Can McKelvin Be a Shut Down CB this Season ?

[Kenwick]

When the Bills drafted McKelvin they expected him to be one of the best CBs playing eventually. He has the size, speed and over all talent to be a shut down CB. But is he ready yet to explode this season to be one? If he is, it will make the Bills secondary extremely strong. Shutting down a opponents best receiver gives the Bills a big advantage defensive wise.

But again is this the year he can develope to be the player he was drafted to be? A Shutdown CB.

[FluffHead]

yes, he can.

[The Dean]

yes, he can.

 

 

Agreed. I think he proved he was who they thought he was, last year.

 

But he will still be improving for the next few years.

[FluffHead]

McKelvin is one of the few true playmakers on this defense, IMO.

[BBills14]

I really felt saw a glimpse of McKelvin during the Cleveland game when he made that diving deflections that we all thought he "should have caught." He went all out for the play and was laying it all on the line. The kid has skills and I can't wait to see him light it up this year.

[Magox]

I think he can

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

When the Bills drafted McKelvin they expected him to be one of the best CBs playing eventually. He has the size, speed and over all talent to be a shut down CB. But is he ready yet to explode this season to be one? If he is, it will make the Bills secondary extremely strong. Shutting down a opponents best receiver gives the Bills a big advantage defensive wise.

But again is this the year he can develope to be the player he was drafted to be? A Shutdown CB.

 

 

I share the optimism on McKelvin. IMO he will get a lot of throws his way as McGee has proven himself. Might result in some big play opportunities.

 

To bounce off the question, does the tampa 2 defense set up an environment for a shut down corner to exist? I have no opinion one way or another, as i just dont know. I just can't think of a "shut down corner from any of the teams that employ tampa 2. When i think of the rhetoric "bend don't break, it makes me question if the coverage schemes designed are less likely to allow a corner to Shut down a reciever. Thoughts?

[Thoner7]

yes, he can.

 

The correct answer is no. McKelvin is one hell of a talent and will become a great NFL CB, but a shut down corner is dependent on a pass rush -- something the Bills do not have. Neon Deon is the only CB who could shut down a WR regardless of the QBs time to throw -- so unless McKelvin is the 2nd best CB in the history of football then the answer is no.

[The Dean]

I share the optimism on McKelvin. IMO he will get a lot of throws his way as McGee has proven himself. Might result in some big play opportunities.

 

To bounce off the question, does the tampa 2 defense set up an environment for a shut down corner to exist? I have no opinion one way or another, as i just dont know. I just can't think of a "shut down corner from any of the teams that employ tampa 2. When i think of the rhetoric "bend don't break, it makes me question if the coverage schemes designed are less likely to allow a corner to Shut down a reciever. Thoughts?

 

 

Less likely, bit not impossible. You can press a little more, even in the T2, if you have a pass rush and quality DBs. I hate the soft coverage the Bills tend to use, but it may have something to do (at least in part) with the lack of a pass rush and injuries in the defensive backfield. I'd like to think with Schobel back and Maybin on the team, and with a deep quality defensive backfield, that soft coverage might get a little bit tighter. I'd like to think that, but I'll believe it when I see it.

[DazedandConfused]

When the Bills drafted McKelvin they expected him to be one of the best CBs playing eventually. He has the size, speed and over all talent to be a shut down CB. But is he ready yet to explode this season to be one? If he is, it will make the Bills secondary extremely strong. Shutting down a opponents best receiver gives the Bills a big advantage defensive wise.

But again is this the year he can develope to be the player he was drafted to be? A Shutdown CB.

My sense is that the Bills are not on a timeline that they demand that McKelvin become a shutdown CB this year. The general conventional wisdom is that you need to see a player for3 years before you legitimately can reach a conclusion about whether a player was a great draft pick or a mistake.

 

My sense is that the Bills have this as a legit timeline for McKelvin as:

 

1. He is already demonstrating substantial returns on ST as a return guy- this is the area where I would look for McKelvin to prove himself rather than as a shutdown CB.

2. Unlike Clements whom the Bills drafted and started immediately because of our lack of competing talent in front of him, Leodis is unlike a draftee like Whitner not our #1 CB, that's McGee. If I am an opposing OC, I look at McKelvin this year and until proven otherwise as the CB I want to pick on rather than the vet McGee. My sense is that with less than a year as a position CB for us, McKelvin will likely need to go through a full year sometimes getting burned by a vet WR before we see him as a shutdown CB. Maybe in the 10 season but pretty doubtful for 09 except maybe at the end of the season, but even that is doubtful as I think the emphasis on geting 09 production from McKelvin is going to be us making a difficult but nice to have this problem choice between Parrish and McKelvin on PRs.

3. The other sign that it is unlikely he will become our shutdown CB in 09 is that though he is second on our depth chart he should see some good competition for even the #2 slot from FA acquisition Flowers and maybe from alleged starting CB talent Youbouty.

 

I think McKelvin will be asked to step up his productivity but this will be first on PR rather than CB play and also that there is a not impossible chance that Flowers or Youbouty will at least pressure if not even surpass McKelvin. Add to this the Bills devoted a surprising amount of resources to increasing CB depth and it appears unlikely the coaches see McKelvin as a sure thing shutdown CB.

 

It will be great if he surprises but it will be a surprise if he is viewed by us and opposing OCs as a shutdown CB this year.

[ans4e64]

The guy is a great kick returner, and had a good game against the Chiefs.

 

To all of you who are virtually guaranteeing McKelvin to be one of the best corners in the league, what are you basing this on?

 

He got torched more often than not.

[The Dean]

The guy is a great kick returner, and had a good game against the Chiefs.

 

To all of you who are virtually guaranteeing McKelvin to be one of the best corners in the league, what are you basing this on?

He got torched more often than not.

 

 

Completely untrue. Go back and watch the games again.

 

McKelvin got torched a few times in his first starting appearance, but actually played fairly well overall for his first game as a starter. By the end of the year he was far better, and wasn't getting torched. In fact, he was making more than his share of plays.

 

As dazed notes, McKelvin won't be the #1 CB on the Bills, this year. But he will continue to improve, and should be fine in the #2 starting position. McKelvin has explosive potential, though, and is a more naturally talented CB than anyone on the Bills roster, including McGee.

[Over 29 years of fanhood]

Completely untrue. Go back and watch the games again.

 

McKelvin got torched a few times in his first starting appearance, but actually played fairly well overall for his first game as a starter. By the end of the year he was far better, and wasn't getting torched. In fact, he was making more than his share of plays.

 

As dazed notes, McKelvin won't be the #1 CB on the Bills, this year. But he will continue to improve, and should be fine in the #2 starting position. McKelvin has explosive potential, though, and is a more naturally talented CB than anyone on the Bills roster, including McGee.

 

[Billistic]

When the Bills drafted McKelvin they expected him to be one of the best CBs playing eventually. He has the size, speed and over all talent to be a shut down CB. But is he ready yet to explode this season to be one? If he is, it will make the Bills secondary extremely strong. Shutting down a opponents best receiver gives the Bills a big advantage defensive wise.

But again is this the year he can develope to be the player he was drafted to be? A Shutdown CB.

 

Frewell hasn't played any press coverage with the CBs. They're back 5-8 yards at the snap. Also with the T2 seven man zones, a Bills corner will only be in single coverage if his guy runs a deep flag or out route. Otherwise, on a route toward the center of the field, the receiver gets passed over to the safety (or other back, depending on the package). Together, these factors kind of prevent a CB from showing "shut down" abilities, or, alternatively, the scheme is designed for masking the lack of shut down corners. That said, Fewell may be under some pressure after these years of the bend-then-break, to have his backs take some risks and jump some routes when the occasion presents itself. However, with the time opposing QBs have without getting pressure, I doubt the latter.

[atlbillsfan1975]

I share the optimism on McKelvin. IMO he will get a lot of throws his way as McGee has proven himself. Might result in some big play opportunities.

 

To bounce off the question, does the tampa 2 defense set up an environment for a shut down corner to exist? I have no opinion one way or another, as i just dont know. I just can't think of a "shut down corner from any of the teams that employ tampa 2. When i think of the rhetoric "bend don't break, it makes me question if the coverage schemes designed are less likely to allow a corner to Shut down a reciever. Thoughts?

Barber in Tampa was a lock down guy.

McKelvin progressed as the year went along for sure. The staff does not like to throw a rookie to the dogs, unless it really has too. If he continues to grow this year, we could have one of the best DB tandems in the league,but unless the big boys upfront get more pressur eon the qb it wont matter. No cb can cover a wr for 4-6 seconds consistently.

[Conch]

McKelvin is one of the few true playmakers on this defense, IMO.

 

He is one of the few playmakers on the team.

[DazedandConfused]

Completely untrue. Go back and watch the games again.

 

McKelvin got torched a few times in his first starting appearance, but actually played fairly well overall for his first game as a starter. By the end of the year he was far better, and wasn't getting torched. In fact, he was making more than his share of plays.

 

As dazed notes, McKelvin won't be the #1 CB on the Bills, this year. But he will continue to improve, and should be fine in the #2 starting position. McKelvin has explosive potential, though, and is a more naturally talented CB than anyone on the Bills roster, including McGee.

One of the ironies here is that the true determinant of whether McKelvin is a shutdown CB is not that he constantly makes great plays which we see to stop passes, but actually that opposing OCs decide that the better target to go after is other CB. A player who performs as a true shut down CB can achieve this not simply because he is a great player, but simply because he is so much better than his partner CB than OCs never go his way because they can pick on his counterpart.

 

A lot of this shutdown designation depends upon whether your team runs a static D where the CBs never flip sides to match-up against the WR of the Ds choosing.

 

In this regard, the Bills D would never have a shutdown CB as long as our base D is the Tampa 2 style D we employ. In our D, the CB rather than having his primary assignment be to cover the WR all over the field (like any good D we should have the ability to run different styles as predictability is a death knell for any D), actually has the short pass zone (12-15 yards max) and responsibility for sealing the corner on outside runs. It actually is our safeties who have the deep cover duties mostly.

 

The Bills seems to be setting up for a shift toward a more classic D style with our building of the ability to play our DL in rotation and the accumulation of a number of DB candidates and players with the flexibility to play either the traditional CB cover role or the safety run plugging role.

 

My guess is that the Bills braintrust has accumulated players who can take on a number of different talents for playing Cover 2, Tampa 2 or traditional types of styles. They will then choose a base style based on who shows the best ability to produce a solid D. Likewise in particular games we might adopt even radical departures fron our base D to match up well against the opponent.

 

In any case I doubt we will pursue a model which highlights McKelvin, McGee or whomever as a classic shutdown CB.

[youbotymyboty]

Is anyone worried about his mental ceiling? Slow study would be a compliment. Think of Ed Reed or Rhonde Barber- these are all around DB's. McKelvin may have more physical talent but he doesn't have that 6th sense. (I'm not sure he has five). The plays he can make are a tribute to his skill set. Yet the balls seem to find him not the other way around. A shut down corner he is not nor will be. But his physical gifts can make him an exciting playmaker for 5-6 years.

[K-9]

The correct answer is no. McKelvin is one hell of a talent and will become a great NFL CB, but a shut down corner is dependent on a pass rush -- something the Bills do not have. Neon Deon is the only CB who could shut down a WR regardless of the QBs time to throw -- so unless McKelvin is the 2nd best CB in the history of football then the answer is no.

 

How right you are. Especially in light of the fact that Sanders played his career in the era of liberalized rules favoring offenses. He was simply the best I've ever seen at the position both in person and on tape. Simply amazing.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[ans4e64]

Completely untrue. Go back and watch the games again.

 

McKelvin got torched a few times in his first starting appearance, but actually played fairly well overall for his first game as a starter. By the end of the year he was far better, and wasn't getting torched. In fact, he was making more than his share of plays.

 

As dazed notes, McKelvin won't be the #1 CB on the Bills, this year. But he will continue to improve, and should be fine in the #2 starting position. McKelvin has explosive potential, though, and is a more naturally talented CB than anyone on the Bills roster, including McGee.

 

The reason he was better later in the year was because he wasn't starting anymore. McGee came back. McKelvin was a liability early in the year when he was forced into games. He was just OK later in the year when covering the other team's 3rd and 4th receivers. There was absolutely nothing you can point to in justifying him being a shutdown corner one year after he was a horrible starter. He had a good game against the Chiefs, and got torched the rest of the time.

 

McKelvin's play making ability seems to blind average fans into thinking he's good the rest of the time he's not making plays. Similar to Kyle Williams around here. People see the 2 plays out of 10 when he juts into the backfield, but don't notice the other 8 when he's getting ran over. McKelvin was a liability last year, and there's no evidence to prove otherwise. Like I said, he got better later in the year... when he was no longer starting. It's silly to assume he magically turned into a shutdown corner in one offseason.