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Spiller haters take a look at some Bills history

Lenigmusx

By Lenigmusx
in The Stadium Wall Archives

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Lenigmusx RFA

Lenigmusx

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Posted (edited)

I am not saying that CJ Spiller is going to be the next Great Bills back but if you look into Bills history you will find that his rookie season avg. ypc 3.9 is the same as both OJ and Joe Cribbs. This intrigued me so I then did some more digging. I remember looking at Spiller's college highlight reel shortly after the draft last year and being very impressed. At the time that was that and I was done. Through the course of this season my brother in law, who watches alot of college football, has been suprised at C.J.'s lack of success. He thought he was one of the greatest college running backs of all time. So I decided to reinvestigate

take a look at OJ college running style and compare it to CJ college running style . Spiller is not as powerful as OJ but it is the changing of gears and gallop that are very similar. Perhaps CJ just needs a season or two to adjust to the NFL and in the mean time Freddy J is alot like Thurman. I think we as Bills fans are really spoilled with our rich lineage of running backs. Even the backs we discard other teams have coveated. Think about the long line of good to great backs:

 

Cookie Gilchrist, OJ Simpson, Joe Cribbs, Greg Bell, Thurman Thomas, Antowain Smith, Travis Henry, Willis McGahee, Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, CJ Spiller???? everyone but Spiller is a 1000 yd rusher. I just don't think we should be so quick to throw in the towel on CJ. Even our change of pace backs historically have been high round draft picks that another team would use as a feature back. See Robb Ridick, Kenneth Davis, Ronnie Harmon if CJ falls into this categorie but is still a major contributor he is not a wasted pick. I think he will be a star though lets give him a season or two.

Edited by Lenigmusx
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OldTimer1960 Veteran

OldTimer1960

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I am not a C.J. Spiller "hater", but I am concerned by his inability

to earn playing time. His ball security has been poor and he has shown

little as the receiving threat that he supposedly is.

 

Does that mean he is a bust? No, but it is a concern. I like what I've

read about his attitude and effort, so I think that there is hope and

he certainly has physical tools, so I'll try to remain optimistic.

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SouthernMan RFA

SouthernMan

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Cookie Gilchrist, OJ Simpson, Joe Cribbs, Greg Bell, Thurman Thomas, Antowain Smith, Travis Henry, Willis McGahee, Marshawn Lynch, Fred Jackson, CJ Spiller???? everyone but Spiller is a 1000 yd rusher.

 

Aren't you conveniently forgetting someone? OJ's heir apparent and a college star who gained 1000 yards for the Bills as a rookie....

 

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MillTe00.htm

 

CJ has a lot of talent. Not sure if that translates into a feature back role or not. I have my doubts. I think the Bills need to find ways to put him in space where he can use his quickness to juke a defender or two to break a long one. That may mean more of a slot receiver or kick return guy but not an every down back. He hasn't shown much ability to squirt through tight spaces the way Fred does (and Thurman did). Can he learn to be a more patient runner and use his blockers better? Time will tell whether he's more like Thurman or more like our 1978 top pick.

Edited by DML2005
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MikeSpeed RFA

MikeSpeed

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I don't hate Spiller. I hate the fact that another first round draft choice isn't living up to his draft status. I don't want to hear about how he is a rookie and we need to give him 2 to 3 years. He is a top 10 pick who should at least show improvement over the course of the season. Since he can not help where he was drafted, I guess I hate the FO for drafting him.

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Dorkington All Pro

Dorkington

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If your referring to Fred Jackson, you've got problems.

How so?

 

He's getting up there in age. Isn't that quick, or strong.

 

He's a feisty runner, who doesn't give up on plays, and has great vision to find seems for a few yards at a time.

 

I'm not saying he's bad, but really, he's not great. In fact, I really enjoy the way he plays. But his body doesn't match his mental capabilities, imo.

 

A first round RB should be able to earn a lot of playing time from him.

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Dorkington All Pro

Dorkington

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I hope you're not talking about Freddy Jackson. May be an older player but he is very skilled. He has proven that.

I probably should have reworded that to be "physically skilled".

 

He has great intangibles, as I've said. He sees seems, knows how to get that extra yard, etc. If Spiller knew how to do half of what Freddie knew, he'd get all sorts of playing time simply because he has the physical tools needed to gain big time yards and change the game. But instead he dances around behind the line and loses yards more often than not.

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KD in CA Hall of Famer

KD in CA

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I think those of us who are unhappy with the Spiller pick are focused on the last 20 years of Bills history, during which they have started each season without five NFL-quality offensive linemen.

 

And the last 10 without 7 NFL-quality defensive linemen/linebackers.

 

I don't 'hate' Spiller at all and hope he is very successful, but he was a luxury pick the Bills could not afford.

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SouthernMan RFA

SouthernMan

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CJ isnt a pound it between the tackles kind of guy, he was supposed to be a Pervy Harvin/ Reggie Bush player. we need to Draft a RB who pounds it between the tackles, next season will be Fred Jackson's last in Buffalo, if we want to get better.

 

Why is everyone so hung up on Fred Jackson's age? You act as if 29 or 30 is the magic age to shut it down for a running back. Fred is still relatively fresh. Plenty of good RBs have lasted into their early to mid 30s. Emmitt Smith took a lot more pounding than Fred Jackson in his first 7 or 8 seasons, and was still approaching 1000 yards at the age of 35. Fred Taylor was still productive in 2007 with 1200 yards as he approached his 34th birthday. How long has Sammy Morris been around?

 

As Marv used to say, chronological age is only an approximation of where you are physically. Fred Jackson may or may not be nearing his end as a feature back. I don't see any indications of slowing at this time. He may well have another good 3-5 years and RB won't have to be a concern for the Bills and their fans.

 

With all the issues for the Bills and their steller 32nd ranked run defense, I don't know why anyone is even having a conversation about the running back position at this time. That should be about the least of anyone's worries. Besides that, RB is one one of the easiest positions in the NFL to backfill with adequate talent after a good O-line is in place.

 

 

At the risk of sounding like a homer, Fred Jackson is currently one of the top RBs in the league, irregardless of what the future holds.

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akm0404 RFA

akm0404

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Fred Jackson is currently one of the top RBs in the league

 

HAHAHAHAHA. Yeah right.

 

He's 19th in the NFL in rushing yards (59.5 YPG, 5 TD, 4.3 YPC), and is being dominated by such marquis "top RBs" as BenJarvus Green-Ellis (61.9 YPG, 12 TD, 4.4 YPC) and LaGarette Blount (78.4 YPG, 6 TD, 5.2 YPC).

 

Fred Jackson is what he is - a plucky, bottom-half-of-the-league kind of guy. He runs hard, is a good blocker, but isn't even on par with the average backs.

 

Sorry guys, I know it hurts to recognize that, but it's true. I know you'll blame everyone else but Fred for his performance, being desperate to validate one of your own. That's cool too.

 

Also, to the poster that compared Emmitt Smith to Fred Jackson as pertaining to backs rushing into their 30s, just LOL. Smith was arguably a top 5 all-time back. Jackson might be top 500 all-time, maybe not. There is a reason why most people assume that a running back loses their effectiveness once they crest 30 - it is because that happens nearly every time with almost no exception.

Edited by akm0404
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Dr. Trooth Veteran

Dr. Trooth

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Jeez. If you're going to compare him with Juice and Cribbs... two of the best backs in Bills history, why not make it a bigger stretch and include Thomas. Or, why don't we just take a look at Bills Running backs that were taken in the first round and were career utility backs... Miller, Bell, Harmon, McCahee, Lynch. Spiller is in that class.

 

Back to your comparison to Juice and Cribbs. Ahem, both were starters in the very first season and were MAJOR contributors to their offense. Spiller wasn't even a minor contributor... he didn't even get on the field enough to to qualify. If you're a RB, and drafted #9 and don't start, something is not just wrong.... it's extremely wrong. If you don't have even one big game, that speaks volumes. It says to me it was another horrendously poor draft pick by the Bills.

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