Bills notebook
McKelvin thrives in spotlight after McGee injury
ST. LOUIS — The Buffalo Bills tried their top draft pick on for size Sunday afternoon. For one game, it was a pretty good fit.
With cornerback Terrence McGee sidelined early with a sprained left knee, rookie Leodis McKelvin got his most extensive action of the season on defense.
And he played pretty well during the Bills’ 31-14 victory over the St. Louis Rams. He even provided an exclamation point to his day with a bone-jarring, fumble-forcing hit on Rams receiver Dane Looker to end a drive late in the fourth quarter.
It was McKelvin’s first NFL tackle, a fact that he realized after the game.
“That was my first fumble recovery, too, and my first forced fumble,” a beaming McKelvin said. “It felt good to be out there. When I saw ‘T’ limping off the field, I said, ‘OK, here we go.’ I knew my name would get called, so I went out there and tried to do the best I could to hold up my end of the bargain. I started getting into it and I felt like I was very comfortable out there.”
After McGee went out with a sprained medial collateral ligament very early in the first quarter, the Bills used McKelvin, Ashton Youboty and even strong safety Donte Whitner to fill the void before McKelvin settled into the job during the second half.
“McKelvin came in initially and we had a mental error on the touchdown play,” Bills defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. “So we brought Youboty in [in the base defensive package] to get McKelvin settled down. Then Leodis settled down and really did a heck of a job in the nickel package in the second half.”
Of course, McKelvin will be remembered for his big hit on Looker, who suffered a concussion on the play.
“We were in Cover 3,” McKelvin said. “I had two seam routes coming on me and the quarterback threw it. I just went in and tried to make a tackle. I didn’t try to hurt him. I just tried to make the tackle.”
It is uncertain if McGee will be out of next week’s game in Arizona. He is expected to have more tests today.
McKelvin said the Bills can count on him one way or another.
“If ‘T’ is not ready to come back next week I’m going to be ready,” he said. “If he does, I’m still going to be ready whenever my name gets called. At all times I’m just going to be ready to go out there and play well.”
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Trent Edwards to Lee Evans is becoming a familiar sight on Sundays. The two hooked up again on a couple of deep balls, including a 49-yarder to begin the game and 39-yard touchdown to ice the game.
Edwards and Evans have connected on at least one completion of 30 yards or more in every game this season. Sunday was the fifth and sixth such pass play between them.
Evans has 332 yards on 14 catches, averaging 23.7 yards per reception. He’s off to his best start ever. He had 19 catches for 243 yards after four games in 2006. His career average through the first four contests prior to this year was 11 catches and 168 yards.
“I think it’s a trust thing,” Evans said of his relationship with Edwards. “We knew in this game with the looks we were getting we were going to have opportunities. The offensive line did a good job in the second half of giving Trent some time, and it was a matter of making plays outside. On that touchdown, he put it out there and trusted me to make the play.”
Evans had only two catches on Sunday as the Rams were bracketing him with a cornerback on the outside, a safety over the top and a linebacker underneath. But the Rams played single coverage, too, which pleased Evans.
“They just challenged us,” said Evans, who moved into seventh place on the Bills’ career receiving yardage list (4,059) and fifth in receiving touchdowns (30). “It was as if they were saying, ‘We’ll beat you with our rush.’ That left us in single coverage a few times and that’s what you want as a receiver. Anytime you get it you’ve got to take advantage.”
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The Bills’ punt returns did not suffer in the first game without injured Roscoe Parrish. Fred Jackson averaged 17.3 yards on three returns with a long of 35 yards, while McKelvin had a 13-yard average on two attempts. McKelvin also averaged 32.3 yards in his second straight game since replacing McGee as the Bills’ full-time kickoff returner.
“The other guys in the league just don’t know how lethal we are back there as a return group, but they are about to find out,” McKelvin said. “No matter who goes back there just look for one of us to take it to the house at any point and time.”
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Joining Parrish on the sideline was fullback Darian Barnes, whose sprained right foot was not well enough for him to play. Running back Xavier Omon, cornerback Reggie Corner, offensive tackle Demetrius Bell, tight end Derek Fine and defensive end Chris Ellis were the other inactives.
