What's up YB? I've been really focused leading into the season, but I will keep you all updated from week to week! I wanted to tell everyone that this was one of my best games I have ever played! This is not because we won, but for many more reasons! One of the many reasons is WE ALL have ONE common goal! We have all bonded and we are fighting this war together! Offense and Defense are complimenting one another! Last but not least... OUR FANS, what more can I say! I will say this, it was their spirit, dedication and pride that motivated us! Our fans are rooting us on in the rain as if it was the sunniest day of the season. If you cant tell by now I love my team, coaches and all of the fans not only in Buffalo, but all around the world! Thank you and continue to support the Buffalo Bills!

-20

Chad Johnson's teammates kneeled in prayer. The Cincinnati Bengals receiver writhed delicately on the cold Ralph Wilson Stadium turf. He was in too much pain to thrash. His problem? He made a mistake. He made himself vulnerable in Donte Whitner's neighborhood. Johnson, arms out, dove for a sinking pass in the closing minutes of a Nov. 4, 2007 loss to the Buffalo Bills. A torpedo screamed for Johnson's ribcage. Whitner, the Bills' bone-jolting strong safety, blasted him. Emerging AFC Stars Broncos QB Jay Cutler Titans CB Cortland Finnegan Steelers WR Santonio Holmes Bills safety Donte Whitner You can't spell "detonate" without the D, O, N, T or E. "When a guy gets that football in his hands, you get an opportunity to do something we can't do in public," Whitner said. "If we did, then we'd all be locked up. I try to be as violent and as fast as possible. I've always liked it. It's an adrenaline thing." Johnson failed to do something Whitner, at an early age, learned nobody should forget to do. Look both ways. A near-fatal accident when Whitner was 4 years old drove home that lesson. Then, as he got older, he encountered a series of discouraging episodes that constantly reinforced another truism. Grow up fast. Those concepts have combined to make Whitner who he is, and have established his reputation as an emerging NFL star mature beyond his years. The fast track is the only path he has known. He graduated high school early and left Ohio State early. He's entering his third NFL season, but he didn't turn 23 until the day the Bills reported to training camp. And this is the year he plans to blow up. "I just want to force teams to pay attention to me on the field," Whitner said. "I want those guys to have to game plan for me. "Any player who wants to be disruptive or be a good player in this game, they should want the same thing. I really want to be the best safety in the game of football, and if you don't want to be the best at your position, there's really no reason to be playing. When I come away from this game, I want to be considered one of the best."

Those closest to him don't doubt he's capable. Whitner not only has the physical skills; he also is known as one of Buffalo's classiest, most dedicated players. He's a leader and highly involved in the community through his Team 20 Foundation. "I don't like to compare young players to anybody else, but he's a special guy," said Bills assistant George Catavolos, who has coached NFL defensive backs since 1984. "He can do whatever he wants with his future." That would have been difficult to foresee for Deborah Robinson 19 years ago. For three months she carted her son around their Cleveland neighborhood in a wagon. Little Donte (he has his mother's maiden name) was in a body cast, multiple fractures in both legs. Doctors cautioned Deborah he might not be able to walk normally. In a decision similar to the one Ocho Cinco lamented last autumn, Whitner dashed after a ball without looking both ways. He ran into the street. A car ran him over. That wasn't the worst of Whitner's childhood. He had to become the man of the house when he was 12. His father, Lindsey Robinson, served six years in the Mansfield Correctional Institution for attempted robbery. Whitner, his little brother and his mom lived with his grandmother and three cousins on Cleveland's dodgy East Side. "I hate to say it, but a lot of his determination, I feel, comes from the anger and resentment and absent love in his life," Lindsey Robinson told the Dayton Daily News shortly after his prison release in 2003. "He took that to heart and put it to something positive." Look both ways. Grow up fast. Whitner was a blue-chip recruit at Glenville High, where he played with Baltimore Ravens quarterback Troy Smith, Miami Dolphins receiver Ted Ginn Jr. and New England Patriots linebacker Pierre Woods. Whitner graduated several months early to enroll at Ohio State. He was 17, in Columbus and competing for a starting job with the Buckeyes while his Glenville classmates still were horsing around in study hall and drinking their lunchtime milk out of 8-ounce cartons. He developed a reputation at Ohio State as hard hitter, a relentless worker, a leader. He played three years and left after his junior season. The Bills selected him eighth overall in 2006. Whitner was 20. "He has a lot of the characteristics you want in a safety," Catavolos said. "He's intense. He's hard-hitting. He's good against the run. He can cover. He can play strong safety, free safety and nickel and he doesn't bat an eye." Whitner established himself as an NFL talent straight away. He started-- games as a rookie, and before the flu sidelined him for the meaningless 2007 season finale in Philadelphia, he was the only Bill to play every defensive snap. His 102 tackles ranked third on the team. "I see a very passionate player," Bills receiver Lee Evans said. "He plays with high energy. He plays downhill. He slides all around the field, and he's kind of the spark plug of that defense." Whitner certainly sparked discussion before training camp, when he guaranteed the Bills will make the playoffs this year. Young players are supposed to keep their mouths shut. In light of the Bills' 7-9 finish last season -- the eighth consecutive campaign without a playoff berth -- Whitner's guarantee sounds foolhardy. Many rolled their eyes. Now Whitner intends to roll some heads. "We're going to make the playoffs," Whitner reiterated. "I'm not backing down from that guarantee. I feel even stronger about it now than when I made it. "We'll see what people say at the end of the day." Whitner knows his guarantee will make him a target for criticism every weekend this fall. "Scrubs don't make predictions like that," Whitner said. "You have to be an impact player in the league to even open up your mouth and say something like that." He insisted he's ready for the extra attention because he sees how the Bills' Tampa 2-style defense is morphing with such acquisitions as defensive tackles Marcus Stroud and Spencer Johnson and linebacker Kawika Mitchell, and the return of middle linebacker Paul Posluszny from a broken forearm. "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see what you have on the football field," Whitner said. "And with the guys coming together, it's more of a brotherhood than a football team. "This is the time when it all happens, when you get all the pieces around you, all the players get better and everybody can make plays. We have those pieces in place." What has Whitner jacked up is that, with a revamped line, the defense can be more aggressive. That means he should have the chance to be a more versatile weapon. Whitner, who is 5-foot-10 and 208 pounds, doesn't have an NFL sack yet. That might be surprising to those who watched him at Ohio State, where he recorded five sacks and 13 tackles for loss. "We're going to be a pressure football team," Whitner said. "The way the coaches got me around the football in practice, I'm loving it. "We feel we can go with man coverage and bring some of those safety blitzes and zone blitzes. You might think I'm coming or I'm not coming. We're doing a lot of things to make plays and be a good defense." That might keep opposing receivers up at night in the days leading up to a Bills game. "He's a tough matchup," Dolphins receiver Derek Hagan said. "He's a young guy, but he comes to play. When you see a small safety you expect to run right through him, but he's got a lot of power and he brings it. "Whenever I'm on the field I'm watching out for the safeties, but he's one of those guys that you know, when you watch film, he'll come up and hit you. He's made his mark on being physical. He's not afraid to hit." As a burgeoning leader would, Whitner always is looking for ways to stimulate team cohesiveness. Last year, he played host to Thursday-night film sessions in the basement of his Hamburg, N.Y. home. He brings in a chef and a masseuse. The turnout's always strong. Not many 23-year-olds would take it upon themselves to do something like that. Or start a charitable foundation. Or buy his mother and grandmother a new house far removed from the gritty city. Or make a haughty guarantee. "A lot of guys are good at this game, but it's people who aren't scared to take the next step that want to be great," Whitner said. "You have to hold yourself up to high expectations and know what you want and go out and get it." Tim Graham covers the NFL for ESPN.com.

DONTE'S OPINION: They consider me a bust, huh? thanks guys!!! watch us Sept 9th 2008.....BE THERE!

Ok I've tried for so long to keep this in, but its painfully evident that Donte Whitner is hardly a star player at this point in his career. I just don't see it, he's late to the ball constantly, out of position, and just plain average. Those two long touchdowns were so pathetic, not all his fault but where is the Strong Safety? His level of play is no where even close to the elite of the leauge. Hes never defends any passes always late on the coverage, has no nose for the ball or ability to disect a play whatsoever. what a dissapointment for a top ten pick, guys who play like that are a dime a dozen nothing special. I hope he turns the corner or his bad play is largely the fault of those around him, but im getting tired of making excuses, this guy seems to get a free pass from fans because we want him to be the worth the pick so badly, me included. Every week I just want him to be a force and hit somebody but i just keep waiting...

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Donte's opinion: Life is a great thing, so be careful what u wish for....Im glad he's still living

A 52 year old man got sick of living and decided to end it all in front of everyone.Incident happened in Cluj (Romania).He had no family and he was working at a construction company.He survived the fall but he could end up in a wheel chair for the rest of his life.

DONTE'S OPINION: LAMONT IS A GOOD BACK, AND I LOOK FORWARD TO FACING HIM TWICE A YEAR!

Adam Schefter of NFL Network is reporting that the New England Patriots have signed running back LaMont Jordan, a day after he was released by the Oakland Raiders. Per Schefter, Jordan was also considering signing with the Saints, a team that could be in greater need of another veteran running back if Deuce McAllister's swollen knee turns out to be serious. Jordan's deal with the Patriots is a one-year contract. No financial terms have been reported. Last season Jordan played in 12 games for the Raiders, starting seven and finishing the season with--4 carries for 549 yards and three touchdowns.

DONTE'S OPINION: THIS OFFENSE HAS NO PLACE IN THE NFL!!!

A reader has forwarded to us an intriguing story from Rivals.com regarding a new offense that has been developed on the high school level.

It's called the A-11, and it's designed to spread the field by making the defense believe that literally any of the players can end up with the ball in their hands.

The attack is the product of the brain of Kurt Bryan, the coach at Piedmont (Calif.) High School.

The base formation involves a center flanked by two tight ends, with three receivers to the right and three to the left. And two quarterbacks in the backfield. (Jon Gruden likes it already.)

"Going into the [2007] season, we thought that either we're going to get fired or we're going to transform the game because of the innovative aspects and the wealth of ideas," Bryan said. "Luckily, it turned out to be the latter."

Though we're having trouble imagining the thing working in pro football, we can see some of the college teams giving it a try, possibly as a change-of-pace attack aimed at creating confusion and speed-based mismatches.

There's a web site devoted to the offense, and a quick review of it addressed some of our basic questions and concerns. Meanwhile, we're going to try to figure out whether the formation could be used at the NFL level without violating any of the applicable rules.

Good morning my YB peeps and Buffalo fans everywhere!!!! Today we report to camp, in ol St. John's Fisher college in Rochester,Ny to start our journey.The living arrangements are pretty good at fisher college. And coach Jauron is so much of a players coach that he allows every player rookie or vet their own private space. (meaning he allows us our own dorm rooms with our own bathroom and all) Thats a big deal if you've seen a lot of these other camp living arrangements. We are not just a journey to the playoffs or to a championship but on the journey of brotherhood. Now this definition of brotherhood is different in my opinion from the Webster's definition. We as Bill-ievers define it as when times get hard out there on the field can I look into your eyes and see that on the next snap your gonna give me your all? or do I see a weak and selfish individual? Let me say Bill-ievers you guys wont see any of that this year. Saddle up and get ready to take this ride!!!!!

Realizing that we all have different backgrounds and different beliefs is the best part about camp. Not only do I get to prove to my coaches and teammates that I belong in this league and deserve the oppurtunity to lead this football team, but I get to prove to myself that I do have the tools and the talents to become the best safety in the League. And we get to develope and bond and chemistry that were gonna need deep into November and December. Coach always says, "YOU WIN WITH HARD WORK AND A LIL LUCK"

OK time to pack up the trunk and head up the road. I'll leave a couple articles that i feel are relevant today and I'll holla later and let YB and the Bill-ievers know how everyone looked during weigh-in and check in. PEACE AND LOVE 20!!!

Donte's opinion: I think they should pay him top dollar! He's a game changer at any moment. Getting better on offense also!

The unexpected holdout of Bears receiver/kick returner Devin Hester illustrates the flipside of the mess that is the manner in which NFL rookies are paid.

Under the current system, players are paid over the first three-to-six years of their careers based primarily on when they were drafted. If a top-five pick flames out, he keeps the money. If a seventh-rounder becomes a stud, he gets nothing more... until he gets a new contract.

For many of the picks, they receive only a slotted signing bonus and minimum salaries for the life of the deal.

"For me to be being paid as much as players on other teams who are sixth- and seventh-round picks who haven't played a snap," Hester said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. "They're getting paid the same amount as me after the two years I've had. . . . It isn't fair."

Amen, Devin. It isn't fair.

And so the NFL and the NFL Players Association need to agree on a system that permits every rookie to earn more money based on performance.

That said, the NFL currently makes available a league-wide pool that is distributed to players based on a formula that takes into account how much they play and how little they're paid. In 2008, for example, Willie Colon of the Steelers picked up an extra $309,000 on top of his $450,000 base salary.

But Hester surely wants more than that. He wants a base salary that reflects his abilities and that reward him for his performance over the first two years of his contract.

The best approach could be to create a new players' incentive system that, like the performance-based pay, isn't part of each team's salary cap. The rookies' base pay would be determined by a narrow NBA-style formula, making contract negotiatons simple and eliminating the opportunity for ridiculous increases from one year to the next (and reducing significantly the influence of agents). Then, every rookie's pay would be supplemented based on a system of incentives specifically negotiated for each position.

It's the easiest path to a win-win. The rookies would consume less cap space on each of their teams, and thus more of it would be available to veterans. But the rookies would then be compensated fairly and appropriately for what they actually do between the white lines.

A Chinese company has developed a prototype flying saucer that can hover in the air and be controlled remotely from afar. Click HERE for more pics and info...

The aircraft is 1.2 metres (four feet) in diameter and is able to take off and land vertically and hover at an altitude of up to 1,000 metres (yards), Xinhua news agency said.

Its top speed is 80 kilometres (50 miles) per hour, it added.

It took the Harbin Smart Special Aerocraft Co Ltd 12 years and 28 million yuan (4.1 million dollars) to develop the prototype craft.

THIS IS SICK!!!! but u have to admit it's kinda scary also

For some of us, it is nearing back-to-school time again and for many that means laptop shopping season. Well before you decide which generic PC to buy, take a look at the Bentley Laptop.

The Bentley laptop from Ego features industry level specs, but an outer appearance that is like none other. Each unit is hand built and is made from the same leather as the Bentley car seats. The interior is finished with the iconic blue a€¦ (morea€¦)

I personally think these look cool and if u look on the ego website you'll see they come in all sorts of flavors! But for 20k **** no!!!!

Ok so after a good day of blogging Im gonna call it quits for the day but tomorrow we report to camp and Im more ready than ever. After the guarantee I've received a lot of phone calls, emails, messages on myspace and messages on facebook, some good and definantly some from the doubters. It's definantly motivation for the entire organization to get going. Were all in this together and its been too long since the city of Buffalo has experienced a winning team and trust me all buffalo fans and will experience the playoffs and once in the playoffs anything can happen. Just look at the Giants last year.

Why did I make the guarantee?

-well 1st off because I know we have all the pieces in place

-we have experience (in the previous two years we very very young and injured)

-special teams( for the last 4 yrs we've had the #1 spot for special teams stats and a #2 finish)

-Defense (our roster is loaded with cb's that can really play not just a bunch of bodies, which will allow us to utilize more defensive packages and schemes, and not be so predictable and allow qb's to bleed us all the way down the field hoping they make a mistake)

-offensive line (and two your surprise this yr it wont just be Marshawn, Freddie is one of the hardest workers I've ever seen so look forward to a two headed RB/WR duo and thats all Im going to say about them you'll have to just wait and se it on your own)

LAST AND FINAL REASON IS THE FANS OF BUFFALO!!!! THEY WILL BE THE REASON WE MAKE OUR RUN. I WANT TO CHALLENGE EVERY FAN THAT ATTENDS A GAME IN BUFALO THIS YEAR.........LET ME SAY THIS CLEARY.........."LET'S MAKE BUFFALO THE SCARIEST PLACE TO PLAY IN THE NFL, WE WILL DO OUR PART ON THE FIELD BY BEING THE MOST PHYSICAL TEAM IN THE LEAGUE AND YOU GUYS DO YOUR PART BY CURSING, YELLING, THROWING SNOWBALLS WHATEVER YOU HAVE TO DO TO BRING IT HOME. CAN U ACCEPT THE BILL-EVE CHALLENGE? WILL YOU DO YOUR PART? THIS PIC SYMBOLIZES THE THE DETERMINATION OF THE NEW ERA BUFFALO BILLS!!!! PLEASE DOWNLOAD IT!!!

This is on of the coolest things I've seen all day! enjoy!

By Architect Mathias Klotz. Click HERE for more pics and info...

Mujeres (Eleven Women House), a cliff-top house near Santiago in Chile.

Designed as a holiday home to accommodate a family with eleven daughters, the house is built on a 45 degree slope.

Chemical Brothers "Midnight Madness"

Directed by Dom & Nic

Remember the Boy Genius Edition Gold BlackBerry 8700? Well, it's been one-upped by Pharrell yet again. This time he's rollin' with a brand new BlackBerry 8800, except it's solid gold. If we do say ourselves, the gold case really looks worlds better on the 8800. Now, if you'll please excuse me while I run to Jacob's store, and lay my BlackBerry down. Check out one more flick of the back, after the jump!

Thanks, Loic!

I once heard Pharrell say if its not fun I dont do it. And truthfully thats how I feel about everything in life.....dont know if Im gonna make this move just yet!