Is McKelvin a bust?

[BillsfaninMyrtleBeach]

I just watched the game on NFL Network. First set of downs looked good, everybody doing what they were suppose to do. Then "what happened?" Offense started to sputter, db's couldn't cover, linebackers couldn't cover tight ends. It was a mess! I watched McKelvin get burned time after time. Looks like he's playing so far off he can't catch up. Looked like all the db's were playing 10 yards off their man. Why? Sure our QB's are not the elite in the NFL but they could be playing better IF they had more time to pass, so that means the O line wasn't doing their job either. So who is doing their job well? Everybody can point their finger at this guy or that guy but all in all EVERY player on the Bills need to start playing to their potential or go play soccer or arena football.

[Defend Greece]

We will know by the end of this year for sure,

In his interviews he doesn't seem very intelligent but hopefully I'm wrong

[JohnC]

+ 1

 

I would pay $100 or so to have a billboard posted somewhere around town, or a full page add asking for ownership change now.

 

It doesn't matter how many billboards are put up calling for an ownership change. The owner doesn't give two hoots what the area thinks. In his aristocratic view he has nothing but contempt for this very laggard area. He flys in for the games and then quickly flys out. As long as his business entreprise (franchise) continues to make money (as it will) and continues to appreciate (as it will) then things are just fine.

 

When the rascally 92 yrs old owner is asked what he is going to do to turn around his putrid team that has been grotesquely bad for a generation his response is simple and clear: Pain and patience! How's that for urgency?

 

Remember the Mularky era...or the Bledsoe era...when we did implement mid level free agents..we where better but still no playoffs and lower draft picks. To really turn it around we need a franchise QB and the best way to acquire one is to draft high

 

You are missing the point. It's not about the players. It's about the caliber of ownership and the third rate organization he has assembled.

 

In hindsight, Mularky has proven to be one of the smartest employees in the organization. He took a buyout rather than be stuck in a losing situation. When the exit door is a better proposition than sticking around then what does that tell you? When was the last time a HC in the NFL preferred leaving rather than staying on the job?

[papazoid]

bust ?..NO

 

average ?....YES

[Bill from NYC]

bust ?..NO

 

average ?....YES

 

You don't want an average cornerback at #11. Especially on a team that needed huge help on both lines. In this sense, McKelvin is an absolute bust.

[CardinalScotts]

well this year will decide it but I wouldn't put him the bust column yet...yet

[drinkTHEkoolaid]

He's not on the level of maybin. Williams. Or losman..... yet. But he is working his way there

[Bill from NYC]

You are missing the point. It's not about the players. It's about the caliber of ownership and the third rate organization he has assembled.

 

Absolutelty true. However, I continue to stress the damage that Levy did to this franchise. Here was a man who wanted to be a coach. Nobody wanted him except Mr. Wilson, who made him GM. He in turn hired a head coach who nobody wanted, but shared his idiotic football philosophy.

 

You are right John in terms of your assertion that this ultimately falls upon Mr. Wilson. It has to. But I make the case that virtually anyone connected in any way to the NFL would have done less damage to this team than did Marv.

 

I am not that impressed by Nix, but at least he has (or seems to have) a hint of a clue. But even at that, I offer you CJ Spiller at #9, and Aaron Williams with the 2nd pick in round 2 with a slew of trade down offers.

To make a long story short, as the story unfolds, Nix will probably wind up being a nightmare in terms of being a competent GM. But, he is a breath of fresh air compared to Marv, and the other idiot who is Russ Brandon.

 

PS: As your opinion of Spiller changes, do keep me posted.

[Joe Miner]

Perhaps Gailey is pulling another Marshawn this season with McKelvin?

 

Talk him up in preseason, give him lots of playing time, and trade him by week 3.

 

Maybe we can get a third for him?

[BiggieScooby]

McKelvin equals fail!

[billsfan714]

Just more great drafting by the Bills, first corner taken in a draft and still not starting years later. He's at least a semi-bust.

[John from Riverside]

The Bills will have a pass rush here.....there will be absolutely no excuse.

 

Its put up or shut up time for Leodis McKelvin

[billybrew1]

Last year, when Nix and his regime took over, the Bills were essentially an expansion caliber team. In another year or two most of the Jauron/Levy/Modrak/Brandon era players will be moved out. The Bills are not going to be a competitive team for the next couple of years until a new nucleus of players is brought in.

 

Could there be an accelerataton of the rebuilding process? It could if the Bills were a normal organization. This is a Ralph Wilson owned franchise. What incentive does he have to invest in the team when the 92 yr old owner has aleady made arrangements to auction off the franchise after his departure.

 

The Bills are very much under their own imposed cash to cap payroll structure. They have been under the that miniscule line for the previous few years and they will follow that stringent policy next year because under the terms of the CBA they will be allowed to get away with that scam.

 

If the owner was a serious owner (clearly he is not) the rebuilding process could be augmented with the addition of more mid-level free agents. That is not going to happen. If there are complaints about the caliber of our starting offensive linemen then what happens when injuries occur? That is a frightening thought. Wang at LT? Are you laughing or crying? Bringing in some serviceable OL backups would have been the right thing to do.

 

It is easy to lament about a particular draft pick or the philosophy of drafting. It is a futile exercise. That isn't the main problem. The truth of the matter is that the real issue is the caliber of ownership and the peculiar way he has staffed and structured this organization. Until there is change at the ownership level then it is like dogs chansing after their own tails.

 

The best way to judge this season is certainly not from a won/lost perspecitve. The most sane way to judge a successful season is to note whether Nix's drafted players (last year's) improve and make a contribution. This year's draft class can be more fairly evaluated next year.

 

When you have a aged, out of town owner who states the obvious that the team lacks talent, then chuckles about it--why would anyone be surprised with the continuation of the status quo. This garbage has been going on for half a century. What do you really expect? Dramatic change? Urgency? Let's get real here.

 

He is a serious owner, serious about taking every plumb nickel he can out of western New York. Serious about never having enough money. That's frightfully serious.

 

gobills!

[Formerly Allan in MD]

Talking about busts, thank you Mr. Modrak.

[Billsguy]

On any other team he's a bust, but since in Buffalo he gets to be compared to Maybin, Losman, McCargo, etc. he only looks somewhat disappointing.

 

Technically, he's not very good and most importantly he doesn't have good instincts. I think this was another wasted pick. It raises the question: why the heck was Tom Modrak ever hired?

 

Modrak was the bust. (along with a couple GM's and coaches and an owner)

[BillsWatch]

McKelvin and Spiller are both busts. First round picks are supposed to be instant starters unless you are a QB which may take a year or two. Just like Maybin, if you don't provide an immediate impact my feeling is that you are a bust. This does not mean he is a bad player, but for his draft status in the first round they should be starters at a minimum. It looks as if McKelvin will never be a starter and Spiller is no where near as good as Jackson.

 

It is too early to tell with Spiller; last year's season had issues with new coach and this year who can tell with players drawing out contract issue as long as they could to avoid training and offseason camps as long as they could as long as they could get paid for full season. It would be like determining a poster is a bust with under 200 posts.

[JohnC]

Absolutelty true. However, I continue to stress the damage that Levy did to this franchise. Here was a man who wanted to be a coach. Nobody wanted him except Mr. Wilson, who made him GM. He in turn hired a head coach who nobody wanted, but shared his idiotic football philosophy.

 

You are right John in terms of your assertion that this ultimately falls upon Mr. Wilson. It has to. But I make the case that virtually anyone connected in any way to the NFL would have done less damage to this team than did Marv.

 

There is not a scintilla of difference in our views. I certainly don't disagree with you on the disasterous results of the Levy rein. The man was clearly not suited for the position. Wilson's hiring of Levy was outright weird. Just as the elevating of the marketing guru, Brandon, in the football operation was weird. Sometimes I think Ralph Wilson and Al Davis are in a competition to see who is more bizarre.

 

I am not that impressed by Nix, but at least he has (or seems to have) a hint of a clue. But even at that, I offer you CJ Spiller at #9, and Aaron Williams with the 2nd pick in round 2 with a slew of trade down offers.

To make a long story short, as the story unfolds, Nix will probably wind up being a nightmare in terms of being a competent GM. But, he is a breath of fresh air compared to Marv, and the other idiot who is Russ Brandon.

 

Buddy Nix is a checkers player competing against chess players. Again, I agree with you on your assessment of Buddy. If our clown owner would have hired a maestro GM who could have adeptly maneuvered in the past two drafts the rebuilding (healing LOL) process could have been accelerated. Wilson's hiring of Nix was not the fundamental problem. It was the amateurish search process. But what do you expect from the cloistered owner? Sophistication and intelligence? It is beyond being ridiculous.

 

Don't let your reflexive bias against drafting DBs cloud your judgment against Aaron Williams. He is going to be a player. Down the road the coaches are going to tire of McKelvin's poor instincts and he is going to be replaced by AW.

 

PS: As your opinion of Spiller changes, do keep me posted.

 

I am resolute and steadfast, somewhat???? Until the OL is bulked up it is unfair to make a firm judgment. Where I am starting to waiver about him is his instincts. He doesn't understand the notion of taking what you can get. Jackson is a terrific example of a back having great instincts and an understanding of how to read the blocks and react. Usually the dictum is that the OL makes the back; in his case it is the back that makes the OL. He may be the most effective and efficient player on the team.

 

P.S. When the light switch is eventually turned on in Spiller's spinning head you will be the first person on my notification list. Of course I will be diplomatic and gracious.

Edited August 22, 2011 by JohnC

[Turbosrrgood]

Cosidering the fact that McKelvin was an 11th pick overall, going into his 4th year in the league,would you consider him a bust? Our first round selections in recent years have been very disappointing , to say the least.

 

He is definitely on the verge of rightfully grabbing that label. Teams targeted him last year, and rightfully so....So far he looks no better this year. Why do they insist on trying to start him? If McGee is healthy...there is no question who the better CB is...

 

 

Eric Woods hasn't looked to great either this preseason. He seems to get man handled at the line of scrimmage quite often. Before any one says anything, I am a big fan of his. I don't think this OL is very strong. Big yes, strong not so much.

 

Unfortunately I have to agree of with this too. Especially this last game he didn't look that great...Of course no one could have looked worse than Bell. He got beat on almost every single play, no matter who he was blocking.

Edited August 22, 2011 by Turbosrrgood

[Bill from NYC]

But what do you expect from the cloistered owner? Sophistication and intelligence? It is beyond being ridiculous.

 

Mr. Wilson is extremely intelligent. Levy is a fan favorite. To many he is the face of the franchise. It is even bad form on this board to not praise him.

Bringing in Levy made Mr. Wilson a lot of money. He was surely paid less than most GMs. The fans were happy and bought tickets, beer, etc. The rest is history. Levy and the rest of the clowns took the Bills down the tubes, but Mr. Wilson was filling his pockets while putting forth a poor product.

 

Mr. Wilson is anything but unintelligent.

[Gordio]

This is all revisionist history.

 

First off, do you remember how bad our CB's were in '07 that prompted us to draft one in the first round? Greer had not yet solidified himself as a starter in the league, McGee had played solidly but not spectacularly, and we had Ashton Youboty/Kiwaukee Thomas battling it out for the nickel as Brady passed for a thousand yards on us in two games. Does anybody remember the '08 draft? Our top positions of need were WR and CB, but there were no WR's worthy of a first round pick, so we took a CB first. McKelvin and DRC were the top two ranked CB's, but the knock on DRC is that he couldn't tackle. He has certainly turned out to be the better cover corner thus far, though.

 

Second, the next four corners are better than McKelvin? I'm not so sure about that. DRC played so well he got shipped off to be a backup in Philly. Aqib Talib can't seem to stay out of prison. Mike Jenkins has played well, but there was a lot of talk of him moving to safety early on (imagine if we had drafted a potential safety at #11). Besides, wasn't he the one burned twice by Sidney Rice in the playoffs two years ago? The fourth is Antoine Cason in SD, I can't speak to his production.

 

Third, it was a pretty underwhelming draft class, who would you preferred we draft? Sure, now we're weak at tackle, but then we had Jason Peters anchoring the left side and Langston Walker on the right. We certainly weren't in the market for a first or second round tackle.

 

Is McKelvin a bust? Certainly not. But he has not lived up to expectations thus far.

 

 

Mcdipshit is a bust. There is no doubt about that. I mean he is in his 4th year & he has not even locked down a starting spot. I honestly think he is just too stupid to realize what the coaches want him to do out there & they have little trust in him.

 

& we did one better then take a safety at #11. We took lil Donte Whitner at #8. Great front office move.

[mannc]

It is too early to tell with Spiller; last year's season had issues with new coach and this year who can tell with players drawing out contract issue as long as they could to avoid training and offseason camps as long as they could as long as they could get paid for full season. It would be like determining a poster is a bust with under 200 posts.

 

I agree that it is too early to tell if Spiller will be any good, but the early returns are not promising. I would note that, normally, great running backs are highly productive right out of the chute. The biggest problem is wasting a No. 9 overall pick on a position that (a) was not a need, and (b) can be capably filled with low round picks and UDFAs, such as F. Jackson. The Spiller selection the best available evidence that Nix is not a competent GM.

Edited August 22, 2011 by mannc

[JAMIEBUF12]

Cosidering the fact that McKelvin was an 11th pick overall, going into his 4th year in the league,would you consider him a bust? Our first round selections in recent years have been very disappointing , to say the least.

i think he is a bust n just think he totally blew the new england game n the dallas game.......

[JohnC]

Mr. Wilson is extremely intelligent. Levy is a fan favorite. To many he is the face of the franchise. It is even bad form on this board to not praise him.

Bringing in Levy made Mr. Wilson a lot of money. He was surely paid less than most GMs. The fans were happy and bought tickets, beer, etc. The rest is history. Levy and the rest of the clowns took the Bills down the tubes, but Mr. Wilson was filling his pockets while putting forth a poor product.

 

Mr. Wilson is anything but unintelligent.

 

You are misinterpreting my response. From a business standpoint, in general, he is intelligent. But from a football standpoint he is a dope. The hiring of the incompetent Levy actually set him back dearly from the financial side of the football. Paying cheaply for the position Levy assumed cost him a lot of money when judgments were made on bringing in free agents. Marvelous Marv brought in two mediocre offensive linemen (Dockery and Walker) and paid them at all-star rates. It cost the organization millions of $$$ for miniscule productivity. That isn't an example of Ralph's business acumen, it was an example of his stupidity, not only from a financial ledger standpoint but also from a football standpoint.

 

Under Ralph's comical stewardship not only was Jauron hired, but he was prematurely given a lucrative extension and more personnel authority. How did that work out? Even the "reluctant to eat a contract" owner had to eat that stupid contract. Are you trying to tell me that that was a smart business decision?

 

Arguably the best coach in the organization's history (including Levy) Chuck Knox got Ralph's stuck in the mud franchise back into the respectability categoy. The goofy owner tried to squeeze him when he was due a new contract. The high quality HC left the scene of the ghetto football operation with the sharp comments that "this organization is a graveyard for coaches." The end result is that the HC who brought respectability back to the organization and fans back into the empty seats fled the scene so the franchise can slip back into oblivion. From a business standpoint Ralph lost money with his departure. He saved a penny and lost a dollar.

 

Let's not even discuss the Polian fiasco. While during his tenure of producing scintillating winning football behind the scenes he was constantly in battle with Ralph's designated finance people. Do you think if Polian would have remained he would have payed mediocre players with gilded contracts? Of course not.

 

I can go on and on but I'm sure you get the point. The owner is a buffoon. He isn't as smart as you make out to be. The problem with Ralph is that he doesn't know his own limitations. He surrounds himself with syncophants because he wouldn't tolerate dissent over his baffling decisions. His major flaw is not so much that he is a fool but he doesn't recognize that with respect to football issues he is a certifiable fool. Ralph may be intelligent in some respect but what he isn't is wise.

 

I apologize for the extended respone. But whenever the topic is Ralph I get pumped up. It doesn't take much to get my goat-----similar to the way you react whenever the franchise drafts a CB or RB at a high slot.

Edited August 22, 2011 by JohnC

[RyanC883]

Some will say that compared to Maybin and McCargo, he was a solid pick.

 

Now that those two are gone though, yeah, he's pretty much a bust. The first CB taken and in the prime of his career and he's, well, still a backup prone to looking bewildered on several plays a game.

 

 

He's terrible. I'd cut him. Also, Florence looked awful against Denver as well. perhaps it's the coaching, I don't know. I don't expect our current DC to last past week 4, when Wanny will replace him.

[Turn Down For Watkins]

yes. (characters)

[dave mcbride]

You are misinterpreting my response. From a business standpoint, in general, he is intelligent. But from a football standpoint he is a dope. The hiring of the incompetent Levy actually set him back dearly from the financial side of the football. Paying cheaply for the position Levy assumed cost him a lot of money when judgments were made on bringing in free agents. Marvelous Marv brought in two mediocre offensive linemen (Dockery and Walker) and paid them at all-star rates. It cost the organization millions of $$$ for miniscule productivity. That isn't an example of Ralph's business acumen, it was an example of his stupidity, not only from a financial ledger standpoint but also from a football standpoint.

 

Under Ralph's comical stewardship not only was Jauron hired, but he was prematurely given a lucrative extension and more personnel authority. How did that work out? Even the "reluctant to eat a contract" owner had to eat that stupid contract. Are you trying to tell me that that was a smart business decision?

 

Arguably the best coach in the organization's history (including Levy) Chuck Knox got Ralph's stuck in the mud franchise back into the respectability categoy. The goofy owner tried to squeeze him when he was due a new contract. The high quality HC left the scene of the ghetto football operation with the sharp comments that "this organization is a graveyard for coaches." The end result is that the HC who brought respectability back to the organization and fans back into the empty seats fled the scene so the franchise can slip back into oblivion. From a business standpoint Ralph lost money with his departure. He saved a penny and lost a dollar.

 

Let's not even discuss the Polian fiasco. While during his tenure of producing scintillating winning football behind the scenes he was constantly in battle with Ralph's designated finance people. Do you think if Polian would have remained he would have payed mediocre players with gilded contracts? Of course not.

 

I can go on and on but I'm sure you get the point. The owner is a buffoon. He isn't as smart as you make out to be. The problem with Ralph is that he doesn't know his own limitations. He surrounds himself with syncophants because he wouldn't tolerate dissent over his baffling decisions. His major flaw is not so much that he is a fool but he doesn't recognize that with respect to football issues he is a certifiable fool. Ralph may be intelligent in some respect but what he isn't is wise.

 

I apologize for the extended respone. But whenever the topic is Ralph I get pumped up. It doesn't take much to get my goat-----similar to the way you react whenever the franchise drafts a CB or RB at a high slot.

Good post.