Expectations For Spiller, Troup, Bills' Rookie Class

Rec’d on this alone:

I’m much more concerned with Spiller getting the ball into that mythical land known as the end zone

Its not beyond the realm of possibility that a 6th or 7th round pick makes the team and contribuites right away, Brian for the mopst part I agree with you but a guy like Kyle Calloway who played on a very good college team and contributed heavily to their success , I think he will caryy that with him guys who win in college always seem to carry themselves very well in the pro game, Buddy’s draft this year was something i felt was kinda strange he went with guys that necessarily didnt go to big schools but were the go to guys on the teams they played for thats huge for me when i look at these guys, the fact that we have signed all of our lower round guys means this regimes believes in every player they will draft, and means that these guys know what its like to be the GUY, but as for expectations I am going to expect a little more from these guys I expect at least 4 of the 9 will see significant playing time I wont say which 4 but I will say 4 and if that happens this shoudl be considered a great draft.

It’s 700 touches or bust, as I’ve said before.

I don’t expect any of the rookies outside of Spiller and Troup to play a significant role this year. By the end of the season, Carrington should be getting a decent number of snaps, so let’s hope he shows he can handle the rigors of his position. Easley will get some reps here and there, but I really don’t think he’ll give us more than 20 receptions, tops.

I think though that with Moats going to ILB its more of a case of needing a blitzer from that position who can get to the QB than adding another project to the OLB ranks, where we already have many of those. We all know Mitchell can blitz, perhaps not effectively as we would like, and I think Edwards wants Moats to take that role over by end of the 2011 season.

If Calloway makes the actual roster and not the PS, I would be surprised, and most likely would mean we had an injury to the interior line he would fix.

I don’t know why (maybe) but I really believe we struck gold this year in drafting good, solid players built for the long haul. My surprise pick that will make an impact will be Marcus Easley. 50+ receptions. :)

Agree wholeheartedly with expectations. Rec’d for “mythical land know as end zone” as well.:)

Spiller: like you said he was brought in to score TD’s. Doesnt matter if its from 99 yards away or 1… TD’s are what matters when it comes to Spiller… and they should come in all fashions. 10+ (5 rushing, 4 receiving, 1 return… the + would be a bonus)

Troup: a good rotation with Williams and learning the NT position in this version of the 3-4. Also if the run defense improves with him out there.

Carrington: Gets more and more snaps as the season goes on. Solid rotational player when Stroud or Edwards needs a breather.

Easley: 20-25 receptions, 300-400 yards and 3-4 TDs would be a pretty good rookie season for a WR on this current team. I dont think he’ll compete for the 2 spot… but he should still find his way to the field.

Wang: like you said, stay healthy and get stronger for next year.

The rest: make the team and contribute.

that is all :-)

Even if he doesn’t get touches, just being in the lineup will make the offense less predictable. He’ll make an impact as both a target and a diversion. Get your popcorn ready.

Good info. C.J Spiller will definitely be the home run hitter.

Brian, in regards to your analysis of Danny Batten, what do you think are the odds of him becoming this “pure gold” you spoke of?

Good article, makes one realize how much youth we are counting on. It feels like 90% of our starters are 3 year vets or younger!

they are reasonable and well-thought out. I am in the Batten for the starting OLB spot opposite Maybin camp, we are so young that we need to just let these guys play. I like Calloway, a lot more than you do apparently, if Kirk Chambers is our back O-lineman, we are in huge trouble. He is one of those well-established horrible players we tend to keep around like Kelsay and McIntyre. I truly believe that Calloway can learn to play the G position, he probably makes the PS to start the season, but an injury will bring him up for good. And last but not least, A. Coleman, how could you not put last years SEC leading sack artist on the list. I expect him to make the team, I also expect him and Moats to destroy heads on STs.

I think 8 TDs for Spiller might be a little high. Chris Johnson had 10 TDs his rookie year, but 5 of them came inside the 10 yard line. Is Spiller going to get touches there? If he scores four or five times on big plays and doesn’t touch the ball much down inside the 10, then he’s done his job and done it well. If the Bills had the rookie version of Chris Johnson on this team, would he have scored 8 times?

I don’t buy that Easley will do much this year either. I’d go under if the over/under for catches was a measly 10. If Johnson and Hardy are just OK this year and Easley is poised to win that job heading into 2011, then I think he’d be ahead of the curve of your typical bigger WR taken in the middle rounds. It’s extremely rare for WRs with Easley’s size, taken after the first couple rounds, to make a significant contribution as a rookie.

200 touches for Spiller, that equals 12.5 a game. Honestly I think that would beat my expectations, I’m looking around 10 touches a game. It’s likely he won’t return kicks as we have McKelvin and Parrish who are world beaters at that position.

Half the snaps at nose for Troup would be dandy, I’m not counting on it but I think it would mean we got ourselves a good one. As for Carrington, if he hasn’t entered the rotation by Week 8 it might be a bad sign. After the starters of Stroud and Edwards, we have McCargo and S. Johnson. Surely Carrington can steal some reps from one of those guys by Week 8.

Easley’s a complete question mark, he could end up as high as 2 and as low as 5. As long as he beats out Chad Jackson I’d consider him a successful 4th round pick. Everyone else will be doing well just to make the special teams or not get cut (L. Brown).

I think Spiller does eclipse 200 touches (with 700 obviously being a joke!!!). I still think he sees roughly 10-12 carries a game, 3-5 receptions, and should see maybe 40-50 total kick/punt returns for the season. That would amount to close to 300 total touches. That might be a little generous, but I think 250 is very, very, very possible. Remember, they didn’t draft Spiller to give him 7 touches a game. He’s a guy that can contribute all over the field right away, so even if he hasn’t fully mastered the offense, he can still take 5-7 handoffs, catch some passes and return 4-6 punts/kicks a game. I will be shocked if, barring injury, Spiller doesn’t easily eclipse 200 total touches.

Kaiser and others have made a good point here. If Chris Johnson was on the 2009 Bills, would he have had as many TDs? Granted, Bills fans are expecting a lot more out of Chan Gailey’s offense than Dick Jauron’s, but 8 TDs sounds like a successful rookie season for Spiller if he was on, I dunno, the Colts. The guy works well in space, but chances are the guy isn’t going to reach full-fledged Barry Sanders status right away. These Bills can give him enough chances for 5-6 TDs, I say.

I still think (and I may eat these words as Spiller gets chances this year) that McKelvin would be better on kick returns, and corner isn’t as thin as running back on our team.

Awesome work on Levi Brown.