Troups Redemption

[MARCELL DAREUS POWER]

jarron gilbert seems like a wanny type dt. long, tall and quick with great movement and power...

 

if he is decent in the preseason, he might beat out edwards and dotson

[rstencel]

The year before CJ was drafted we had Fred and Thug Lynch splitting time. Many here thought Fred was the real deal and I'm sure so did many of the Bills FO, Coaches and players but to think theyvwere anything but splitting time is just a rediculous statement. They drafted Spiller because they knew they would be getting rid of Lynch and because they needed another back. A back that is versitle and can twist defenders ankles on any given play. Not run them over. They knew that Freddy was old and the majority of RBs in rhe NFL never make it into thier 30s. Freddy is defying NFL standards. Regardless of how many people come out and say "well he's only got a few years of NFL wear and tear" it means nothing. Freddy wasn't relaxing in his couch for years before the Bills, he was fighting his way into the league. Hs was the MVP of his teams in NFL Europe and indoor leagues. You don't become a successful NFL running back being some pine rider in other leagues. You do more work than anyone else. You are involved more than anyone else. You probably get more mileage or just as much Mileage doing what he did. To think he has leas mileage is a joke. Besides all that, it doesn't matter. It's not a suprise that when people hit thier 30s their athletic games decline. How many 30+ year olds do you think are in the olympics every 4 years? Not many and the ones that are usually aren't running the 100m dash. There's a reason for that, your physical game isn't what it used to be. CJ is the RB of the future of this team. Starting this season or next he will be used more and more. The guy had Almost as many ypc as Freddy did last year and when he was in he did it with scrubs on the line and guys playing out of place. Levitre at C or LT, Backups at RG and LG.

 

I've come to the realization that anyone that thinks CJ wasn't the right pick must be one of 2 people.

1: they think RBs should NEVER, EVER be taken in the 1st round.

2: they are Lynch lovers and refuse to give up on a guy that was 1 traffic ticket away from being suspended for a single season.

 

 

You forgot the 3rd type, ones that are tired of waiting for them to make playoffs, and want the team to be good in more than one position.

[Hapless Bills Fan]

He still the best NT on the team.

 

 

 

Seriously? C'mon man!

 

I asked my dad who is a neurosurgeon (and got me into the bills) for this question (....) Depending on the degree of the compression and how well the surgery went, he could play again after the offseason. This is assuming he had this done. If he just had a ruptured disk, he could come back in 3 months. Not knowing all the facts, there is no way to be sure. But it is possible.

 

Thanks a bunch! Good info and clear explanation....

 

Can someone explain why Troup gets all of the hate and Marcus Easley gets all the love? Both have been injured or have had health problems. Too many at this site jump too quickly into ill conceived judgments. Both of these players, if healthy, have a chance to show some eggheads here that they're eggheads. It's summer; a time for positive thinking.

 

I don't know that Easley gets so much love here? I think we hope he can come back and develop....but as the time since he last played increases, the chances of his doing so decrease. He had a knee injury of a type that is commonly successfully rehabbed, and then a mysterious medical ailment that's apparently resolved. There doesn't seem to be any physical reason he shouldn't be 100%.

 

Troup was drafted to be a 3-4 NT, and we're now moving away from that scheme. So even if he were 100%, his place on the roster is ill-defined. Back problems are common to linemen, who suffer violent collisions every play of the game and who must, to play at a high level, be big men with corresponding stress on their skeletons. Recovery from back injuries is uncertain for normal humans who basically sit at a desk in between moderate activity like 30-40 mile bike rides or a few laps in the pool. I fell backwards off a scaffold >25 years ago and while most of the time I go about my life, the pain is still blinding at times. I think there is a lot of worry Troup = McCargo II, guy for whom there were high hopes that never materialized into high production.

Edited May 26, 2012 by Hopeful

[Fan in San Diego]

Troup is a long shot to make the team.

[3rdand12]

I guess i will stand alone here and say that T T will play for us and make for some very good rotation along with Heard ala Giants D.

The coaches were very high on him last year i remember, saying he had adressed his weaknesses such as upper body strength and leverage at the snap. Then he broke his hand. Which a DT really needs. so that sucked. then the reality of a weakened back set in and shut him down.

I hate to use the phrase again with another player on our squad.... but if he is healthy he could be darn good. But like Merriman we shall find out pretty quickly when the pads go on.

I vote yes for TT and am hoping he will quiet down the naysaers like Spiller is doing. if not, then it will probably be Heard and Johnson behind our soon to be pro bowlers.

ps i gotta give the guy credit to go as long as he did. I also have had a back injury that nags me even with meds. and it sucks really. i wish him full recovery whether he plays football or not.

[CSBill]

The year before CJ was drafted we had Fred and Thug Lynch splitting time. Many here thought Fred was the real deal and I'm sure so did many of the Bills FO, Coaches and players but to think theyvwere anything but splitting time is just a rediculous statement. They drafted Spiller because they knew they would be getting rid of Lynch and because they needed another back. A back that is versitle and can twist defenders ankles on any given play. Not run them over. They knew that Freddy was old and the majority of RBs in rhe NFL never make it into thier 30s. Freddy is defying NFL standards. Regardless of how many people come out and say "well he's only got a few years of NFL wear and tear" it means nothing. Freddy wasn't relaxing in his couch for years before the Bills, he was fighting his way into the league. Hs was the MVP of his teams in NFL Europe and indoor leagues. You don't become a successful NFL running back being some pine rider in other leagues. You do more work than anyone else. You are involved more than anyone else. You probably get more mileage or just as much Mileage doing what he did. To think he has leas mileage is a joke. Besides all that, it doesn't matter. It's not a suprise that when people hit thier 30s their athletic games decline. How many 30+ year olds do you think are in the olympics every 4 years? Not many and the ones that are usually aren't running the 100m dash. There's a reason for that, your physical game isn't what it used to be. CJ is the RB of the future of this team. Starting this season or next he will be used more and more. The guy had Almost as many ypc as Freddy did last year and when he was in he did it with scrubs on the line and guys playing out of place. Levitre at C or LT, Backups at RG and LG.

 

I've come to the realization that anyone that thinks CJ wasn't the right pick must be one of 2 people.

1: they think RBs should NEVER, EVER be taken in the 1st round.

2: they are Lynch lovers and refuse to give up on a guy that was 1 traffic ticket away from being suspended for a single season.

 

1: they think RBs should NEVER, EVER be taken in the 1st round. --- Yeah, this one!

[MARCELL DAREUS POWER]

1: they think RBs should NEVER, EVER be taken in the 1st round. --- Yeah, this one!

 

 

i agree with this 95%. unless its trent richardson or adrian peterson. and even then id rather take a olineman or dlineman

[RunTheBall]

As a doc who has been involved in hundreds of back operations, let me give you my professional medical opinion:

 

I have no friggin clue how Troupe will recover and neither does the surgeon who did the operation.

 

Backs suck, period. I'm a big proponent of Darwin but this skeletal organization defies natural selection as a positive genetic trait that should be passed on.

 

I've seen guys have 4 levels fused and go on to play sports, and I've seen others have a minor disk rupture that live on disability because of pain for the rest of their lives.

 

The only way to find out is to throw him out there and see how he does. If he misses any more time because of back pain he's finished.

 

RTB

[MARCELL DAREUS POWER]

As a doc who has been involved in hundreds of back operations, let me give you my professional medical opinion:

 

I have no friggin clue how Troupe will recover and neither does the surgeon who did the operation.

 

Backs suck, period. I'm a big proponent of Darwin but this skeletal organization defies natural selection as a positive genetic trait that should be passed on.

 

I've seen guys have 4 levels fused and go on to play sports, and I've seen others have a minor disk rupture that live on disability because of pain for the rest of their lives.

 

The only way to find out is to throw him out there and see how he does. If he misses any more time because of back pain he's finished.

 

RTB

 

 

yeah, its not good. this has been chronic so...

 

i still wouldnt count edwards out if gilbert doesnt show up....

[Pirate Angel]

Can someone explain why Troup gets all of the hate and Marcus Easley gets all the love? Both have been injured or have had health problems. Too many at this site jump too quickly into ill conceived judgments. Both of these players, if healthy, have a chance to show some eggheads here that they're eggheads. It's summer; a time for positive thinking.

 

We have actually seen troupe play and he hasn't showed much....We haven't seen Easley play and most of us are anxious to see if he can contribute. Im not sure if he gets "all the love" but he is big and fast and at a position that is a question mark for the Bills.

[eball]

Whether or not Troup has a chance to redeem himself is pretty irrelevant. What I'm most happy about is that the best players will make the team, and if Troup is one of those he's pretty talented. Best of luck to him.

[Doc]

As a doc who has been involved in hundreds of back operations, let me give you my professional medical opinion:

 

I have no friggin clue how Troupe will recover and neither does the surgeon who did the operation.

 

Backs suck, period. I'm a big proponent of Darwin but this skeletal organization defies natural selection as a positive genetic trait that should be passed on.

 

I've seen guys have 4 levels fused and go on to play sports, and I've seen others have a minor disk rupture that live on disability because of pain for the rest of their lives.

 

The only way to find out is to throw him out there and see how he does. If he misses any more time because of back pain he's finished.

 

RTB

I agree that no one knows how Troup's back will fare. But the positive trait that should be/is passed on is bipedalism and the skeletal system, as poor as it is to achieve that end, is the best we've got at the present time, and it may be the best we'll ever have.

[mrags]

i agree with this 95%. unless its trent richardson or adrian peterson. and even then id rather take a olineman or dlineman

I generally agree with this because the RB position is one where a mid to late round guy can produce in similar ways to the high draft picks. There's exceptions tobthis rule though. Special players like Peterson, Richardson, Bo Jackson, Barry Sanders type players are expected to be drafted that early and it's worth it most of the time. just howany RBs are drafte late and can still produce, the ones that are projected to be good enough to be a early 1st round draft pick rarely dissapoint. I'm not saying at this point that CJ has been that or WILL be that before his career is up. But in college he clearly proved to be drafted that high and was seen as a can't miss player wherever he was drafted.

 

CJ will prove his haters wrong. Starting this year if he hasn't already.

[MDH]

 

 

I've come to the realization that anyone that thinks CJ wasn't the right pick must be one of 2 people.

1: they think RBs should NEVER, EVER be taken in the 1st round.

2: they are Lynch lovers and refuse to give up on a guy that was 1 traffic ticket away from being suspended for a single season.

 

I don't think either, though I do think the back has to be special, not just good, to justify it.

 

My mouth dropped open when they picked Spiller for the exact reason I stated above. I felt that the ONLY position the Bills didn't need to address early was RB - and that's what they did. Jackson was fantastic the year before the Spiller pick and while they certainly needed a #2 back Jackson had clearly done enough to justify being the starter and there was no need to draft a RB at 10. Jackson, while splitting time, put up over 1k yards and averaged 4.5ypc behind a subpar OL. He also snatched 46 receptions for almost another 400 yards. That's all in 11 starts.

 

All the talk of BPA is a bit much, you pick BPA at a position that the player can get on the field. I'm not a football genius and even I knew that Spiller wasn't going to get on the field the moment the pick was made and - at least in this one thing - I've been proven correct.

 

All that being said, I'm not ragging on Nix. I like the job he's done very much, but that pick was nonsensical at least from my perspective.

[billsintaiwan]

I don't think either, though I do think the back has to be special, not just good, to justify it.

 

My mouth dropped open when they picked Spiller for the exact reason I stated above. I felt that the ONLY position the Bills didn't need to address early was RB - and that's what they did. Jackson was fantastic the year before the Spiller pick and while they certainly needed a #2 back Jackson had clearly done enough to justify being the starter and there was no need to draft a RB at 10. Jackson, while splitting time, put up over 1k yards and averaged 4.5ypc behind a subpar OL. He also snatched 46 receptions for almost another 400 yards. That's all in 11 starts.

 

All the talk of BPA is a bit much, you pick BPA at a position that the player can get on the field. I'm not a football genius and even I knew that Spiller wasn't going to get on the field the moment the pick was made and - at least in this one thing - I've been proven correct.

 

All that being said, I'm not ragging on Nix. I like the job he's done very much, but that pick was nonsensical at least from my perspective.

 

don't know who else they were supposed to take. and spiller is a dangerous running back. those last few games he flew up the field. the lad is fast. a weapon. lynch was on the way out. two strike guy. unreliable.

[Homey D. Clown]

Spiller was a horrible pick. Fred Jackson was the best player on the roster the year before Spiller was drafted. There was absolutely no need to use a top 10 pick on a running back when the best player on your team is a running back. Sure the Bills needed another back but you don't spend a top 10 pick to shore up depth.

 

Nix has done a good job since then but that was not a shining moment for him.

 

 

You couldn't be more wrong. This team had zero elite talent at RB at the time, we all loved Fred at that time, but didn't foresee the player he emerged as last season, and love him or hate him Lynch was and still is average at best, and wanted out of Buffalo like his @ss was on fire. So add into the mix that this team had another goose egg in the Pro Bowlers column, and I still don't get how anyone thinks the team didn't need a guy like Spiller. He's already showing his talents, and if he progresses, will probably end his career as a top tier RB.

 

People tend to forget it took OJ 3 years before running for 1000 yards as well, but to say the FO made a bad pick is just argumentative for the sake of argument. Yes the team had holes to fill elsewhere as well, but that also included RB, and you only get one pick.

 

After the team went through picking the biggest bust in it's 50+ year existence the year before, I can see how CJ will probably be more scrutinized than other 1st round picks, but to say that it was a terrible pick is just just not even close to true.

[eball]

You couldn't be more wrong. This team had zero elite talent at RB at the time, we all loved Fred at that time, but didn't foresee the player he emerged as last season, and love him or hate him Lynch was and still is average at best, and wanted out of Buffalo like his @ss was on fire. So add into the mix that this team had another goose egg in the Pro Bowlers column, and I still don't get how anyone thinks the team didn't need a guy like Spiller. He's already showing his talents, and if he progresses, will probably end his career as a top tier RB.

 

People tend to forget it took OJ 3 years before running for 1000 yards as well, but to say the FO made a bad pick is just argumentative for the sake of argument. Yes the team had holes to fill elsewhere as well, but that also included RB, and you only get one pick.

 

After the team went through picking the biggest bust in it's 50+ year existence the year before, I can see how CJ will probably be more scrutinized than other 1st round picks, but to say that it was a terrible pick is just just not even close to true.

Take a look at OJ's career stats if you have a few minutes. It's really pretty amazing, because the guy basically had five good years ('72-'76), and as you pointed out, his first three were nondescript. Also, his best season statistically wasn't 1973, surprisingly, but 1975. That year, he rushed for over 1800 yards, caught passes for another 400+, and scored 23 touchdowns.

Edited May 29, 2012 by eball

[K-9]

don't know who else they were supposed to take. and spiller is a dangerous running back. those last few games he flew up the field. the lad is fast. a weapon. lynch was on the way out. two strike guy. unreliable.

 

This is absolutely the case. Lynch was as good as gone the moment Nix was named GM. And while I'm perfectly OK with the Spiller pick strictly from a BPA viewpoint alone, the fact that Lynch wasn't going to be part of the new regime's plans gave credence to the idea that Spiller was a pick for need as well.

 

GO BILLS!!!