High Expectations for CJ Spiller

[Benjamin Barker]

Fair or not, there are very high expectations of CJ Spiller. He was the top running back selected in this draft, a top 10 overall draft pick, and drafted to a team with two already established running backs.

 

So, to validate the pick, Spiller should turn out to be a better player than Ryan Matthews and Jahvid Best, the other first round RBs this year. Also he should prove to be measurably better than Lynch and Jackson. Finally, one would hope he turns out on par with other RBs drafted in the top 10 in recent years.

 

Here is a list of running backs selected in the top 10 since 2000:

 

Jamal Lewis

LaDainian Tomlinson

Ronnie Brown

Cedric Benson

Cadillac Williams

Reggie Bush

Adrian Peterson

Darren McFadden

 

C'mon Chan, give this kid the ball. I'm talking 20 carries this week. He's got a LOT of work to do!

[boyst]

Of those, I would take Jamal Lewis. LT never seemed like a hard hitter and seemed to fit the system better. AP is still young.

[Pilsner]

CJ is worthy of a top 10 pick imo. Now if and when our team will put him in a decent position to showcase his skills is another story. When we are able to solidify our O-line and if Trent improves or if we upgrade at that position, then CJ Spiller will be able to show us something special. For now imo we will only see flashes of his potential.

[Wilson from Gamehendge]

Fair or not, there are very high expectations of CJ Spiller. He was the top running back selected in this draft, a top 10 overall draft pick, and drafted to a team with two already established running backs.

 

So, to validate the pick, Spiller should turn out to be a better player than Ryan Matthews and Jahvid Best, the other first round RBs this year. Also he should prove to be measurably better than Lynch and Jackson. Finally, one would hope he turns out on par with other RBs drafted in the top 10 in recent years.

 

Here is a list of running backs selected in the top 10 since 2000:

 

Jamal Lewis

LaDainian Tomlinson

Ronnie Brown

Cedric Benson

Cadillac Williams

Reggie Bush

Adrian Peterson

Darren McFadden

 

C'mon Chan, give this kid the ball. I'm talking 20 carries this week. He's got a LOT of work to do!

Spiller is not an every down back. You cannot compare CJ Spiller to the likes of Ryan Matthews, Jamal Lewis, Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson and Darren McFadden. Those are every down backs who can punish tacklers. Spiller cannot do that...he is more in the mold of Reggie Bush, who I think he'll resemble the most...which doesnt say much.

 

Lynch SHOULD BE the starter on this team. He would be a Top-10 RB in the NFL if he were given some carries once in a while...and dont talk about him dancing too much, did you see Spiller last week auditioning for Dancing With The Stars???

 

Jahvid Best will probably end up being on par with, or better than...CJ Spiller.

Edited September 18, 2010 by Wilson from Gamehendge

[bowery4]

Actually ML should be almost as good as Spiller according to draft slotting he was a #12 Spiller a #9. The fact that he isn't a star is one of the reasons he has gotten the bad rep he has, even though he is damn good.

 

Freddy has proved that he too is a damn good back, esply when last season is considered. IMO I think they can and will use all three. I doubt that ML is going anywhere and Sunday is his audition for the better team.

 

CJ you can tell, will be a star. Of course, as Pilsner said we need some line play to get him some running lanes. I don't completely agree with TE needing to improve much for us to be able to run but it wouldn't hurt that's for sure! Fact is this team wasn't bad at running the ball last year w/ TE in there stinking the place up too, does that mean Freddy is the the best one? or just that he had some lanes because they made them for him.

I think the fact that ML and FJ don't break many is because the line was/is sup par. CJ's speed will make that less of an issue.

[billsfan1959]

Spiller is not an every down back. You cannot compare CJ Spiller to the likes of Ryan Matthews, Jamal Lewis, Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson and Darren McFadden. Those are every down backs who can punish tacklers. Spiller cannot do that...he is more in the mold of Reggie Bush, who I think he'll resemble the most...which doesnt say much.

 

Lynch SHOULD BE the starter on this team. He would be a Top-10 RB in the NFL if he were given some carries once in a while...and dont talk about him dancing too much, did you see Spiller last week auditioning for Dancing With The Stars???

 

Jahvid Best will probably end up being on par with, or better than...CJ Spiller.

 

I disagree - somewhat. Ideally, I would like a back that has speed, elusiveness, size, and power; however, it is rare to find running backs that have all of those qualities. While I agree with your assessment that the running backs you named (for the most part) do have the ability to punish tacklers - I don't agree that lacking that ability necessarily means a player can't be an "every down" back. There are plenty of examples of running backs (i.e.; Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Marshall Faulk, etc., etc., on up to Chris Johnson) who were every down backs that would never be described as punishing runners - but, rather, relied on quickness, elusiveness, incredible vision, speed, and/or other skills. Whether, CJ Spiller can be that every down back remains to be seen, but, I haven't seen anything yet that would lead me to believe he couldn't be.

[DarthICE]

Spiller is not an every down back. You cannot compare CJ Spiller to the likes of Ryan Matthews, Jamal Lewis, Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson and Darren McFadden. Those are every down backs who can punish tacklers. Spiller cannot do that...he is more in the mold of Reggie Bush, who I think he'll resemble the most...which doesnt say much.

 

Lynch SHOULD BE the starter on this team. He would be a Top-10 RB in the NFL if he were given some carries once in a while...and dont talk about him dancing too much, did you see Spiller last week auditioning for Dancing With The Stars???

 

Jahvid Best will probably end up being on par with, or better than...CJ Spiller.

 

 

 

No Marshawn would NOT be a top 10 back in this league. He was over hyped coming out of college and it has been proven here in teh NFL. Jackson had no issues with the OL last year getting most of the playing time. Stop making excuses for the punk. As for as Spiller, YES he is an every down back, if not you don't pick a specialty player with a top 10 pick or you should be fired.

 

Give the kid 25 carries or more a game, get him in the passing game. If not, then we screwed the draft up again.

[billrooter]

I disagree - somewhat. Ideally, I would like a back that has speed, elusiveness, size, and power; however, it is rare to find running backs that have all of those qualities. While I agree with your assessment that the running backs you named (for the most part) do have the ability to punish tacklers - I don't agree that lacking that ability necessarily means a player can't be an "every down" back. There are plenty of examples of running backs (i.e.; Barry Sanders, Thurman Thomas, Marshall Faulk, etc., etc., on up to Chris Johnson) who were every down backs that would never be described as punishing runners - but, rather, relied on quickness, elusiveness, incredible vision, speed, and/or other skills. Whether, CJ Spiller can be that every down back remains to be seen, but, I haven't seen anything yet that would lead me to believe he couldn't be.

I hope Spiller can be an every down back but barring chris johnson who spiller is built very much like, sanders,faulk and thomas were all more compact guys who played at around 200 or more pounds they didn't have the same build as spiller he is much slighter than those guys. Chris Johnson up to this point hasn't gotten injured but he has been in the league i think three years the other guy's had long,durable,productive careers!

[Thoner7]

Cj, admitted by the Bills staff, is not an every down running back. So why the hell draft in in the top 10!?!?!!?!?! Maybe they wanted to match our top 11 developmental situational pass rusher? Only the Bills....

[Quester74]

Spiller is not an every down back. You cannot compare CJ Spiller to the likes of Ryan Matthews, Jamal Lewis, Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson and Darren McFadden. Those are every down backs who can punish tacklers. Spiller cannot do that...he is more in the mold of Reggie Bush, who I think he'll resemble the most...which doesnt say much.

 

Lynch SHOULD BE the starter on this team. He would be a Top-10 RB in the NFL if he were given some carries once in a while...and dont talk about him dancing too much, did you see Spiller last week auditioning for Dancing With The Stars???

Jahvid Best will probably end up being on par with, or better than...CJ Spiller.

 

That's Spiller's gig.. making tacklers miss. "Beast Mode" should be able to put his head down and at least TRY to run someone over. But, he gets his reputation as someone who is hard to bring to the ground, only after he dances around, and three guys have him wrapped up behind the line of scrimmage. He remind me alot of Brandon Jacobs. Looks great when the line opens up a *HUGE* hole to run through.. otherwise, just another big back without the skill set neccesary to improvise if the hole isn't there.

 

Cj, admitted by the Bills staff, is not an every down running back. So why the hell draft in in the top 10!?!?!!?!?! Maybe they wanted to match our top 11 developmental situational pass rusher? Only the Bills....

 

Because Ralph gets to make our 1st rd. selections. And flashy RB's sell tickets.

[billsfan1959]

I hope Spiller can be an every down back but barring chris johnson who spiller is built very much like, sanders,faulk and thomas were all more compact guys who played at around 200 or more pounds they didn't have the same build as spiller he is much slighter than those guys. Chris Johnson up to this point hasn't gotten injured but he has been in the league i think three years the other guy's had long,durable,productive careers!

 

I don't disagree. My point was that a running back doesn't have to have the ability to punish tacklers to be an every down back. The examples I gave were not to imply that CJ Spiller would be as successful as any of them (only time will tell) or that he compared to any of them in terms of build, running style, or other qualities - only that they were examples of every down backs who didn't have punishing running styles.

[Bill from NYC]

No Marshawn would NOT be a top 10 back in this league. He was over hyped coming out of college and it has been proven here in teh NFL. Jackson had no issues with the OL last year getting most of the playing time. Stop making excuses for the punk. As for as Spiller, YES he is an every down back, if not you don't pick a specialty player with a top 10 pick or you should be fired.

 

Give the kid 25 carries or more a game, get him in the passing game. If not, then we screwed the draft up again.

 

How many carries did he average in college? I honestly have no idea, nor the time right now to look it up.

 

As for the premise of drafting Spiller, it depends on how one looks at it. If he gains considerable yardage, many will say he is "good" and thus worthy of a #9. I look at the bigger picture, in that the football team was not properly constructed (in my view of course). The Bills method of DBs and RBs with top resources has caused us to lose football games and have a weak foundation. In that sense, it matters less if Spiller is "good."

 

If Spiller turns out to be GREAT, AND the Bills draft OL and more than likely a QB that can play, the Spiller pick will turn out good. If they don't address these positions, we will continue to lose. It's really simple.

[bowery4]

Season Rushing Receiving

Att Yds Avg Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD

2006 129 938 7.3 80 10 19 210 11.1 82 2

2007 145 768 5.3 83 3 34 271 8.0 68 2

2008 116 629 5.4 57 7 34 436 12.8 83 3

2009 201 1212 5.6 66 12 36 503 14.0 63 4

Total 591 3,480 5.9 83 32 120 1,362 11.4 83 11

 

CJ Clemson Stats

[billrooter]

I don't disagree. My point was that a running back doesn't have to have the ability to punish tacklers to be an every down back. The examples I gave were not to imply that CJ Spiller would be as successful as any of them (only time will tell) or that he compared to any of them in terms of build, running style, or other qualities - only that they were examples of every down backs who didn't have punishing running styles.

Got ya bills fan.

[billsfan1959]

Got ya bills fan.

[deep2evans]

Spiller is not an every down back. You cannot compare CJ Spiller to the likes of Ryan Matthews, Jamal Lewis, Ronnie Brown, Cedric Benson, Adrian Peterson and Darren McFadden. Those are every down backs who can punish tacklers. Spiller cannot do that...he is more in the mold of Reggie Bush, who I think he'll resemble the most...which doesnt say much.

 

Lynch SHOULD BE the starter on this team. He would be a Top-10 RB in the NFL if he were given some carries once in a while...and dont talk about him dancing too much, did you see Spiller last week auditioning for Dancing With The Stars???

 

Jahvid Best will probably end up being on par with, or better than...CJ Spiller.

 

To answer the OPs question in a word - yes. Spiller has that raw combo of vision, speed, and agility that is rare as hell.

 

As for the post above, where are Thurman, Barry, Emmitt, Marshall etc on your list? Or is it just convenient to name "big" backs to prove your point? Not really sure what your angle is here.

[benderbender]

High expectations for any running back considering the quality of the offensive line? I would love for Spiller to be the next Barry Sanders.

(sarcasm has been removed from this post)

[Hplarrm]

Fair or not, there are very high expectations of CJ Spiller. He was the top running back selected in this draft, a top 10 overall draft pick, and drafted to a team with two already established running backs.

 

So, to validate the pick, Spiller should turn out to be a better player than Ryan Matthews and Jahvid Best, the other first round RBs this year. Also he should prove to be measurably better than Lynch and Jackson. Finally, one would hope he turns out on par with other RBs drafted in the top 10 in recent years.

 

Here is a list of running backs selected in the top 10 since 2000:

 

Jamal Lewis

LaDainian Tomlinson

Ronnie Brown

Cedric Benson

Cadillac Williams

Reggie Bush

Adrian Peterson

Darren McFadden

 

C'mon Chan, give this kid the ball. I'm talking 20 carries this week. He's got a LOT of work to do!

 

This is exactly one of the reasons why I hope Gailey has trained him in pre-season and has plans to use him as the #2 WR,

 

If one's goal is all about assessing Spiller based on some static expectation that his 20 touches a game MUST be as an RB who from time to time goes in motion one can easily see how a dc would combat this as Miami did last wekk, a DB man's up on him and follows him wherever he goes, On plays he lines up as an RB there is now an extra man in the box and when he is in motion.

 

If on the other hand your goal is to make the team perform better on O, then perhaps you sacrifice Spiller getting 20-25 touches as your workhorse RB (a role which like almost all rookie RBs is unclear he can play and after Sunday's debacle even given his talents would using him as a workhorse not be nullified( but instead use him in a manner where simply by his demographic presence you:

 

1. Allow Evans to be the best he can be (even if you do not think he is #1)

2. You get Jax and Lynch on the field filling a role they have shown they can perform

3. You get Spiller out in space where he seems to perform best AND you get him 15 touches a game as a receiver, from time to time using him as a standard RB, and the infrequent end a round.

 

If one's goal is to try to prove the Bills are draft idiots for taking Evans or Spiller I could see how one might advocate he must get 20+ touches per game as RB, but if your goal is to make the O as effective as it can be with the players they got then I think you advocate Spiller at #2 WR and send Johnson to the bench or ST as his primary contributing role.

[mpl6876]

I think the kid could really be something special. Initially, I hated the pick but now I am OK with the pick. I think the real issue is the OL, QB, and WR issues. I really couldn't see any running back in the league being more than moderately successful with the Bills. Our running backs really don't stand much of a chance to be very successful without a solid OL, solid QB and WR who can keep the opposing defenses honest. Until then, teams will continue to stack the box and stop our running attack and force us to beat them with the pass. IMHO, it isn't difficult to game plan against us. In short, our runner backs have the odds stacked against them, including Spiller. We need to become more balanced in order to showcase Spiller's talents. Until then, we will only see spurts of greatness. Just my two cents.