#5 Stephenson

[ColoradoBills]

6 minutes ago, Generic_Bills_Fan said:

Falcons defender made a really nice tackle with his helmet right on the ball…the McKenzie muff was far worse so I could see why Stevenson got the benefit of the doubt at the very least.

 

Agree.  It was mentioned up thread about his decisions on fair catches.  He needs to improve on that but that comes with reps and coaching.

If he has a good week of practice, he should get another shot in the Jets game.  He seems aggressive/fearless and you can't teach that.

 

Just a general note.  It's a good thing a lot of these posters were not around Andre Roberts his first few years.  He wasn't an "All Pro" right

out of the blocks.  In fact, he lost his returner duties on both of his first 2 teams.

[hemma]

Everyone should look over your shoulder and see where you just walked.

 

He pops one and you’ll be backtracking.

[zow2]

I tell my son at the start of each game that i cringe whenever Stevenson and Breida handle the football.  I feel like they will fumble every time. 

[billsfan_34]

9 hours ago, Juice_32 said:

Me and @Sheneneh Jenkins were texting about this during the game. Dude has never been tackled by a different colored jersey. The thought of him handling returns in the playoffs scares the hell out of me.

Zero patience or concentration- then whack, right into his teammate. Everytime he is back there I cringe.

[BrainwashedBillsFan]

9 hours ago, streetkings01 said:

McKenzie lost the punt return job his 1st year in Buffalo……16 returns with 2 fumbles…..he had 8 fumbles his rookie year in Denver. McKenzie doesn’t pass the eye test either on punt returns. If you want a punt catcher then put Hyde back there, but let’s not act like McKenzie puts everyone at ease when he’s back returning punts either.

Agree, I’m way more terrified of McKenzie muffing a punt then Stevenson. You can visibly see McKenzie freaking out back there returning punts, his mind is spinning and has no clue whether to fair catch it, let it go or try for a return. And you can tell by his reaction after every punt, it’s usually him pissed off cause he should have done the opposite of what he chose to do

[Bookie Man]

I think he has potential. Probably the most explosive guy on the team. I'm not ready to pull him just yet. 

[Mikie2times]

10 hours ago, Dan Darragh said:

How did the Bills let Andre Roberts go from Houston to LAC? Did we put in a waiver claim?

When's the last time he did anything.....😥

 

 

[Mr. WEO]

just give him a different jersey number

3 hours ago, Einstein said:

 

He's also put the ball on the ground 3 times this year. 1 fumble, 2 muffs.

 

 

1 out if the hand is worth 2 bushes

[Turk71]

12 hours ago, foreboding said:

I really hope they put someone else back there. Besides the brutal fumble, the guy runs headlong into his blockers almost every return. Maybe time to reinstall lil' Dirty?

Stephensons shaky, no idea why they leave him back there. 

On the fumble he turned away from the hit and exposed the football to it. Ball security is A1 attribute and is all that matters to me when fielding punts (especially

outdoors this time of year)

Put whoever's best at safely catching the ball and making good decisions back there. Give the offense the ball and let them score points.

 

[BarleyNY]

On 1/3/2022 at 12:54 PM, Ethan in Portland said:

McKenzie has been in the league for 6 years.  So your first point doesn't make any sense. 

Of course I don't think Allen should be benched. My point is it is stupid to bench a RB or a KR for a muff or a fumble to send a message, just as you wouldn't bench Allen to send a message.  If they are the most qualified to do the job let them do it. 

McKenzie muffed a punt in the Dolphins game and then fumbled in the Colts game.  It’s also worth noting that he had fumbling issues in Denver, which is a big part of why they let him walk.  He didn’t get benched after the Dolphins one, but I would think that he heard about it.  McDermott definitely benched him (made him inactive) right after the next fumble.  To me that looks like McDermott was holding a player accountable for his play on the field.  Seems like McKenzie got the message too.  At least in the short term. 

 

As for the Allen comparison that YOU made, my point is simple.  You were making an illogical leap to try to win an argument.  My point was that the two players are obviously not comparable, but that you felt you had to make it seem like they were to try to win the argument.  That was ridiculous and points to how wrong you are.  I’ll leave this there.  

[Albany,n.y.]

On 1/3/2022 at 9:35 AM, Dan Darragh said:

How did the Bills let Andre Roberts go from Houston to LAC? Did we put in a waiver claim?

At the time he was released on October 18th, he wasn't on waivers.  There were no waivers for vets until 11/2/21.  

 

https://dknation.draftkings.com/nfl/2021/8/30/22648201/nfl-waiver-wire-rules-2021-which-team-has-top-priority-claims-order

 

Who goes through waivers?

Players with less than four years of accrued service time are subject to waivers. A player with at least four years of accrued service time, referred to as a “vested veteran” immediately becomes a free agent and is eligible to sign with any other team.

Is this the same all season?

No. After the trade deadline passes on November 2, vested veterans will have to go through waivers if released.

[Captain_Quint]

21 hours ago, hemma said:

Everyone should look over your shoulder and see where you just walked.

 

He pops one and you’ll be backtracking.

Same goes for the next time that he fumbles. And if that happens in the playoffs, it's gonna sting. 

 

[CapeBreton]

When we drafted Stevenson, I watched his college highlights and he looked electric and was pretty excited about him. But man he just looks straight up bad out there, as soon as he touches the ball you can tell the play is going to die shortly. 
 

It’s different but Bass didn’t look great out of the gate and had some jitters early on, lots of people were calling for his head but be turned it around. Luckily that was at the start of the year and he finished great. This returner situation is pretty bad going into the playoffs, hard to trust him or McKenzie but here we are. 

[streetkings01]

McKenzie with a muffed punt……wonder if the OP has more confidence with McKenzie back there instead of Stevenson?

[MAJBobby]

Hyde needs to step up and start fielding these freaking punts if they are gonna but him back there. 

[Real McClappy]

14 hours ago, MAJBobby said:

Hyde needs to step up and start fielding these freaking punts if they are gonna but him back there. 

Agreed.

 

I have no idea WTF we are doing on returns right now headed into the playoffs? Field position is so important moving forward and we cannot expect to win with what we seen against the Jets. Label me "Concerned as hell" between Punt returns and Punting the ball at this phase.

 

Does anyone know if this was brought up to McD in post game interviews?

Edited January 10, 2022 by Real McNasty

[DCofNC]

I’m betting Hyde is back there for every punt in the playoffs.

[Real McClappy]

17 minutes ago, DCofNC said:

I’m betting Hyde is back there for every punt in the playoffs.

Even more concerning though. If he gets hurt on a damn return we are getting F'd big time. 

[SectionC3]

15 hours ago, MAJBobby said:

Hyde needs to step up and start fielding these freaking punts if they are gonna but him back there. 

Amen.  We let a couple of first downs slip away because he wasn’t catching the ball.  All he has to do is catch it.  I appreciate that the wind was a mess last night.  But this can’t keep happening.  

16 hours ago, streetkings01 said:

McKenzie with a muffed punt……wonder if the OP has more confidence with McKenzie back there instead of Stevenson?

Did he muff that one?  I was at the game and his body was between me and the ball.  Every single return is an adventure with these guys now. 

[RoyBatty is alive]

52 minutes ago, Real McNasty said:

Agreed.

 

I have no idea WTF we are doing on returns right now headed into the playoffs? Field position is so important moving forward and we cannot expect to win with what we seen against the Jets. Label me "Concerned as hell" between Punt returns and Punting the ball at this phase.

 

Does anyone know if this was brought up to McD in post game interviews?

 

If this has to be brought up to McD in press conferences then we have the wrong head coach.