Does Mecole make it to next week?

[hondo in seattle]

19 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

It was a tough catch because he had to stretch his hands out but it did go right through his hands.

 

It looks more like the ball went off his fingertips.  Just an inch or two overthrown?

 

 

[FLFan]

2 hours ago, GASabresIUFan said:

Terrible fumble at a terrible time.  Is this all on Mecole or should McD have told him to just fair catch the punt?  

 

I understand he was signed to add a more dynamic presence to the kick return game.  He broke one early and then on kick off they avoided him the rest of the game and got burned by Davis.  I guess my question is should McD have been more conservative with a guy new the organization and has been out of of football for a while, especially on punt returns where the returner is under more immediate pressure than on a kick off.  

 

Given the score and the fact that we'd have had a short field even with a fair catch, I don't think I'd have risked the return in the that situation.  

 

Will the Bills cut Mecole over the mistake?  I understand they announced he left the game with an injury, but I'm a little skeptical.  It feels more like a benching similar to the one Cook received following a bad fumble.

I do not see the team cutting him, but I am concerned about whether McDermott will firmly place him in the doghouse and thus deny the team the opportunity to capitalize on his skills at a critical time.  I hope he healthy to play and that they continue to find ways to use him.  That speed is electric.  

[Goin Breakdown]

13 minutes ago, hondo in seattle said:

 

It looks more like the ball went off his fingertips.  Just an inch or two overthrown?

 

 

 Normally we see these clips and say "Josh should have thrown it to..." but in this case I do like that he chucked it to Hardman. It was right there. What it does though is show that now we can stretch the field a bit at times. I hope he's good to go on Thursday. Special teams looked rejuvenated as well. 

[PayDaBill$]

Unfortunately the dude has a reputation as a fumbler and it sure as hell didn’t take him long to show it here!  He’ll end up killing us.

 

He’s probably gone sooner than later.  Fumbles and bad decisions are unacceptable.

 

He had fumbling issues and was mistake prone with KC and this year he was trying to make the Packers roster but;

 

“On one attempted return, midway through the second quarter, Hardman committed the cardinal sin of fielding a punt inside the 10-yard line. He took it at the 5, in fact, and was dropped immediately. That backed the Packers up against their own goal line, and three plays later, the Jets scored a touchdown on a sack and a fumble my Malik Willis.

On the next punt return try, Hardman let the ball bounce, then attempted to scoop it up and make a play. But he could not get a clean hold of it, and fumbled the ball away.”

 

 

Edited 14 hours ago by PayDaBill$

[BillsFanForever19]

Mecole won't be cut. There's video of him limping after the fumble, showing his sitting after the turnover wasn't a punishment:

 

In McDermott's Post Game presser, he praised both Hardman for the 61 yard return at the beginning of the game and Beane for signing him. So he seemed pleased with what he saw from him, the fumble and drop withstanding:

 

 

If he felt he performed so poorly that he needed to be cut, I have to imagine he would have focused not on the positive, but the negative.

 

And ultimately, as others have said, one bad play and a drop in his first ever game since being signed to the active roster and playing less than a week removed from being on the couch, isn't enough to wash their hands of them. 

 

That said, he was a DNP at Practice today. So it's possible the calf injury may have him on the shelf this week.

[1st&ten]

Seems like a lot of the free agents we pickup only last a game or two before they're injured. Of course he's been out of football for several weeks, hopefully he'll come around. At the very least he can stretch the field with his speed & open things for other players.

[Mike in Horseheads]

4 hours ago, Jon in Pasadena said:

Ok, there's me... who's the other?

 

Simon 

[Juice_32]

The guy is trying to prove he belongs and made an aggressive mistake. You can live with it once as long as it doesn't become a pattern. The space cleared out on that deep ball was crazy. Shakir probably would have scored.

[smward8]

At first look, I put the blame on our guys letting the gunners downfield without being blocked so he didn't stand a chance. I hadn't considered that he was supposed to fair catch the punt, so yeah, I think he screwed up.

[ProcessTruster]

if keeping him keeps Coleman in street clothes, that works for me

[TheBeaneBandit]

Keep him around, use him on kick returns not punt returns. We need him to open up the passing game. Even as mainly a decoy, he serves a purpose. 

[PayDaBill$]

What’s McD going to say. Again this guy has a history of questionable plays and fumbling. 

 

He may finish out the season because we’re so thin at wideout but he’s definitely scary to have on the field.

Edited 9 minutes ago by PayDaBill$

[BuffaloBillyG]

14 hours ago, PayDaBill$ said:

Unfortunately the dude has a reputation as a fumbler and it sure as hell didn’t take him long to show it here!  He’ll end up killing us.

 

He’s probably gone sooner than later.  Fumbles and bad decisions are unacceptable.

 

He had fumbling issues and was mistake prone with KC and this year he was trying to make the Packers roster but;

 

“On one attempted return, midway through the second quarter, Hardman committed the cardinal sin of fielding a punt inside the 10-yard line. He took it at the 5, in fact, and was dropped immediately. That backed the Packers up against their own goal line, and three plays later, the Jets scored a touchdown on a sack and a fumble my Malik Willis.

On the next punt return try, Hardman let the ball bounce, then attempted to scoop it up and make a play. But he could not get a clean hold of it, and fumbled the ball away.”

 

 

I'm pretty sure Beane and McDermott were well aware he puts the ball on the turf from time to time. But he has speed that you cannot teach. There is a risk/reward with every player and they appear willing to take on Hardman's.

 

He's not going to kill us. The Chiefs were able to win championship after championship with him on their roster. Good teams can overcome.

Edited 3 minutes ago by BuffaloBillyG