Whitner & Pollard (1 Viewer)

[JOBOOZOSO]

Thoughts?

These guys haven't stood out, so i'd consider them a mild disappointment.

I was forced to watch the entire Jet/Bill game (live in NY area). Whitner looked good on the plays he made, but he was rarely in the box. Bills gameplan had him playing like a centerfielder, which is bizarre cause (1) Pennington can't throw more than 10 yds downfield, and (2) he's listed as a Strong Safety.

As for Pollard, who's seen him play? Page stats look much better. Do the Chiefs use a true SS/FS alignment, or do they play left/right safety like the bengals?

thanks.

 

[kflo]

Theres a guy in my fantasy league that saw the game. I am a Pollard owner I asked him how he looked casue he was watching the game. He said Pollard, is big and fast, hits hard reminds him of a young Roy williams. but has bad insticnts in the passing game. I think that will change with experience.

 

[Jene Bramel]

Thoughts?These guys haven't stood out, so i'd consider them a mild disappointment.I was forced to watch the entire Jet/Bill game (live in NY area). Whitner looked good on the plays he made, but he was rarely in the box. Bills gameplan had him playing like a centerfielder, which is bizarre cause (1) Pennington can't throw more than 10 yds downfield, and (2) he's listed as a Strong Safety.As for Pollard, who's seen him play? Page stats look much better. Do the Chiefs use a true SS/FS alignment, or do they play left/right safety like the bengals?thanks.

A few thoughts.Regarding Whitner, the Bills were finally able to stuff the run with seven in the box against the Jets (Thomas Jones 12-35) and Jim Leonhard is now on tape as beatable in deep coverage, so in hindsight it's not too surprising to see the Bills use more Cover-2/Tampa-2, especially with the corners banged up.We discussed Pollard a bit on our podcast last week and in the thread requesting questions for the podcast afterwards. I think Pollard's primary issue right now is that the three linebackers are playing so well that there aren't enough tackles for a safety. You are correct, though, in that Herm Edwards will play his safeties interchangeably (see also: Coleman/Rhodes in 2005). Pollard does usually line up on the left. I didn't see the game yesterday, but I'd guess that the Chiefs did the same thing with Gates as they did with Winslow in the preseason -- line up Page in over-the-top coverage closer to the LOS than usual. Finally, though the Bengals use Madieu Williams on a lot of run blitzes, they play a traditional free/strong alignment with their safeties. It doesn't appear that way in the stat lines because Dexter Jackson is mostly talk and little production.

 

[J Giles Band]

Thoughts?These guys haven't stood out, so i'd consider them a mild disappointment.I was forced to watch the entire Jet/Bill game (live in NY area). Whitner looked good on the plays he made, but he was rarely in the box. Bills gameplan had him playing like a centerfielder, which is bizarre cause (1) Pennington can't throw more than 10 yds downfield, and (2) he's listed as a Strong Safety.As for Pollard, who's seen him play? Page stats look much better. Do the Chiefs use a true SS/FS alignment, or do they play left/right safety like the bengals?thanks.

I saw a graphic on the NBC game last night that had Whitner in the top 5 in tackles in the NFL thus far. I'm sorry, I just can't put him in the disappointing category... no matter his glory stats.

 

[JOBOOZOSO]

I saw a graphic on the NBC game last night that had Whitner in the top 5 in tackles in the NFL thus far. I'm sorry, I just can't put him in the disappointing category... no matter his glory stats.

Thanks all.Yeah Freeze Frame, that's true. BUF statitician has been kind in the Assist category. Sadly, my league doesn't award pts for sissy Assists, and he's had one turnover.

 

[J Giles Band]

I saw a graphic on the NBC game last night that had Whitner in the top 5 in tackles in the NFL thus far. I'm sorry, I just can't put him in the disappointing category... no matter his glory stats.

Thanks all.Yeah Freeze Frame, that's true. BUF statitician has been kind in the Assist category. Sadly, my league doesn't award pts for sissy Assists, and he's had one turnover.

Wow... no points for assists in an IDP league? Man I'm sorry for you, that sucks...

 

[JOBOOZOSO]

At least we all can watch the Monday Night game and analyze how the change affects his fantasy status.

****************

Wed. Notebook: Whitner to Free Safety

by Chris Brown, Lead Journalist Last Updated: 10/3/2007 4:58 PM ET

http://www.buffalobills.com/news/news.jsp?NEWS_ID=5353

With free safety Jim Leonhard still hobbled with a strained calf and declared out until after the bye week, Buffalo's defensive staff is going to use its fastest safety in the deep third at times Monday night.

"We've made a couple of changes back there," said Whitner of the injury-riddled secondary. "My role is changing this week. Instead of being down a lot, I'll be playing some free safety this week."

Cornerback Jabari Greer likes the idea of Whitner shifting to free safety knowing the ground he can cover and the help he can provide over the top.

"I'm excited about seeing Donte at free," said Greer. "He plays wide open, and he has great speed for a safety. Having him back there behind me and Terrence (McGee) I know we're going to feel safe. And I know there's not a free safety in the league that's going to hit as hard as he is."

That means Bryan Scott, signed to the roster three weeks ago, will be handling the strong safety duties when Whitner plays free safety. Scott, at 6'1" 219 pounds, is a bigger and stouter safety than Whitner and should have no problem filling gaps in the run front.

"Luckily with Bryan he's got some experience in the league and he's not just a rookie," said head coach **** Jauron. "So that will make it a little bit easier. Donte's role will be changing a little bit and he'll be doing multiple things. Donte has really played well for us."

"The coaches feel like Bryan is more suitable to strong safety," said Whitner. "He's going to get up to speed because he's a veteran in this league. He's been in the league five years and has more starts in the secondary than everybody except for Terrence. I can learn some things from him."

"We know that they're more than capable of filling in and making big plays," said Greer of Scott and Whitner.

 

[Islander]

What are Whitner's prospects this week? Has anybody heard anything about how the Bills plan on using him against the Ravens? I would tend to think he will be used in the box quite a bit due to the Ravens' style. Plus injuries in the backfield had time to heal due to the bye week?