COMMENTARY
Jerry Sullivan: McKelvin provides little help
Bills coach Dick Jauron was asked at his Wednesday news conference to assess the performance of linebacker Keith Ellison, who has been rather pedestrian of late.
“Keith is a player we really trust,” Jauron said.
I’m not sure if that means the Bills can trust Ellison to occupy a space on the field without screwing up in any major way, or to actually make big plays. But there’s a basic level of trust, which is more than you can say about rookie cornerback Leodis McKelvin.
Jauron says he trusts the kid. But you wouldn’t know it, based on recent events. The Bills had so little trust in McKelvin, they let Terrence McGee play in Miami on a bum knee. McKelvin has barely seen the field, and he has done very little when he was out there.
McKelvin came into the league with a swagger, the top cornerback in the draft, declaring his eagerness to contend for a starting job. He talked about matching up against Randy Moss. He has been OK on kickoff returns. As a corner, McKelvin has been a virtual non-factor.
Jauron said he’s looking forward to many productive years from McKelvin. And yes, corners can be slow to develop in the NFL. But at a time when the Bills desperately needed production from the 11th overall pick in the draft, McKelvin wasn’t ready. He has been a disappointment, though he doesn’t see it that way.
“I’m not disappointed,” McKelvin said Wednesday. “People can say they’re disappointed, but in my mind, the other two corners are playing good. Why rush me in there to play?”
Uh, maybe because McGee was hurt? Because Ashton Youboty went out after five games with a foot injury? Because Donte Whitner separated his shoulder? These are desperate times. Instead of emerging, McKelvin is behind fellow rookie Reggie Corner on the depth chart.
“No, I’m not,” McKelvin said. “I play more outside and Reggie’s got more experience on the inside, so it depends on the package.”
True, but when the Bills came out in their nickel package Sunday against the Patriots, Corner was on the outside and McKelvin was on the bench. The coaches apparently had more trust in Corner to play McKelvin’s natural position.
These things can take time. It took two years for Youboty to catch on. Perry Fewell, the defensive coordinator, called it a matter of “rookie immaturity.”
“Some rookies are more mature than others,” Fewell said. “Paying attention to the fine details — and this is a problem I would say with most rookies. What do you do and when do you do in those critical situations. Sometimes those mental lapses hurt you. The talent level is there. It’s the when, what, where and why.”
Evidently, the “when” hasn’t arrived. That’s too bad, because the Bills aren’t as deep as expected in the secondary. Whitner is rushing to get back. It makes you nostalgic for a backup like Kiwaukee Thomas.
The Bills will just have to wait for the young cornerbacks to develop. The Jets signed veteran corner Ty Law the other day. The Patriots were also eager to sign Law, who helped them win Super Bowls in his prime. Law is 34, and before Thursday’s game he hadn’t played in a year. But he’s a future Hall of Famer. Jauron said the Bills didn’t have any conversations about Law.
Funny how the two teams in front of the Bills in the AFC East, two teams that just beat them and exploited an injury-riddled secondary, had more interest in Law than Buffalo.
Somehow, I suspect a cornerback with Law’s resume could have made a difference here. If nothing else, he could have been trusted to pass on some of his vast knowledge to the rookies. Heaven knows, McKelvin could use it.
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