Tim Anderson's Lunch Pail Posted September 19, 2008 Author Share Posted September 19, 2008 I think Whitner is developing well. But we had our choice of Ngata or Cutler. I would have traded down and picked Whitner - if I I was so hot on him. Or picked Ngata. But if this was a luxury pick - which it wasn't - I would have gotten Cutler. I work at Vandy. You could tell the kid was something special. Plus he's from Santa Claus, IND. You gotta love that. C I know when you start listening to the fans, you'll be joining them quickly BUT, at the time of that pick, if we had taken a QB AND taken Cutler over Leinart, it would have been bad. Obviously, it seems like Cutler is going to be a very good pro and Leinart is a mess, but I think taking Cutler at 8 over Leinart would have seemed as bad as the Whitner pick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 At that point, this team wasnt READY for a new QB. The lines were a mess, the defense needed to be rebuilt, we had no RB, no TEs and 1 WR threat. Bringing in yet another new QB to the same mess would have produced the same crappy results. Think about if Trent had gone to Oakland and was thrown into the mix there... there is no way he comes around so quickly in that organization. on that team. Marv and Co. did the right thing and started with the keystone of our defense. Yes, the game is won and lost in the trenches but they saw in Donte a true leader for years to come. Cutler would just have been another turd thrown on sh-- Mountain... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2003Contenders Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I have always believe that the Whitner pick was a symbolic one by Marv. After five years of Donahoe's alleged micro-management, I believe that Marv wanted to start off on the right foot by building a strong sense of unity and consensus with the team -- and not leaving anyone out. I imagine that there were some in the War Room that wanted a QB (and Cutler is reportedly the guy they had graded the highest). There was also some disagreement about the DTs, as Nagata wasn't the prototypical Cover-2 DT, and Buckley was a better fit but had question marks. I think Whitner was a guy that everyone in the room was on board with -- and he was a SAFE pick in the sense that he was very unlikely to be an outright bust. From that perspective, the pick was a very, very good one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chilly Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Hopefully not as short as busts like Mike Williams or washouts like Leonard Davis, Nathan Vasher, Derrick Johnson, Corey Redding, Casey Hampton, Phil Dawson, or Shaun Rogers. Thanks for saving me the trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. Rich Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I had your back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Me too; not even in the 7th round. What's the over/under on Limas Sweed's time in the league? Why are you asking that? He'll have a great career. i had no idea who Whitner even was at the time of the pick. However, i also bill-ieve that even if huff had fallen, we would have picked Donte. and it would have been the right choice. typical oakland, taking the "name" or the hype instead of the real player... But Davis is a genius!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I really thought Huff was going to be the real deal. I thought he'd break the U. Texas curse and become legit. Thank God we got Whitner. Who were our safeties that year had we not taken Whitner? Troy Vincent and Coy Wire? Ya.... By week 2 it was Whitner and Ko. I like that combo much better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely Dan Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 Ya.... By week 2 it was Whitner and Ko. I like that combo much better Even after a holdout he won rookie, or was it defensive player, of the week in week one. A lot of the pundits were calling Ko the steal of the draft. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ndirish1978 Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 the pick had me scratching my head at the time. i think i was pining for ngata that year. Ditto, him, Bunkley or Winston Justice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cale Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 At that point, this team wasnt READY for a new QB. The lines were a mess, the defense needed to be rebuilt, we had no RB, no TEs and 1 WR threat. Bringing in yet another new QB to the same mess would have produced the same crappy results. Think about if Trent had gone to Oakland and was thrown into the mix there... there is no way he comes around so quickly in that organization. on that team. Marv and Co. did the right thing and started with the keystone of our defense. Yes, the game is won and lost in the trenches but they saw in Donte a true leader for years to come. Cutler would just have been another turd thrown on sh-- Mountain... yes, yes I understand why they didn't pick him...My money would have been on Ngata. The guy is unblockable. I think we would have been a little ahead in our rebuild if we had gotten him. I like Whitner - now. Though I still remain to be convinced he was a legit top 10 pick. As for throwing turds on sh-- Mountain - you kidding me? Cutler played at Vanderbilt man...Any O-line even ours at the time, and he would have thought he had all day...Plus he has serious wheels and is tough as nails... I agree Donte was a safe pick - not a big risk - yet no big upside. And ultimately that might have been the call - let's not screw this up. Still I heard that Wilson loved Cutler - and if Levy loved him too - I am surprised they didn't pull the trigger. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drnykterstein Posted September 19, 2008 Share Posted September 19, 2008 I was just confused by the Whitner pick. Now I get it though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 yes, yes I understand why they didn't pick him...My money would have been on Ngata. The guy is unblockable. I think we would have been a little ahead in our rebuild if we had gotten him. I like Whitner - now. Though I still remain to be convinced he was a legit top 10 pick. As for throwing turds on sh-- Mountain - you kidding me? Cutler played at Vanderbilt man...Any O-line even ours at the time, and he would have thought he had all day...Plus he has serious wheels and is tough as nails... I agree Donte was a safe pick - not a big risk - yet no big upside. And ultimately that might have been the call - let's not screw this up. Still I heard that Wilson loved Cutler - and if Levy loved him too - I am surprised they didn't pull the trigger. C sorta like a guy who played behind a crappy line at Tulane, and had wheels and was a tough cocky kid?... i wasnt saying Cutler wasnt/isnt good. just that coming to a bad professional team couldve seriously hampered his development. i think people assume that just because a player becomes good, he wouldve done it on any team. not true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cale Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 sorta like a guy who played behind a crappy line at Tulane, and had wheels and was a tough cocky kid?... i wasnt saying Cutler wasnt/isnt good. just that coming to a bad professional team couldve seriously hampered his development. i think people assume that just because a player becomes good, he wouldve done it on any team. not true. Yeah, kinda like a QB from Stanford who got beaten up so bad it prepped him for a great NFL career ;-) I'm still scratching my head over that one... C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StupidNation Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 yes, yes I understand why they didn't pick him...My money would have been on Ngata. The guy is unblockable. I think we would have been a little ahead in our rebuild if we had gotten him. I like Whitner - now. Though I still remain to be convinced he was a legit top 10 pick. As for throwing turds on sh-- Mountain - you kidding me? Cutler played at Vanderbilt man...Any O-line even ours at the time, and he would have thought he had all day...Plus he has serious wheels and is tough as nails... I agree Donte was a safe pick - not a big risk - yet no big upside. And ultimately that might have been the call - let's not screw this up. Still I heard that Wilson loved Cutler - and if Levy loved him too - I am surprised they didn't pull the trigger. C Since I was going to post the same thing after reading the thread I don't have to anymore. I still would've preferred Ngata. Safeties are not worth top 10 pics and yes Palomalu is an exception, but that's it, just an exception, and he's much bigger and his playing speed is faster than Whitner, even in college. I'll take a great DT over a great safety anyday. It would have saved us the McCargo trade-up and some other pics in spots that are worth safeties. Hell, we could have had Ngata and a decent TE right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Hopefully not as short as busts like Mike Williams or washouts like Leonard Davis, Nathan Vasher, Derrick Johnson, Corey Redding, Casey Hampton, Phil Dawson, or Shaun Rogers. You didn't really put a kicker on that list, did you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Hell, we could have had Ngata and a decent TE right now. Instead we have Stroud, a GREAT Safety (which you have to have in our Defense) and a decent TE. The TE is likely to be upgraded in the offseason, if one can be found, I think. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrDawkinstein Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 Since I was going to post the same thing after reading the thread I don't have to anymore. I still would've preferred Ngata. Safeties are not worth top 10 pics and yes Palomalu is an exception, but that's it, just an exception, and he's much bigger and his playing speed is faster than Whitner, even in college. I'll take a great DT over a great safety anyday. It would have saved us the McCargo trade-up and some other pics in spots that are worth safeties. Hell, we could have had Ngata and a decent TE right now. you got DT and TE covered but who is playing Safety in your scenario? remember, this position is said to be the cornerstone of our cover 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 you got DT and TE covered but who is playing Safety in your scenario? remember, this position is said to be the cornerstone of our cover 2 Actually, he doesn't have the TE covered, as he never suggested who the Bills would have taken for the TE position. He is simply speculating that it would be a "decent" one. I think Royal is "decent". It would be great to upgrade that, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 At that point, JP still looked like he was developing, so taking a QB with 1st round, you have to plan to make him the starter, which I don't think the Bills felt they needed to do. So they took Edwards as a backup. It would be interesting to know if at the time and one in the Bills front office really thought within a year Edwards would be the starter over JP AND look as polished as he does. My gut tells me to some extent, they got lucky, but luck likely makes up over 50% of all the draft picks. I think Whitner is developing well. But we had our choice of Ngata or Cutler. I would have traded down and picked Whitner - if I I was so hot on him. Or picked Ngata. But if this was a luxury pick - which it wasn't - I would have gotten Cutler. I work at Vandy. You could tell the kid was something special. Plus he's from Santa Claus, IND. You gotta love that. C Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dean Posted September 20, 2008 Share Posted September 20, 2008 At that point, JP still looked like he was developing, so taking a QB with 1st round, you have to plan to make him the starter, which I don't think the Bills felt they needed to do. So they took Edwards as a backup. It would be interesting to know if at the time and one in the Bills front office really thought within a year Edwards would be the starter over JP AND look as polished as he does. My gut tells me to some extent, they got lucky, but luck likely makes up over 50% of all the draft picks. I don't think they would have picked Trent, if they didn't believe he could be a quality starter in the NFL. By taking him late in the 3rd, though, they didn't have to position him as the "new QB of the Bills". That was the best situation for both guys, IMO, and one of the few times the Bills didn't screw up with their young QB (JP or Trent). EDIT: Almost forgot. But, of course, they got lucky, too. But, lookint at the contributions of the draft picks under Marv, it can't be all luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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