I heard a very disturbing statistic on the radio in Buffalo today. Donte Whitner, the 8th overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft has 2 career interceptions and 1 career sack. I remember standing 2 feet away from the TV screen hoping for Matt Leinart, Jay Cutler, or about 30 others. Donte Whitner?!?!?!?! I thought I knew every player that would be drafted in the first round that year, apparently not. Whitner has been completely worthless since entering the NFL. He is the opposite of a playmaker. I don’t think he has made a play in the NFL yet. This got me to thinking about the Bills previous drafts and the “Big” 10. First of all there are 11 teams in the Big “10″, and they are not big at all. Of all the first round picks from the Big 10 in the last 5 years, there have been a few offensvie lineman that have played well on the NFL level. Besides that, just a bunch of over-hyped busts or mediocre starters or even back-ups. Ya Santonio Holmes made one great catch, so what. Ted Ginn Jr.? Vernon Gholston? Even A.J. Hawk has been pretty mediocre. Now the bills just drafted Aaron Maybin, from the Big 10. I am predicting a total bust. He’s young like Whitner was, came out of the Big ten like Whitner, and was drafted too high, like Whitner. Maybe three years from now Maybin will have 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble, like Whitner, but obviously playing a different position.

The Big 10 is a joke as of late. Even the best teams in the Big 10, Penn State, and Ohio State just end up getting crushed by USC or Florida or some other team from a real conference. I don’t know if Michigan State has produced a decent NFL player since Plax, and oh yeah he’s going to prison. Charles Rodgers anyone? Iowa produced Robert Gallery, never gave up a sack in college, total bust in the NFL. Illinois and Indiana are irrelevant. Michigan is clearly going nowhere fast, and besides Braylon Edwards and Jake Long, they have produced no one worth talking about. The Big 10 is just a joke. And yet the Bills keep picking players from the Big 10. No wonder we have been garbage the past 10 years. Maybe we should only take players from the ACC, Jim Kelly and Bruce Smith worked out OK. Yes, I know Miami was technically in the SEC back then too.

Nevertheless, the Big 10 is ruining the NFL, or at least ruining the Bills. So hopefully, the Bills get rid of Jauron who seems to be obsessed with the Big 10, hire Jon Gruden, and draft Colt McCoy. That would be an foundation to build around. A tough Texan QB and a tough loud mouth coach with a ring. This is my hope after the inevitable 7-9 this year.

This entry was posted on Monday, August 31st, 2009 at 6:09 pm and is filed under General Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.