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Cornerback Leodis McKelvin is all of two preseason games into his NFL career and already the electricity surges. He nearly broke a punt return for a touchdown in the opener against the Redskins. He bolted 95 yards untouched with a kickoff against the Steelers. The Buffalo Bills knew they were getting a dangerous return man in the package when they made McKelvin their first pick in the April draft. However, no one could have guessed his impact would be this immediate and emphatic.
But there are two pleasant problems in looking ahead to the regular season, and their names are Terrence McGee and Roscoe Parrish.
How can the Bills in good conscience demote McGee from his role as primary kick returner given his five career returns for touchdowns? And how can they tell Parrish to take a seat on punt returns after his league-leading 16.3 average of a year ago and his two career TD returns? They can’t, at least not at the outset.
“The two guys that are returning for us, Terrence and Roscoe, it’s pretty hard to say they’re not the top guys,” assistant head coach and special teams coach Bobby April said after the Steelers game. “They’ve had tremendous years here but he’s definitely making a statement. I mean, what can you say. This kid, that’s two weeks in a row. He almost had one last week which would have been unbelievable for his first two games to break ’em. We’re really blessed. We got three really good guys.”
McKelvin’s exploits have done more than inform McGee and Parrish that they best not take their return chores for granted. His impressive showings have instilled the Bills’ revamped return units with a renewed sense of confidence. The team sustained heavy special teams losses during the offseason. Mainstays such as Josh Stamer, Mario Haggan, Sam Aiken, Coy Wire and Ryan Neufeld were replaced with players the Bills felt could contribute more at their natural positions. For instance, Paul Posluszny’s return from injury and the acquisition of free agent Kawika Mitchell fortified the linebacker position to where neither Stamer nor Haggan could be retained based solely on their special teams expertise.
“The guys that we lost, we really had to make a decision for the whole program because I’m loyal to those guys that we lost,” April said. “They spilled their guts for four years.
“There were people who would make our whole football team better that we needed to keep here to replace those guys . . . Even though it’s tough to lose a Haggans or a Stamer, I felt good about what we were doing.”
All the changes mean the preseason has taken on heightened importance in regard to the special teams units. The results have become more meaningful as the retooled units strive to live up to the high standards first established during the Marv Levy era and fully embraced during April’s tenure.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/story/417370.html
But there are two pleasant problems in looking ahead to the regular season, and their names are Terrence McGee and Roscoe Parrish.
How can the Bills in good conscience demote McGee from his role as primary kick returner given his five career returns for touchdowns? And how can they tell Parrish to take a seat on punt returns after his league-leading 16.3 average of a year ago and his two career TD returns? They can’t, at least not at the outset.
“The two guys that are returning for us, Terrence and Roscoe, it’s pretty hard to say they’re not the top guys,” assistant head coach and special teams coach Bobby April said after the Steelers game. “They’ve had tremendous years here but he’s definitely making a statement. I mean, what can you say. This kid, that’s two weeks in a row. He almost had one last week which would have been unbelievable for his first two games to break ’em. We’re really blessed. We got three really good guys.”
McKelvin’s exploits have done more than inform McGee and Parrish that they best not take their return chores for granted. His impressive showings have instilled the Bills’ revamped return units with a renewed sense of confidence. The team sustained heavy special teams losses during the offseason. Mainstays such as Josh Stamer, Mario Haggan, Sam Aiken, Coy Wire and Ryan Neufeld were replaced with players the Bills felt could contribute more at their natural positions. For instance, Paul Posluszny’s return from injury and the acquisition of free agent Kawika Mitchell fortified the linebacker position to where neither Stamer nor Haggan could be retained based solely on their special teams expertise.
“The guys that we lost, we really had to make a decision for the whole program because I’m loyal to those guys that we lost,” April said. “They spilled their guts for four years.
“There were people who would make our whole football team better that we needed to keep here to replace those guys . . . Even though it’s tough to lose a Haggans or a Stamer, I felt good about what we were doing.”
All the changes mean the preseason has taken on heightened importance in regard to the special teams units. The results have become more meaningful as the retooled units strive to live up to the high standards first established during the Marv Levy era and fully embraced during April’s tenure.
http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/columns/story/417370.html
" ~ yordad
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