McKelvin: I'd do 'same thing'

FOXBOROUGH -- Leodis McKelvin wasn't into second-guessing his decision to come out of the end zone with the ball on his pivotal kickoff return.

"If I ever had another chance, I would probably do the same thing," he said. "Next time I get the opportunity I am going to hold on and make a better decision. If it happens next week, I am going to do it again, and you never know what will happen. I may break two and have the best game of my career. I am very disappointed. You don't need to have turnovers at the end of the game."

On why he came out of the end zone: "When I caught the ball, I didn't know if I had two feet inbounds or if my momentum took me into the end zone. If I downed it, it may have been a safety. So I decided to bring it out."

---Mark Gaughan

Comments

[David,Amherst]

I'll answer my question to Mark. They just replayed the
McKelvin fumble, and Mike Tirico's shout is loud and clear: "What a mistake by McKelvin!"
Yes it was.

[Mike Stratton]

Mitchell plays like he has a bag of poop in his pants.

[nick]

Leodis McKelvin pulled one of the biggest bonehead plays of the year.

Let the ball go out of the end zone and the Bills win the game.

The special teams coach should be fired over this blunder.

[Chris]

A little white paint on the idiot's lawn?? Come on, it is a harmless prank. Half the people looking at these blogs probably have done worse to some teacher they hated.

Pro football players, especially ones in Buffalo have no right to take themselves too seriously.

Kawika Mitchel is asking for a bag of poop at his door on Haloween now. I'll laugh when he calls the cops and whines about it.

[Larry]

We love our Bills! Let's face it. We're die-hard fans and as much as we'd like to drop kick them out of town for their woeful management and play over the years, they are indeed our team. I've been as hard on them as anyone, but just read on espn.com, http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4476626 , that some pure unadulerarted idiot(s) vandalized Leodis' front lawn after the game. That's outrageous and completely out-of-line. When things like that happen, it is fandom at its' worst.

Let's remember it's just a game no matter how passionate we are not discussing life and death.

Leodis obviously made a mistake, but at least it was an honest one and he was giving a 110% even if he made a mental error by not hitting the turf a second or two sooner. I hate mental errors, but I hate errors borne out lack of maximum effort a helluva lot more. I give Leodis credit for giving max effort. Just hope he learns from the mistake as do his teammates.

Have to say I've been impressed with the attitude of the team as reported by various sites. The guys, at least for this night, are sticking together. If they continue to do so, despite the handicaps they face with poor coaching and management, they may yet turn out a season that we the fans will appreciate and respect. Will be very very interesting to see how they respond next Sunday and if they can get off the mat and dish out some anger on the Buccaneers. Go Bills!!

[iloveguam]

The difference between the Buffalo Bills and a dollar
bill is that you can get four quarters out of a dollar. It is Buffalo, and we are Bills fans. What did you expect? Abandon all hope ye who enter here.

[VI7CK]

From Rick: "I was a Bills fan for 41 years.. tonight was the final straw..."

Rick, there's plenty of room on the Philadelphia Eagles' bandwagon. Come on and join.

And to clarify my response to Darren: "YES!!! Jauron is STILL the worst coach ever!!! How he ever managed to be a head coach at all is a wonder in ITSELF!"

[VI7CK]

From Darren: "If, following the McKelvin fumble, Brady threw a pick or fumbled himself and we pulled it out, is Dick Jauron still the worst coach in the history of football as you guys make him out to be?"

YES!!!

[Greg]

Hi Jets Fan...I heard a stat mentioned late Sunday that jumped out. In his pro debut, on 3rd down and 7 yards or more to go, Sanchez was 7-for-7. That's impressive. Against one of the better defenses in the league, he looked cool and displayed a nice touch. With Rex Ryan's defensive expertise and with Sanchez's continued development, the Jets are going to be a handful. They have a great chance at home of knocking off the Pats this week.

[Jets Fan]

I'll fess up to being a Jet's fan here. I must have watched a different game than some of you. The Bills looked good all game. The last time I saw the Pats look that bad was in the Superbowl against the Giants. What I think the Bills didn't see is "that bad" for the Pats is pretty good. Leodis McKelvin had lots of choices on how to deal with that play and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt for not knowing that he was three steps into the end zone (TiVo) but his coaches should tell him that next time they are up by a FG and some over a team as good as the Pats with 2 and change left on the clock he needs to make a better decision. In this case the sidelines are your friends. Would we be writing about McKelvin if he cut out of bounds at the 25 yard line?

[David,Amherst]

The Standings: New England and New York Jets, 1-0. Miami Dolphins and Buffalo Bills, 0-1.
Last season New England's record was 11-5...and missed the playoffs.
The Buffalo Bills are now playing for: Pride.
Makes me want to shout.

[Rosemary Brennan]

Watching the game up until the last 5 minutes I though, "What team am I watching?" Well, then reality set in and the Bills came to life. A fan since the early 60's, you would think that I would be used to it from the team of late. To really see the Bills come to life, all one needs to do is watch the last ticks from the 2 minute clock and you have the game in a nutshell. I would have had a better night sleep if it was a blow out but no, the team always takes it to the end and then, the knife in the heart. No one will ever take the Bills fan out of me but...please stop the bleeding. The players need to play as a team, not "I" would do it again. Take the kneel down and let the team work together to end the game.

[Dick Cheney]

So that's what they mean by continuity.

We're still going to loose games by a single point on Monday Night Football after having double-digit leads.

Awesome.

[Russ Brandon]

I'd like to defend my boss, Mr. Wilson. He could not react to the bone-headed loss because it was 4 hours past his bedtime. Now I have to get back to work. I'm busy scouring the waiver list for other teams' rejects. Peace,
-Russ

[Pete]

The Bills have almost turned over their roster the last 3 years. New players, same result as long as Jauron is the coach. Saban must be rolling over in his grave. I almost miss Wade Phillips.

[Fingers]

Leodis, Leodis, Leodis. Say what you want. Bottom line: You gave the ball back. That aside, my biggest peev is two decades of "tennis coaches". I don't want to hear "they're pros, they don't need discipline anymore." I want to see a coach in Buffalo who isn't afraid of our players. One who rules the team. When he chews on someone, spit flies forth and lands on the subject's face. "I'd do the same thing" really says it all. It was a bone-headed, bull-headed move. The situation called for caution and common sense. If you bring it out, at least go down when they get to you, and AT ALL COSTS DO NOT FUMBLE THE BALL. If I was his coach, I'd say "You by God won't do it again, or I'll see you flipping burgers on Level 3". And when I said it, spit would fly forth, and he and everyone else would know I meant it!

[MrMike]

Fine, bring it out again, but for the love of god, collapse like lawn furniture when you hear the opponents coming. Fighting for the needless extra yard was dumb, when the hands team had no real blockers out there and the fighting was going to accomplish nothing.

[Rick]

I was a Bills fan for 41 years.. tonight was the final straw... I burned my hats, shirts, etc. after the game... no more misery rooting for the biggest consistent losers in sports history... they are the quientessential losers... able to convert a sure win into a loss. We saw it each of the two last years... and the common elements are Dick J., the Bills team... they have a losers attitude and consistently seek ways to lose. This team has 0-16 written all over them... The Bills need a professional coach... Cowher, Shannahan... Belicheck has never lost a game like this one... and we have a string of three consecutive years of embarassing, pathetic play and the poorest coaching in the NFL.

[MKR2219]

My problem is with the whole attitude. Do you think someone on New England would have had anything, ANYTHING, but "protect the ball" on his mind while returning a kickoff? I'm all for trying to get additional yards, but there is a time and place for everything, and in this case, given the circumstances, even a pee wee player (and COACH) would have had a little meeting on the sideline to make it REALLY CLEAR, in case one of the parties wasn't bright enough to know, that the main objective here, is to HOLD THE BALL, not fight for two extra yards. Simply scary. However, looking back at the recent history of this franchise, it's almost to be expected. I am in Cleveland now, and my girlfriend and I excitedly watched the game, expecting the Bills to not be in it at all. When they went up by eleven, she was VERY happy, only to have me warn her, these are the Bills, don't count the proverbial chickens, but we both laughed. I mean, even they won't blow it this time. Hmmmmmm. Incredible, the mental mistakes this team makes.

[Joe R]

McKelvin = scapegoat.

If you check the yards gained and the TOP, you'd see the Bills were pretty lucky to be up 24-13 so late

[MikeRIBillsFan]

Taking it out was a good move. The failure to execute properly was the issue. A greater issue is yet again another time late in a game in which the Bills snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
This team plays not to lose rather than to win and this lack of "a killer" instinct is the true reason why the Bills continue to lose badly late in ballgames. These shortcomings are a direct result of our leadership (or lack thereof) of our head coach. He may be great at player development but in the NFL you get paid to win. He has coninued to fail in teaching the Bills HOW TO WIN. Until he goes a successful Bills team is not posible.

[Ed O'Brien]

I watched the game and didn't see Buffalo as lucky to be ahead at the 5:30 4th qtr. minute mark. Lots of good athletes, good QB.
Give the Patriots some credit. I think Buffalo will beat a lot of teams and be a factor in the East.
Once th O-Line gets some continuity.....look out!

[Paul]

"What should concern Belichick most was the work of a defense that didn't play horribly, but certainly didn't dominate a young, work-in-progress Buffalo offense that had not looked particularly strong in the preseason. Minus a number of their former defensive lynch pins (Richard Seymour, Mike Vrabel,Tedy Bruschi, Rodney Harrison..." this is what concerns me the most-Buffalo's inability to go after a defense that is substandard at best. Sure, dingbat should have taken a knee, but the offense should have scored more points. Look for NE 9-7,Buffalo,7-9.

[SabreFan]

"I chose to bring it out because that’s me,” McKelvin said in a somber locker room. “If I had that choice, probably 100 times, I’d do it again. Next time I get the opportunity, I’ve just got to do my job and make sure I hold onto the ball.”

Read as, I'm Leodis McKelvin. I'm bigger than the team. A responsible team player would have downed it, kept possession in the hopes of running out the clock. But I'm Leodis. I return them all, no matter the game situation -- even if we're up by 5 points with 2 minutes to play. It's worth the risk of a fumble because I'm Leodis McKelvin. I'm not a member of the Buffalo Bills team, I'm me: Leodis McKelvin. I always run kicks back. Always. I AM the game.

[Dude]

"Look...Mckelvin is a kid. And not a very bright one at that."

True. He made a mistake that unfortunately cost the team the game. He knows it. It shouldn't happen again but I don't think he's that bright either. Hopefully Bobby April can work with him.

[David]

Look...Mckelvin is a kid. And not a very bright one at that. Backpeddling into the endzone while catching it...demands you take a knee. He said he thought he might not have had both feet in when catching it...so he wanted to avoid the safety. Ok..Well why is he not falling down on the ball as soon as he is hit. It's poor football smarts...and poor coaching. Bobby April had one job...tell all 11 guys to grab the ball, protect it..and fall down.

We have the perfect mix of stupid football players and poor coaches. Expecting anything else would be insane....yet somehow I fall for it every time.

[DAVE IN BALTIMORE]

I agree that taking it out wasn't a stupid move. It actually was a good play, took time of the clock, and he would have had better field position than the 20. No one would be complaining today if he had held onto the ball... and if on 1st and 10 from the 31 yard line Trent then threw an interception that was returned for a TD, we would have a different set of gripes. Regardless - I still saw too many stupid penalties, and bad coaching. TO for OFFENSIVE pass interference? Taking the 2nd time out on the final Bills drive instead of quickly lining up and at least downing the ball to kill the clock? If you are running the no-huddle during the game, you should know how to run a "2 minute drill" to get into field goal range without burning a time out caused by being disorganized.

[Bfloexpat]

We give the Bills a hard time for not going for the kill when they have the lead -- McKelvin made the right call coming out rather than taking a knee. But his mistake (not the coaches) is not protecting the ball.

[Pats Fan]

It was a bad way for any team to lose, and the Bills deserved better. But his quote sums up the problem: "I may break two and have the best game of my career." But it wasn't about him, it was about the team and winning the game. Worst case is you make the Pats burn time outs, you take at least a minute off the clock, and you punt and make them start from 60 yards away with one minute and no time outs and down by more than a field goal. Best case is you get some first downs and the Pats never get the ball. If the Bills themselves don't see the flaw in the "it's all about me being a star" attitude in this... well, you'll have a lot of very long seasons.

[Joe, nyc]

It wasn't McKelvin's fault we lost the game, the defense played scared the last two drives and so did the coaching staff.

http://joefromnyc.blogspot.com/

[David,Amherst]

Mark,
Pergament praised the MNF crew of Tirico, Jaworski, and Gruden. I'm using recall, but weren't they at least faintly damning on the McKelvin attempt to return instead of taking a knee?
Pergament should have commented on it, no one else seems to. If I'm right, it is a critique of the Bills' coaches. This crew did not include Dennis Miller. Tell us what was said by the MNF crew immediately after the fumble by McKelvin. This should be reported.

[NYCBillsFan]

McKelvin should've gone out there thinking: protect the ball, take a knee if it's there. But instead, like every other Rhodes Scholar in the NFL it seemed like he was only thinking about his Monday Night Football "moment." Well, Leodis, you got your MNF "Moment"!!!

[Frank]

WOW!!! not a bad decision by mckelvin but definitely a costly mistake he made... hes a kick returner, thats what he does.... and to all u guys givin up on the bills already????? c'mon the bills played very well without getting T.O. and Lee evans the ball that much..... u guys are crappy fans and we dont need u guys...

[Nate]

Objectively, obviously I do agree that taking the ball out would have helped with clock management, and taken essentially a free TO away from the Pats. But given the situation, even that was dumb as hell. He was three yards deep with no blocking set up.

Go to hell, Leodis McKelvin. Yet another in a long line of disappointing stupid Buffalo players. Keep coaching them up, Jauron. If we're lucky we'll see 7-9 again this season.

Assholes.

[NorthNYBillsFan]

Note to Leodis: What YOU think you should have done doesn't matter. This is a TEAM game. Makes no difference if YOU think you could have done well. What was good for the team should have been foremost in your thoughts. And what would have been good for the team would have been for you to either take the knee, or go down on first contact. Your offesne should have had the chance to win the game, instead of having you screw it up.
Bills-Sabres. Can't we have one decent team between them?

[cak]

Tuned in half way through the 4th quarter surprised to see the Bills up by 11 only to watch them squaunder it away.

Typical.

I've seen enough of Bills football for this season.

See ya next year.

[Jeff]

The Bills beat themselves plain and simple. To many early down penalties, turnovevers, McKelvin's bone headed decision to take the ball out of the endzone. He obviously was overtaken by his ego instead of thinking of what was best for the team and put the nail in the coffin. If you would do it again McKelvin, you are an idiot. Any moron knows that controling the ball & the clock at that point was the key to winning the game. Get your inflated head out of your rear man. Football is a team sport.

On the positive side, Edwards was awesome with the no huddle & only made two bad decisions in trying to force a throw, the o line was amazing, the defense played a an incredible game, VanPelt called an outstanding game.

Correct the penalty situation, have McKelvin quit his own fan club and join the team and the Bills could possibly have a winning season.

[Gomer]

The sheer STUPIDITY of this franchise never ceases to amaze. They will NEVER win consistently under Jaurons regime, period.

[kurt h fla]

what cracks me up about all of you as no one mentions the cover 2 defense which gave up 2 td`s that were exactly the same, over the middle.where was the safety?why did the defense sit there and let brady complete 5-6 yard passes one after another.don`t get that.offense actually looked good but defense was tired.c`mon jim kelly, take over this team,fully.i know you got the no-huddle going now get rid of the cover 2 b.s..lets be real, they don`t have the talent to play it.

[Pete]

Memo to Bills:
Stop drafting stupid players.
P.S. - Fire Jauron

[PaulAE]

Taking it out wasn't a stupid move. It actually was a good play, even if he'd only make it to the 15 yard line, from the standpoint that it would have taken the clock to the two minute warning, thus denying the Patriots a free time out. But you gotta hold on to the ball.

[louis martin]

Typical cocky attitude from a jock. Dude doesn't get it. Ball control is the number one priority in those situations. Then say " I'd do the same thing", what fumble again in the same game situation? Dumb, no brain move McKelvin, just admit you made a mistake, you'd be a better man for it, and people in this town would forgive you quicker when you take the next one to the house. We know your young and still learning, but responsibility comes with each passing day as you take in knowledge. Next time, take a knee and let the offense go three and out. At least you would get 1:20 of rest instead of 30 seconds.

[NY Jets fan]

Thanks, pendies, for spotting the best team in the AFC a one-game lead!!!!

Well, this provides some hope for us at the Meadowlands on Sunday.

Start working on your golf game now, Buffa-LOSERS!!!!

[Larry]

Hey, kudos to the Bills. I fully expected them to get blown out by something along the lines of 34-6, so in that sense a huge victory for the Bills. Just maybe they'll win more than the 3 or 4 games I was projecting after their dismal pre-season.

However, last night's game epitomizes the woeful Bills' organization. Poorly run teams with sub-standard coaching are the ones that will find ways to lose games, especially those that they should win. The Bills did it again. In my opinion last night was just a reflection of the trickle down effect Ralph and his band of bunglers cause through their sheer incompetence and mismanagement.

As a long-time suffering Bills' fan I hope I am way off the mark, but it seems as though I've seen this nightmare many times before. The optimist in me wants to say that the Bills will grow and learn from the experience, but given the Bills' track record of ineptitude, I just don't see it happening with the present regime in place.

[Bulldog]

If....If....If....If....

With Mauron, all we get are L after L after L.

Fire him NOW!

[Dead Skin Mask]

I don't have a problem with McLovin bringing the ball out of the end zone.

I have a problem with McLovin trying to get an extra yard when the Pats are obviously trying to rip the ball out of his hands.

Same thing with Serena - the story is not what she said, but what the umpire claimed she said.

The media never gets the real story.

[Darren]

If, following the McKelvin fumble, Brady threw a pick or fumbled himself and we pulled it out, is Dick Jauron still the worst coach in the history of football as you guys make him out to be?

I agree he should have been fired after the 2-8 finish and another 7-9 season. But Jauron, April, Fewell, and certainly AVP cannot take the blame for this one. The Jets game last year (JP rollout)? Yes, but not last night.

At the end of the day, and I'm a diehard Bills fan too, but what do you guys want? When we win, it's not good enough, and when we lose the self-loathing is at all-time levels. Yes, our recent history has been horrendous, but things can turn around so quickly in this league. Fins won 1 game 2 seasons ago, 11 last year. Frisco looks like they are turning things around and the last time they mattered, we were dominating AFC title games.

If Jauron is any coach at all, last night's game is a motivational, we-can-build-on-this! game, just like the Giants had when they lost to NE in the regular season and had a rematch in the Super Bowl.

We can only hope.

[billsdiaspora]

Ah yes, my team did it yet again, snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. I swear, the Bills are the NFL equivalent of the Chicago Cubs. To all my friends in Toronto, think long and hard before you do this to yourselves and your children!

[M. Black]

Who is held responsible for the latest embarrassment? Ralph, do you ever get embarrassed by the ridiculous losses, only the Bills could produce? Can you see as far as the field? Can you see your coach, on the sidelines, communicating nothing to his team? Rallying no one, showing no emotion, not even part of a key 4th quarter conversation with Edwards, especially when the Offensive coordinator has just gone upstairs? Do you think Belichik would have let McCelven go out and make his own decision when receiving the kick without SPECIFIC instructions on how to handle the return? Do you think he would have left it to chance like Jauron did? How is it possible that the man in charge of who stays and who go's allows this vegetative corpse to wear the head coach hat? Oh I forgot, you don't want to upset the stability and cohesiveness of another 7-9 team. What a pathetic owner and organization. Somewhere Bill Polian smiles and laughs, but there's no joy in Buffalo, Mighty Ralph is clueless.

[eric]

i'd like to actually see a replay of the end of that play...seemed like his forward progress was stopped well before the ball came out.

The final TD (Watson) was one of the sickest catches I've ever seen when considering body control, type of player making that play, etc. Unfortunately it was 20 feet in front of me and not by the team I was rooting for...