Bills hesitant to use rookie CB McKelvin as returner

[eball]

I feel less smart for reading that. What a bunch of hooey. The special teams playbook is difficult? For a return man?

[d_wag]

while roscoe is exceptional at PR (thus creating no fit for mckelvin) there are two KR spots (i.e. it's not mckelvin or mcgee as so many posters have mentioned) and he should be manning one of them because he's the second best KR on the team......it was painful watching scobey, jackson, and leaonard man the other spot last year and mckelvin should be in that spot just to keep teams honest and kicking to mcgee.........how much instruction is really required? catch the ball, follow the blocks, run........he did it in college, he can do it in the pros, with minimal instruction

[Sisyphean Bills]

I feel less smart for reading that. What a bunch of hooey. The special teams playbook is difficult? For a return man?

Running towards the light is very difficult. It takes insects as small as a pinhead all of about a millisecond to master it.

[Orton's Arm]

The less he returns kicks, the better.

 

A team would have to be CRAZY to replace McGee or Parrish on special teams. I really don't care what this kid did in college...McGee is easily top 3 in the league on kickoffs (some might say one of the best EVER) and Parrish is easily top three in the league on punts.

 

It just doesn't get much better than what we have now.

No argument there. Plus, if McKelvin lives up to his billing, he'll be a much better CB than McGee, and a lot more valuable on defense than Parrish is on offense. If you're going to risk guys on special teams, better to risk the guys you can most afford to lose on offense and defense.

[My Friends Call Me Tebucky]

I'd leave Parrish on punt returns- right now I think that's a no-brainer.

 

Let McKelvin return kickoffs and play nickle while he's learning, allow McGee to concentrate solely on playing corner.

 

Just my opinion, though. McGee is great on kickoff returns, but for a lot of reasons (not all his fault), hasn't been as dynamic over the past year and a half or so.

[stuckincincy]

No argument there. Plus, if McKelvin lives up to his billing, he'll be a much better CB than McGee, and a lot more valuable on defense than Parrish is on offense. If you're going to risk guys on special teams, better to risk the guys you can most afford to lose on offense and defense.

 

Union rules: the roster is limited to 53 to insure that salaries are ramped up for the chosen few. Most unions want as large a membership as possible, but not the player's union. It is a union of elites; a limited guild.

 

You can only dress 49 or so on game day. 16 games. So - use whatever player has the best skills.

[Tim Anderson's Lunch Pail]

while roscoe is exceptional at PR (thus creating no fit for mckelvin) there are two KR spots (i.e. it's not mckelvin or mcgee as so many posters have mentioned) and he should be manning one of them because he's the second best KR on the team......it was painful watching scobey, jackson, and leaonard man the other spot last year and mckelvin should be in that spot just to keep teams honest and kicking to mcgee.........how much instruction is really required? catch the ball, follow the blocks, run........he did it in college, he can do it in the pros, with minimal instruction

 

I don't know man, typically the second KR is a guy who can block, too, like Josh Reed or Fred Jackson. I'd rather not put one of those guys in that position. It just seems like we're opening either one to injury even though they likely wouldn't be returning the ball.

[Chilly]

Union rules: the roster is limited to 53 to insure that salaries are ramped up for the chosen few. Most unions want as large a membership as possible, but not the player's union. It is a union of elites; a limited guild.

 

You can only dress 49 or so on game day. 16 games. So - use whatever player has the best skills.

 

From my understanding of it, the NFL Management Council sets the rules on the number of players on a roster, not the NFLPA.

 

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...75BC0A964948260

[bills7834]

This makes sense to me. I don't see any reason why he should so much as return a kick in the preseason. We know he's got of ton of talent in that regard. Let's save him for defense until we need him for special teams. Maybe even alternate between McGee and McKelvin on kick returns to keep them fresh. I think that will help McGee a lot, too.

I couple of Irish guys possibly starting as our CB's this year. What nickname will they get if they turn out to both be a decent duo back there?

[dave mcbride]

Pro Football Weekly Blurb:

 

There was little contention entering April’s draft that whatever team landed Troy’s Leodis McKelvin would not only be gaining the services of one of the top cover corners in the rookie class, but also a player who would add some sizzle returning kickoffs and punts. Although more accomplished as a punt returner, McKelvin was effective at both, scoring seven touchdowns on returns throughout his collegiate career. But the way we hear it, his special-teams ability will be shelved in Buffalo, at least early on. With an already brilliant special-teams unit — arguably the best in the NFL — and a shoddy secondary, coach Dick Jauron wants McKelvin to learn the ropes of the defense first and foremost. McKelvin isn’t a particularly astute student of the game, and the feeling among the coaches is that throwing both the defensive and special-teams playbooks at him at once will stunt his development. Even if the team felt McKelvin could handle dual responsibilities, there’s no guarantee he’d improve the special-teams play, considering KR Terrence McGee and PR Roscoe Parrish are two of the best in the business.

Key points: McGee and Parrish are excellent returners, and only one guy can return the damn ball. He's not as good as them. Why is this an issue?

[Captain Hindsight]

"He isn't an astute student of the game."

 

I don't know about anyone else, but I'd think that the special teams playbook would be easy for a returner. Why don't they just come out and say. "We don't trust him to know when to fair catch, let the ball go inside the 10, or turn it upfield."

There is more to it than just running upfield. Blocking schemes and two pro bowl caliber returners will keep him on the bench

[Guest dog14787]

I think the question for him is more along the lines of "Is he that much better than McGee and Parrish, that we want him to replace a guy that has experience doing it in the NFL?"

 

I doubt they'll NOT let him return some kicks or punts this year, seeing as how they had Leonhard returning some last year, but I think the coaching staff wants to put the emphasis on that they picked him to be a defensive player first and foremost, with his special teams ability being second.

 

Seems like special teams would be a way for Mckelvin to help the team quicker. I agree with some of the previous posters, I mean how hard can it be to learn his role on special teams? and doesn't special teams normaly come first for a rookie? Wouldn't it be smarter to use Mcgee less in special teams (I know he's awesome) and keep him fresher for his big role on defense? We are asking him to cover the other teams best weapon on many occasions so why not make sure we keep him fresh and healthy and let McKelvin take over the return duties.

 

Makes more sense to me.

[Steely Dan]

Assuming this is true, he still has a lot of time to show how well he can absorb the playbook. Training camp hasn't even started. This report could be to light a fire under his butt-ocks or it could just be a buncha BS.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

Seems like special teams would be a way for Mckelvin to help the team quicker. I agree with some of the previous posters, I mean how hard can it be to learn his role on special teams? and doesn't special teams normaly come first for a rookie? Wouldn't it be smarter to use Mcgee less in special teams (I know he's awesome) and keep him fresher for his big role on defense? We are asking him to cover the other teams best weapon on many occasions so why not make sure we keep him fresh and healthy and let McKelvin take over the return duties.

 

Makes more sense to me.

How does returning a kickoff a couple times a game stop McGee from being "fresh?" Its not like the defense comes onto the field after the return.

[obie_wan]

I feel less smart for reading that. What a bunch of hooey. The special teams playbook is difficult? For a return man?

 

Maybe his wonderlic score was inflated.

 

a rocket scientiist he is not

 

as a great athlete, he can press cover the best WRs.

 

However, the Bills are obviously concerned about his abilty to learn and adapt to the zone concepts and techniques of the cover-2.

[Guest dog14787]

How does returning a kickoff a couple times a game stop McGee from being "fresh?" Its not like the defense comes onto the field after the return.

 

your kidding me right?

 

If you can't see he decreases the chance of injuries and yes, stays fresher for the defense by not returning kicks, I'm not going to waste me time trying to convince you.

 

Its a lost cause.

[evanstoprobowl]

From my understanding of it, the NFL Management Council sets the rules on the number of players on a roster, not the NFLPA.

 

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html...75BC0A964948260

Please don't deny him a chance to spew his conservative talking points of a football forum.

[2020 Our Year For Sure]

your kidding me right?

 

If you can't see he decreases the chance of injuries and yes, stays fresher for the defense by not returning kicks, I'm not going to waste me time trying to convince you.

 

Its a lost cause.

As long as he doesn't get injured, he'll be "fresh." Its not like sprinting 30 yards a couple times a game is going to make him unable to cover recievers. He's only been doing it his whole career, after all.

[eball]

Let's recap the recent history of Bills-related "The Way We Hear It" entries from profootballweekly.com:

 

4/18/08 -- "Don't buy the talk; Buffalo wants to trade Losman" -- Yes, indeed.

 

4/25/08 -- "Bills looking to ride starting DT tandem hard" -- not judging by how the DTs were paired and rotated at this week's OTA.

 

5/9/08 -- "Increase in season ticket sales only Band-Aid for Bills' financial woes" -- This is talked about so much it's hardly even news-worthy. Still, the article doesn't break any new ground.

 

5/16/08 -- "Bills said to be 'mortified' over Hardy's alleged gun incident" -- Riiiiiiight.

 

5/23/08 -- the latest gem.

 

These "articles" -- opinion blogs that never provide actual sources for the quotes or "inside information" they supposedly contain -- are pretty flimsy. What's worse is that some fans actually think the stuff has merit.

[eball]

However, the Bills are obviously concerned about his abilty to learn and adapt to the zone concepts and techniques of the cover-2.

They are? Is that "the way you hear it?"

 

How about providing some links to Bills' coaches expressing that concern? In fact, you can just add that information to your upcoming post listing all of the teams with starting-caliber backups at LT.