Something Good, Something Bad…

Leodis McKelvin Touchdown — Kevin Hoffman- US Presswire

Each week I’d like to focus on something good that may have been overlooked and also something bad to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

Something Good: Being a fan in the stands at Gillete Stadium and watching Leodis McKelvin fumble the kickoff instead of taking a knee in 2009 on Monday Night Football, I have always had a soft spot for McKelvin when many others have no tolerance for him. I also realistically know that he has struggled since being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2008. It’s obvious that the coaching staff really wants to find him a place on the team since he was a first round pick, however, I think this will be his last year as a Bill if he is unable to find success in a role on the team. This week, Chan Gailey finally benched him from his role as a defensive slot corner, after he did just enough in preseason to squeak into another position to start the regular season. Instead of letting this move get into his head, he shined in special teams and returned a punt 88 yards for the touchdown to increase the lead 35-3. McKelvin has speed and has been a consistent special teams player since being drafted. Since starting with the Bills, he has recorded a touchdown in three of his five seasons on a punt or kickoff. His longest recorded punt return is 88 yards and his longest kickoff return is 98 yards. With so many other success stories in their victory against the Kansas City Chiefs, there was no mention of McKelvin’s return during Sunday’s post game press conferences. I think it says something when a player is benched from his main role, but is still able to go out and produce points in the minimal role that he was given. It remains to be seen how things will pan out for Leodis, but this week he earned the right to electric slide in the endzone.

Something Bad: I still am wondering where Donald Jones fits in. I thought Marcus Easley had a real chance to come in and help the offense this season since coming back from undisclosed health reasons in 2011. Instead of adding Easley, he was cut and placed on the practice squad. Assuming that Jones is the designated number two receiver due to the loss of David Nelson, I have yet to see anything that impresses me, aside from his height. In this week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had one catch for -1 yards. Really? It makes me wonder what Gailey saw in Jones that he didn’t see in Easley. I know that Easley has less real game experience but you can’t do much worse than negative yardage. In three seasons with the Bills he only has three touchdowns. I know he has been injured a lot but when is it time to move on? I think Donald can be a vertical threat with a quarterback who can throw a deep vertical ball, but I’m not so sure the Bills have that either. Maybe now, since it seems Jones will be playing more as a slot receiver, he can build a relationship with Ryan Fitzpatrick. In a perfect world, I would like to see Stevie Jones line up as the slot receiver and have Jones and T.J. Graham on the outside, giving defenses a different look. Assuming that Stevie is double covered, you would have deep threats on both sides of the field and C.J. Spiller and/or Fred Jacks on running the ball. One thing is for sure, Stevie and S cott Chandler cannot be the only two people on the offense to catch a ball this season