Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

[BillsImpossible]

Thurman Thomas stood about 5'10 and weighed just around 200 lbs.

On the NFL's website, C.J. Spiller is 5'11, 200 lbs.

That was then, this is now. The NFL is a bigger league than it was 20 years ago and I think C.J. Spiller needs to add another 10-15 lbs.

C.J. has a lot of muscle, but is he big enough? Add a little fat to that back? Just start drinking beer, C.J.

Thurman Thomas was not ripped like C.J. is, but he was thick as a keg.

"Thick," is an NFL word for having strong bones, a thick head, and thick mental and physical muscles that can't necessarily be seen on the surface.

Fred Jackson is thick. He is 6'1, 215 lbs and has played in the NFL for 7 years, which is a long time for a running back. For a, "tall," running back, he is amazing and runs like a 225 - 230 lbs back like Jerome Bettis.

Is a 200 lb running back big enough in today's NFL game to take a licking and keep on ticking for at least 5 years?

Running backs have very short shelf lives and time frames are short to become great.

Somebody get C.J. a bucket of wings, a pizza, and case of beer. Press repeat, and by week 10 he'll be ready to go another 5 years.

I would sacrifice speed for longevity any day.

[Buffalo Thriller]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

He never came into the league thought of as a power back.

[BillsFever21]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

I'm starting to doubt if he is somebody you can give the ball to 20+ times a game throughout a year or two without getting injured or hampering his performance.

A RB doesn't have a very long peak career in the NFL and that's why teams don't draft them very high and when they find a workhouse they run him until he's done. Even a RB that doesn't get many carries is past him prime or washed up at 30 years old.

It takes a special RB to even sign to a high dollar extension after his rookie contract for the long-term if you ask me. By that time most of them are going to be around 26-27 years old. You might have another good year or two left before they start going downhill. Depending on the RB they can start breaking down even at 28 years old give or take.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

Chris Johnson has survived in the NFL with almost that exact same frame, so it's possible.

And LOL at comparing Fred Jackson to Jerome Bettis. Jackson is nothing like the Bus. At all.

[The Popcorn]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

I don't think he is. Adding 10-15 pounds would probably work against his speed. His speed is what makes him dangerous. You would have the "lost a step" skeptics out in full force if he were to do that.

[coastal]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

His brain is.

[Guest]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

I have been saying for years that Spiller cannot handle 20+ touches per game.

[Saratoga Slim]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

I'd consider it progress if he got the ball 10 times a game and managed to avoid running into Eric wood's ass on 5 of them. As of now, I'd say the ratio is closer to 8 runs directly into the backsides of our lineman per ten carries. Makes you wonder if he really was better at seeing the holes last year, or if our OL last year was just creating much better ones

[GreedoII]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

Looking at the league now..the RB's are not so important. You see these good teams with avg RBs and RB committees winning games. The top RBs in the league don't make the playoffs a whole lot. It's about the passing game. I say trade him for a top pick and bring someone in like Mark Ingram and have him and Freddie. Build your lines and secondary. Cj shouldn't have been drafted so high anyway. RBs are a dime a dozen. Another stupid move by that dolt Nix and Company. So this team drafts 2 RB in the 1st round in 3 yrs and what? Nada....

Thurman Thomas stood about 5'10 and weighed just around 200 lbs.

On the NFL's website, C.J. Spiller is 5'11, 200 lbs.

That was then, this is now. The NFL is a bigger league than it was 20 years ago and I think C.J. Spiller needs to add another 10-15 lbs.

C.J. has a lot of muscle, but is he big enough? Add a little fat to that back? Just start drinking beer, C.J.

Thurman Thomas was not ripped like C.J. is, but he was thick as a keg.

"Thick," is an NFL word for having strong bones, a thick head, and thick mental and physical muscles that can't necessarily be seen on the surface.

Fred Jackson is thick. He is 6'1, 215 lbs and has played in the NFL for 7 years, which is a long time for a running back. For a, "tall," running back, he is amazing and runs like a 225 - 230 lbs back like Jerome Bettis.

Is a 200 lb running back big enough in today's NFL game to take a licking and keep on ticking for at least 5 years?

Running backs have very short shelf lives and time frames are short to become great.

Somebody get C.J. a bucket of wings, a pizza, and case of beer. Press repeat, and by week 10 he'll be ready to go another 5 years.

I would sacrifice speed for longevity any day.

[RedEyE]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

The league then typically utilized just 1 back for eating clock, running THROUGH defenses, strong-arming short yard gains. Then enters a guy named Barry Sanders who literally ran from defenses. His quick-cut elusive traits were pretty much new to the league. Instead of hitting defenses in the mouth, Barry would rely more on the simple redirect plays and jolt pass lumbering defensive lineman for jaw-dropping intricate gains.

I believe today's offenses require the existence of both types of backs. Much like the change-up pitch in baseball, the mixed usage of a barreling inside running hard-nosed back like Fred and the elusive outside scat-back igniting escapability CJ offers adds another dimension to the offense. When used the right way, it keeps the defensive lineman needing to be both quick and stout.

This is precisely why I would like to see the Bills utilize a wishbone like offense. Injecting both the read option and the no huddle with CJ, EJ, and FJ in the backfield would cause some serious confusion not only to the opposing lineman, but to the linebackers and safetys as well.

[cookie G]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

Thurman Thomas stood about 5'10 and weighed just around 200 lbs.

On the NFL's website, C.J. Spiller is 5'11, 200 lbs.

Well yeah, if you try and run him inside against a stacked D - Line,then yes.

What a difference a year makes. last year, people couldn't get Spiller the ball enough and Gailey was an idiot for not giving him the ball 3 out of every 4 plays.

Now he's too small and Freddy should be getting the majority of the carries.

Please.

Figure
Out
How
To
Use
Him..

That's all it is.

Buffalo Rumblings had an article on the Bills extensive use of the read option. I think he makes some good points and sees some things that are going wrong.. I just don't agree with his conclusions (Give it time, it'll work.)

http://www.buffalorumblings.com/2013/9/24/4766678/bills-read-option-ej-manuel-cj-spiller-nathaniel-hackett

I know the read option is trendy, and I know that you have a QB with speed..but speed alone doesn't make him a good read option QB. If he's not willing to run the ball and doesn't draw off the "read" defender, its no more than an inside handoff where you don't have enough blockers for defenders.

His first too pics in the slide show show the problem, at least to me.

Wood takes out one of the inside LB's and has him sealed.
Pears fails to sustain block on the frontside backer and he fills the hole;
Urbik actually puts his defender on the ground;
Colin Brown misses on his block, Wilkerson (I think) actually moves across his face and fills the hole, eventually making the tackle;
Manuel does little, if anything, to freeze the 'read' defender, who moves inside and dives to cover the hole.

The result is a hole covered by not one, but 3 defenders, plus a body on the ground that Spiller has to avoid.

That doesn't make for a good running lane. Its possible Spiller could have bounced to the outside..but I'm not so sure he could have.

As he points out...Manuel should have probably kept the ball on the play...but he didn't.

But what he also points out gets more to the heart of the problem..

Especially when Spiller is on the field, the Bills are getting dominated at the point of attack. Teams are gearing up to shut down Spiller, and knowing that the Bills are running out of the read-option, they're blowing up Bills blockers on the line of scrimmage left and right. They're aided in doing so by the fact that Manuel has missed some golden opportunities to make big plays with his legs on these play calls.

1. Keying on the RB, who is going to get the hand off on nearly every Read Option play;
2. QB who really isn't a true Read Option QB who is most likely to hand off;
2. 2 of your 3 interior linemen are average to well below average blockers and are expected to take out a DT or NT on their own;

Call me crazy, but that play doesn't have too much chance for success.

You can continue to be trendy..or you can be truly innovative and find a way to get your RB with the 4.2 speed the ball in an area in which he can actually do some damage.

I go for the latter.

[TacklingDummy]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

Cj is just another 1st round pick disappointment for the Bills.

[BertSquirtgum]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

He is too dumb. Always running backwards or side to side instead of north to south. 3 years in the league and you would think he has learned what to do by now.

[Edward Robinson]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

He is too dumb. Always running backwards or side to side instead of north to south. 3 years in the league and you would think he has learned what to do by now.

you are dumb you obviously dont know football. there is nothing wrong with CJ Spiller other than a offensive coordinator who at this point does not know how to use him

[K-Gun]

Re: Is C.J. Spiller Too Small?

The Bills need to stop running CJ up the middle out of shotgun. He needs a lead blocker on QUICK hit runs off tackle. He gets out of the backfield so fast, that its just stupid to run slow draws on running downs w/o any lead blocker.

And look, CJ just tore it up on the 1st drive. They should have gone back to that formation in the red zone.