MDH Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 When Gaily split carries last year people complained that he wasn't giving Spiller the ball enough. Now they complain that he's getting the ball in the middle of the field and not in space. NEWSFLASH: you can't have it both ways. You can't feed a guy the ball 20+ times a game in space. A guy you specifically get the ball in space is a change of pace back - a guy who splits carries. If Spiller can't handle getting the ball in the middle of the field he's not a "stud" he's Reggie Bush 2.0. It's interesting that Freddie can get positive yards in games when Spiller can't. Even when the blocking is horrible (and it was yesterday) Jackson manages to pick up 2, 3, 4 yards when nothing is there yet Spiller gets tackled for losses or no gain. Spiller has insane natural gifts but that doesn't make him a great back. He needs to learn how to play his position better because right now he's not a better back the FJ. He's more talented but not better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Gun Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 (edited) The only thing CJ has on Fred is pure speed. That's it. Fred is a better "running back" than is CJ. I personally would like to see more single Fred in the backfield with CJ flanked out wide, then run the read option with that. All sports are 80% mental 20% physical. CJ pales in comparison to Fred in the mental game. Edited September 23, 2013 by billsbum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KDIGGZ Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Standing in the shotgun and saying here is the ball now try and run up the middle seems to be Hackett's favorite play. Unfortunately that play is terrible and that's not the kind of back CJ is. They need to give him the ball on counters, pitches, end arounds, and screens. He needs to work in space and use his speed. It's pretty obvious to everyone besides Hackett apparently Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fan in San Diego Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Standing in the shotgun and saying here is the ball now try and run up the middle seems to be Hackett's favorite play. Unfortunately that play is terrible and that's not the kind of back CJ is. They need to give him the ball on counters, pitches, end arounds, and screens. He needs to work in space and use his speed. It's pretty obvious to everyone besides Hackett apparently +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALF Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 This OL cannot do the hurry up . Chan was a good OC , and Joe D' the best OL coach. Levitre looks better every week . EJ and CJ will get hurt with this system and OL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maury Ballstein Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 (edited) The only thing CJ has on Fred is pure speed. That's it. Fred is a better "running back" than is CJ. I personally would like to see more single Fred in the backfield with CJ flanked out wide, then run the read option with that. All sports are 80% mental 20% physical. CJ pales in comparison to Fred in the mental game. Did you conduct brain scans ? How insanely smart is Fred ? Can he call plays for the offense and facilitate a trade for a LG ? Edited September 23, 2013 by Ryan L Billz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beerball Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Spiller is an elite back and Nathaniel Hackett has no idea how to use him. Almost every run the try with him comes out of the read option and Manuel may be athletic but he is terrible at making that read. Manuel makes the wrong read and the defense is right there almost every time, plus Spiller has to take the ball at a stand still out of the read option and the defense is already at full stride. Hackett is in waaaaaaaaay over his head and it is going to be a brutal year with him as the offensive coordinator, but he will be gone next year. Hate that. What's obvious through 3 games is that Hackett needs to have a more varied attack. Freddy is having success, Spiller isn't. He needs to ask himself why and come up with a way for both to be successful. He also needs to be in his QB's ear continuously in practice, demanding better mechanics, demanding better decisions. A very disappointing performance yesterday. Hopefully they bounce back from it, but the coaches and players need to do much, much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALLEN1QB Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 We have a real problem at RB (among other areas). Spiller is not the guy and Jackson can't last forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Webster Guy Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Hackett has been bad so far, no question. In the Carolina game he used that fullback screen to open the game and to open the second half, and that's about the only pre-designed play from the OC that has made me feel like we might have more than just an enthusiastic buddy of our head coach running our offense. I might be wrong but I don't think we have run one screen play this entire season. I know our O line, TE's and running backs know how to run screens because we operated the best screen play offense in the NFL last year. We shredded people with it, and it kept the defense back on their toes a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maury Ballstein Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 We have a real problem at RB (among other areas). Spiller is not the guy and Jackson can't last forever. wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RealityCheck Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 It pains me to say this, but Hacket would learn a lot by watching film on Chan's usage of RBs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KGUNBILLS Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 When Gailey was pressured as to why he didn't use Spiller more, he kept making references to CJ's size. He didn't feel that CJ would be able to physically handle the pounding that he would get, if he was constantly used to run the ball. Any one can run a ball through a wide open hole. There definitely needs to be a different coaching mindset, and some offensive game plan adjustments made until Hackett can figure out how best to use his resources. On the other hand, he could have the very best game plan one could imagine, but if the players on the field cannot execute, it's all for nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimp Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Spiller is an elite good back... Don't you have to prove that you are elite first? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sisyphean Bills Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 When Gailey was pressured as to why he didn't use Spiller more, he kept making references to CJ's size. He didn't feel that CJ would be able to physically handle the pounding that he would get, if he was constantly used to run the ball. Any one can run a ball through a wide open hole. There definitely needs to be a different coaching mindset, and some offensive game plan adjustments made until Hackett can figure out how best to use his resources. On the other hand, he could have the very best game plan one could imagine, but if the players on the field cannot execute, it's all for nothing. You could "run" the plays faster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luxy312 Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Spiller is not the issue. Hackett's play calling is the issue. I hate to say it, but this is very similar to Wanny calling plays defensively. He was so stubborn that he was going to call the plays he wanted to regardless of who's on the field. Same thing here with CJ/Fred. CJ needs space to truly excel. Fred is pretty much a pound it up the middle guy for 4 yards a carry. Hackett treats the two as if they're the same skill set. They simply are not. Hackett has turned a 6+ YPC running back into a 3.5 YPC running back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterpan Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I dont think we have been running the read option much this year. The first two games and the first part of this week, the OL wasn't blocking it the way you would block on a read option. At least on the plays that I focused on the OL that was the case(because its so easy to predict when we are runing the inside handoff lol) I noticed more read option looks during the 2nd half or maybe final 3 quarters yesterday. But EJs reads were awful. He only ran it once and he should have been running it nearly every time. I guess it doesnt matter though, their D was able to stop our RBs without the backside end even pursuing. It is very very ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 After reading through many of the threads, it seems many fans are not happy with Spiller's performance. While it has clearly not been stellar, I have been finding his opportunities slim. He is a dynamic player and can do many things on the football field - so why do we keep feeding it to him up the middle OVER AND OVER again. Maybe I'm wrong. Admittedly I watch the games at a Seahawks sports bar so I can never get a great view of the Bills games. But from what I can gather, Hackett seems to think that if we just hand it off to him up the middle every time CJ will break free. What happened to the screens, the dump offs over the line, etc.? I've always thought those type of plays were Spiller's strong points. That being said, I feel like the playbook we have seen so far lacks a lot of novelty. Why did we go deep 5+ times today on third down when Manuel wasn't even able to keep the ball in bounds? I have been way more unhappy with the play calling over the past 3 weeks than with Spiller. Thoughts? 100% agree. The O-line is TERRIBLE. You don't send a smallish back up the middle ever, esp. with a terrible O-line. We need to go waiver-wire hunting for the following: (1) CB's. Trufant and Clements, please. (2) O-line. No clue who is available. But there has to be an upgrade over what we have (Wood excepted); (3) Big, physical back. Again, not sure if there is one out there, but if your running up the middle, and don't fix the O-line, you need someone who can run people over. Heck, give Alonso the ball on offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 100% agree. The O-line is TERRIBLE. You don't send a smallish back up the middle ever, esp. with a terrible O-line. We need to go waiver-wire hunting for the following: (1) CB's. Trufant and Clements, please. (2) O-line. No clue who is available. But there has to be an upgrade over what we have (Wood excepted); (3) Big, physical back. Again, not sure if there is one out there, but if your running up the middle, and don't fix the O-line, you need someone who can run people over. Heck, give Alonso the ball on offense. Joique Bell. Looking VERY good in Detroit. Would love to have kept him here along with FJ and CJ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanC883 Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 I dont think we have been running the read option much this year. The first two games and the first part of this week, the OL wasn't blocking it the way you would block on a read option. At least on the plays that I focused on the OL that was the case(because its so easy to predict when we are runing the inside handoff lol) I noticed more read option looks during the 2nd half or maybe final 3 quarters yesterday. But EJs reads were awful. He only ran it once and he should have been running it nearly every time. I guess it doesnt matter though, their D was able to stop our RBs without the backside end even pursuing. It is very very ugly. You can't do anything behind that putrid O-line play. Simply unacceptable. I was at the Steelers game last night. They have similar O-line issues. They can't establish a run, and rely on their QB and WR's too much. The result is a bunch of turnovers (or in the Bills case, sacks). At least EJ is not throwing Int's all over or fumbling like crazy. The O-line needs to buy EJ, CJ and Freddie dinner this week. Joique Bell. Looking VERY good in Detroit. Would love to have kept him here along with FJ and CJ. Oh! Forgot we had him. Yeah, he would have been a great addition to this team. He is looking better than Bush in Det right now. Good call. Can't let guys like that go! But at least we kept Justin Rodgers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YoloinOhio Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 You can't do anything behind that putrid O-line play. Simply unacceptable. I was at the Steelers game last night. They have similar O-line issues. They can't establish a run, and rely on their QB and WR's too much. The result is a bunch of turnovers (or in the Bills case, sacks). At least EJ is not throwing Int's all over or fumbling like crazy. The O-line needs to buy EJ, CJ and Freddie dinner this week. Oh! Forgot we had him. Yeah, he would have been a great addition to this team. He is looking better than Bush in Det right now. Good call. Can't let guys like that go! But at least we kept Justin Rodgers He is the type of guy that can get you those tough yards up the middle and in the red zone, looking at the plays that are being called. Dont get me wrong, I would not trade either of our current backs for him, but would love to have him along with our first 2. Meaning I would give up Taster's Choice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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