lot of experience there, has very good size and tackling ability, and can cover TE's WAY better than Whitner ever could. Who knows, Searcy might even make a push. That's a decent SS competition, we are in pretty good shape there. Byrd is a FS, where I imagine he will continue to start Edited August 4, 2011 by Turbosrrgood
Billsguy Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Who are these teams of which you speak, who will give up draft picks to acquire players about to become free agents? Good point. I should have been more precise. I intended to say that Whitner could have been traded for something of value rather than let him leave and getting nothing in return. The timing of the trade should not have been restricted to last year alone when a trade would have been more difficult. However, the Bills have a dismal record in this department. There are many draft picks from the top rounds in recent years that have left the team no or little value returning. This is clearly a negative and has contributed to the Bills quagmire over the last decade.
Fan in Chicago Posted August 4, 2011 Posted August 4, 2011 Haha, I just saw that, you beat me to posting it. That might be the funniest thing I have read in weeks....Where did this magical "rep as a good cover guy" come from? If Rex Ryan was the opposing tight end he STILL wouldn't be able to cover him... I wouldn't be so quick to appoint Wilson the replacement starter (although he probably has the edge). Bryan Scott has a lot of experience there, has very good size and tackling ability, and can cover TE's WAY better than Whitner ever could. Who knows, Searcy might even make a push. That's a decent SS competition, we are in pretty good shape there. Byrd is a FS, where I imagine he will continue to start Thats my problem - simply having competition does not imply we are in good shape. If anything we added a small question mark to the contingent that looked most solid on this team.
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