Bills vs. Jets: C.J. Spiller Gets Encouragement From LaDainian Tomlinson

We had the opportunity to draft the best running back in the draft. The first one off the board. A kid who had a stellar career in college. A Tim Tebow of RB’s, a potential Chris Johnson clone etc… Okay now the rest of you can chime in.

He never struggled when he came into the league.

Spiller has been so disappointing this year. It’s not even the running between the tackles since many didn’t believe he’d be able to do that. It’s the complete lack of big plays. He hasn’t really even been close to breaking anything big offensively and has shown none of that speed he’s supposed to have. It’d be nice if he had flashed some ability this season, but he hasn’t, and I think that should be concerning….

C.J. has been overwhelmed with the physicality of the NFL.

C.J. has been overwhelmed with the speed of the NFL.

C.J. has been very slow picking up the total responsibility of the RB in the NFL.

C.J. lacks much strength and durability to be a featured back.

I believe he can still adjust but it may be a slower process that first thought at this point. Maybe to the point of a couple seasons to get to where he needs to be and that time period can either be his achilles heal or his motivation to succeed.

I say all this as a full supporter of the pick, also. So the pie is right there in front of my face.

Very over hyped when drafted. Love the pick, infact even called it out to my so called guru friend. Give him time.

Still playing off instinct… Just until the last few games is he north south. Still used to beating everyone on the edge, or with a quick juke.

Overwhelmed entirely this year. I appreciate chanimaniac throwin the entire playbook at the kid and giving him touches in punts and kickoffs. He NEEDS to be exposed. Once he is used to it do NOT be surprised if we see mckelvin back returning again.

The way they have used spiller this year I am fine with. Get him touches, get him used to everyone on the field being fast.

I’m already more impressed with him than Maybin.

needs to hit the hole running, so far this year it looks like he is always trying to break the big one. That will come just run. I watch Best (Lions RB) and there is no dancing its go to the whole as fast and as hard as you can. I would like Buffalo to use him as a Slot WR more I mean vs. the Patriots there was that 41 yard catch, no one can keep up with his speed just a thought.

Overall he will produce for us at sometime, but right now he is number 2 until Jackson is gone or injuried

LdT is the exception, not the rule. If you don’t produce you will be replaced in a heartbeat. Yeah, I know it’s a “long career” in that he shouldn’t let his rookie year get him down but two or three years like this and his long career will be over.

1. His combination of speed and agility in the role of RB/WR is peerless. He’s as fast as Mike Wallace with better lateral agility. He’s faster than any RB besides Chris Johnson. Anytime he has the chance to move downfield, he’ll beat everyone.

Don’t let disappointment affect your judgment of the guy’s raw potential. It’s huge.

2. It’s hard to break runs when you have 2-3 defenders on you in the backfield. Defenses key on Spiller when he’s in the backfield, and have no problems penetrating our O-line. Of Spiller’s 71 carries, I’d bet 60 of them would have been stuffed even if we had Adrian Peterson on PCP running for us.

3. FJack’s YPC is only 0.4 better than Spiller. Why is he revered while Spiller is maligned? Yeah yeah, FJack is more patient letting the blocking set up and can pass block properly in the back field. Is there any doubt that Spiller can acquire both of these abilities? And isn’t his upside much bigger than FJack’s?

4. The guys is still going to finish his season with 1500+ total yards. So sure he wasn’t a 2,000 yard rusher. But he’s still been an essential part of the team. He’s shown he can play in the NFL. Becoming a star is the next step.

5. The guy’s intangibles are great. He’s a worker, not a prima donna. He has a positive attitude. Whatever his role will be — from all star RB to quirky gadget player — I’m glad to have him on the team.

Kind of amazing that the shift of “Buffalo Bill we must hate” status has shifted from Maybin to Spiller. Yeah, I get that Maybin is still hated, but it’s not en vogue to hate on him anymore, is it? Spiller’s the guy to bash on the Intertubes these days, right?

I don’t mean stating the facts or opinions but the kicking of the dead horse stuff. Some just think it is funny.I just wonder while they are the life of the party if they really know that they are the conversation the next day and if they ever get invited back to the next party. The old saying there is one in every crowd, sometimes two. Is C.J. Spiller another Adrian Peterson, I think not, but Ryan Mathews, Knoshawn Mareno, Beane Wells, Donald Brown maybe, Maybe Shonn Green or McCoy. We don’t know, but lets kick the horse anyway, it is fun to hate. Here is a fact: C.J. Spiller is another 1st round pick by the Buffalo Bills that has not had an immediate impact. One comment I read a week ago was, so let’s trade him to Miami for a seventh round pick.

I think LT is saying it to Shonn Green all season.

I very much disliked the selection of a RB with our #9 draft pick, with so many seemingly pressing needs at other positions. As the season came closer, I rationalized it to myself by thinking, ok, at least if we didn’t fill a huge need positionally, there WAS a need at a vague “playmaker” position….CJ should be able to come right in and at least make some “home run” type plays to keep the defence honest. (which, if you think abou it, seems like the opposite now….seems like defences get to Spiller quicker than anyone else! go figure) After the preseason I was downright excited to see CJ used in a variety of ways: RB, WR, trick plays, screens, etc. Being that CJ spent 4 years at Clemson and preformed well for seemingly all of them, I was never worried about him getting off to a slow start. And then his promotion to the starting lineup signaled to me that the Bills coaches liked what they were seeing in practice and preseason games and were not very worried about CJ’s tranistion to the NFL either.

And now, after 15 regular season games, I am just left with more questions than answers. Do CJ’s skills translate well to the NFL? Can he run inside? Is how he is being used now how the people that selected him invisioned him to be used, or is he limited somehow in his rookie year? Where did these fumbling issues come from? Were my eyes deceiving me while watching him in college? Because going back to the Clemson tapes, now he doesn’t look so quick…or so shifty…

Alas, I am sitting here now with more questions than when he was selected, or so it seems. I still see great potential in CJ Spiller. But mark down 2010 as a year where he def did not produce. And while it’s not neccessary for RBs to produce as soon as they get to the league, a guy who does gives their team just another year of productivity to work with. Maybe CJ will make it up to us by playing a year longer at his peak…. CJ Spiller seems like a nice kid from all my interactions with him…I’m really hoping this worrying is all for naught.