dietlbomb Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 TMQ 1/27/09 Unwanted Player of the Year: London Fletcher, Washington. Undrafted out of Division III John Carroll University, the 5-foot-10 Fletcher joined the Rams and helped guide St. Louis to two Super Bowl appearances. After four years, Les Mouflons let Fletcher go -- too small, Division III, he wasn't supposed to be good. Fletcher went to Buffalo; he arrived in 2002, and in 2003, the Bills had the league's second-ranked defense. After five years, Buffalo let Fletcher go -- too small, undrafted, he wasn't supposed to be good. Fletcher went to Washington, which last season finished fourth in defense, despite a no-name front seven. Since 2000, Fletcher has the most total tackles in the league. Fletcher has been Da Man everywhere he has played, yet never received a Pro Bowl nod. Three NFL middle linebackers don't come out on passing downs -- Ray Lewis, Brian Urlacher and Fletcher. The first two are perennial Pro Bowl glory guys who do product endorsements on television. Arguably, London Fletcher is the best NFL player never to appear in a Pro Bowl. If memory serves, I thought the reason they let Fletcher go was because he wanted too much money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest dog14787 Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 TMQ 1/27/09 If memory serves, I thought the reason they let Fletcher go was because he wanted too much money. I always liked what London Fletcher brought to the table. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayFinkle Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 If memory serves, I thought the reason they let Fletcher go was because he wanted too much money. He wanted a good chunk of change and was on the wrong side of 30....who knew he would continue to perform at a high level. Hard to fault the Bills on that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Quint Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 He wanted a good chunk of change and was on the wrong side of 30....who knew he would continue to perform at a high level. Hard to fault the Bills on that one. Exactly. Somebody who is that old and undersized has all of the odds against him. I'm glad that he's still doing well because I always liked him when he was here. He kept his mouth shut, ran a good defense, and tackled everyone who was near him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Did you see Greggo E. rip Whitner in the article? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramius Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Exactly. Somebody who is that old and undersized has all of the odds against him. I'm glad that he's still doing well because I always liked him when he was here. He kept his mouth shut, ran a good defense, and tackled everyone who was near him. Excellent post. Fletcher always a hell of a player and i enjoyed all of his time on the Bills. But, as you said, those beatings tend to catch up with players before too long, especially one of smaller stature. It was too much of a risk to keep Fletcher for his price tag and age. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lets_go_bills Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 I miss Fletch. But he just wanted too much money. I knew he'd still be good but we just couldn't justify it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Did you see Greggo E. rip Whitner in the article? He said Leonhard's a better safety than Whitner. It's easy to say that based on the playoff games being on TV recently, but they're about even. But for those who are fly-by-night casual fans and read the articles, this won't go over all too well. It's absurd to say Whitner's not able to make game changing plays solely because the pass rush is poor. He was billed as a run supporter and I'm not seeing the plays behind the line of scrimmage there either. I'm not even sure his recognition skills are there to be considered a legit FS. Ultimately, when it's all said and done, Fletcher was able to play the C2 defense. Buffalo didn't want to pay a guy over 30. We don't know his contract demands, but I recall him claiming he didn't get an offer, which wasn't true. Who knows what he was offered, but he went to Washington and seems to be playing well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toledo Bill Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Regarding the "staying in the lineup on passing downs", he should have come out on passing downs. I agree with the accolades he gets for leadership and tackling, but he was consistently picked on and beat in pass coverage (at least during his tenure here). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuffaloBill Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 Excellent post. Fletcher always a hell of a player and i enjoyed all of his time on the Bills. But, as you said, those beatings tend to catch up with players before too long, especially one of smaller stature. It was too much of a risk to keep Fletcher for his price tag and age. Agreed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted January 27, 2009 Share Posted January 27, 2009 He said Leonhard's a better safety than Whitner. It's easy to say that based on the playoff games being on TV recently, but they're about even. I think that Whitner is better, but the fact that he was a #8 and they are mentioned in the same breath is unsettling, to say the least. It will take the Bills many years to recover from the Dick Levy Era. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 I think that Whitner is better, but the fact that he was a #8 and they are mentioned in the same breath is unsettling, to say the least. Whitner is a pretty good, but expensive safety. Leonhard is a free (essentially) average safety. We'll see what happens in 2010. That's a contract year for #20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lets_go_bills Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Whitner is a pretty good, but expensive safety. Leonhard is a free (essentially) average safety. We'll see what happens in 2010. That's a contract year for #20. Put a FS with range and play-making ability next to him and let Whitner just play SS and watch what happens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Whitner is a pretty good, but expensive safety. Leonhard is a free (essentially) average safety. We'll see what happens in 2010. That's a contract year for #20. He will be gone and his replacement will be a first round pick, unless Dick Levy takes one at #11 this year, and goes with a corner in 2010. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckyFillUps Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Put a FS with range and play-making ability next to him and let Whitner just play SS and watch what happens. DAMN YOU TAYLOR MAYS!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvermike Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 He will be gone and his replacement will be a first round pick, unless Dick Levy takes one at #11 this year, and goes with a corner in 2010. Look at this thread! Apparently the solution really is MORE safeties. So much for the theory that any fan in the stadium could draft better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincec Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Maybe I don't get it, but if I wanted to win football games I would keep players that are performing well and release players that are not. London Fletcher was one of our best defensive players when we released him. He went on to produce for Washington and we went back to the draft board trying to replace him (which we still haven't done). It's like the people that suggest we trade Peters. We need to keep our good players and try to build around them, not constantly start over for one reason or another... He's too old, he want's too much money, he's got a bad attitude, he doesn't fit our new system, etc. These are just bad excuses for getting rid of good players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Look at this thread! Apparently the solution really is MORE safeties. So much for the theory that any fan in the stadium could draft better. Oh yeah.....this team has been run so poorly for so long that there is a young generation of Bills Fans who really don't know what wins football games. That is a freaking shame. When/if Dick Levy drafts a first round corner in April, posters will defend the pick (Greer is leaving), or tell us that the player is "good," which in our case doesn't matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsVet Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 It will take the Bills many years to recover from the Dick Levy Era. Just keeping DJ around so he can provide "input" for personnel this season will set the Bills back another 2 seasons. He's had far too little success drafting (Chicago 99-00) and Buffalo (06-08) to justify he has anything more than advice about whom to draft. I would hope Modrak will be making picks come April. Jauron should be relegated to taking notes and updating the draft board. Put a FS with range and play-making ability next to him and let Whitner just play SS and watch what happens. Can anyone tell me who plays FS with Polamalu? Or how about Adrian Wilson. Bob Sanders? All of them play SS, yet none of them need a great FS to help them make plays. Whitner is not the star people thought he'd be after the 06 season. We have every excuse on the board about why he hasn't performed better: lack of a pass rush, injuries, lack of a complementary safety, coaches using him incorrectly or to shore up other areas. Just once I'd like to hear he succeeded despite not having fine players all around him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lets_go_bills Posted January 28, 2009 Share Posted January 28, 2009 Just keeping DJ around so he can provide "input" for personnel this season will set the Bills back another 2 seasons. He's had far too little success drafting (Chicago 99-00) and Buffalo (06-08) to justify he has anything more than advice about whom to draft. I would hope Modrak will be making picks come April. Jauron should be relegated to taking notes and updating the draft board. Can anyone tell me who plays FS with Polamalu? Or how about Adrian Wilson. Bob Sanders? All of them play SS, yet none of them need a great FS to help them make plays. Whitner is not the star people thought he'd be after the 06 season. We have every excuse on the board about why he hasn't performed better: lack of a pass rush, injuries, lack of a complementary safety, coaches using him incorrectly or to shore up other areas. Just once I'd like to hear he succeeded despite not having fine players all around him. They played Whitner at SS, FS and nickel. That is not good for his development. Now I'm not saying he's a freaking stud, but I'm not ready to give up on him yet. A legit, rangy FS allows him to play a little closer to the line, assisting in run support while covering the short to medium pass game. Also, to answer your questions: Antoine Bethea plays next to Sanders and made the Pro Bowl last year. Antrel Rolle plays beside Wilson and has made strides after switching from CB. Ryan Clark plays next to Polamalu and had a couple of huge hits, including the hit on Welker. Eat it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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