opfball91 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I gotta be honest. I, as most of you were, was excited about Spiller's potential, but upset that we drafted a seeming luxury pick instead of something of true need. Bills fans knew Freddy Jackson was the real deal, but Gailey was unsure. This regime wanted to draft a playmaker to build their offense around, and ended up finding that in Jackson. Obviously if they had done their homework I think they would have known Freddy was a real running back and the pick for Spiller may have gone towards something different. I suppose my point is, I trust their judgement at this point, and I think they're taking the Bills in the right direction. Very excited to see what they can do with Spiller being more established and Freddy splitting the carries. I see the Bills leading the league in rushing next year, taking a lot of the pressure off of Fitz, something we saw late in the season he doesn't handle very well. Go Bills!
San Jose Bills Fan Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I'm now happy with the Spiller pick… something I couldn't say before the week 13 game against Tennessee just 5 weeks ago. I was just about resigned to putting him in the bust column. Now I'm excited about his potential. The irony of course is that once Spiller showed the world that he was capable of great things, the Bills decided to underutilize him and employ Tashard Choice as the 3rd down back.
kota Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Once again Spiller was not a luxury pick. The Bills knew how good Jackson was. Everyone did. go and look at that draft. Name one player the Bills should have taken in the first round. The only one is Pierre Paul who was taken 5 picks later. The Bills took the best player available which was Spiller who fell to them. there is nothing luxury about it. the Bills take the best player available period under Buddy Nix.
purple haze Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 (edited) I gotta be honest. I, as most of you were, was excited about Spiller's potential, but upset that we drafted a seeming luxury pick instead of something of true need. Bills fans knew Freddy Jackson was the real deal, but Gailey was unsure. This regime wanted to draft a playmaker to build their offense around, and ended up finding that in Jackson. Obviously if they had done their homework I think they would have known Freddy was a real running back and the pick for Spiller may have gone towards something different. I suppose my point is, I trust their judgement at this point, and I think they're taking the Bills in the right direction. Very excited to see what they can do with Spiller being more established and Freddy splitting the carries. I see the Bills leading the league in rushing next year, taking a lot of the pressure off of Fitz, something we saw late in the season he doesn't handle very well. Go Bills! Playmakers or players who can score from anywhere on the field or get big chunks of yardage in one play are not luxuries. EVERY Team in the league is looking for that guy. When the Bills picked CJ was the best player left on the board bar none. And they had only Lee Evans on the team at the time who was a true game breaking type talent. And that was limited because he could only do it in one type of way. Edited January 12, 2012 by purple haze
flomoe Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Once again Spiller was not a luxury pick. The Bills knew how good Jackson was. Everyone did. go and look at that draft. Name one player the Bills should have taken in the first round. The only one is Pierre Paul who was taken 5 picks later. The Bills took the best player available which was Spiller who fell to them. there is nothing luxury about it. the Bills take the best player available period under Buddy Nix. +1
todd Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 I know patience seems to be an evil word around here, but as difficult as it is, sometimes we need a bit of it. Spiller is the perfect example.
8-8 Forever? Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Once again Spiller was not a luxury pick. The Bills knew how good Jackson was. Everyone did. go and look at that draft. Name one player the Bills should have taken in the first round. The only one is Pierre Paul who was taken 5 picks later. The Bills took the best player available which was Spiller who fell to them. there is nothing luxury about it. the Bills take the best player available period under Buddy Nix. Especially important in round 1 where if you draft for need when BPA is not your need you are dead. You draft BPA in the first round no matter what, especially in the 1st round. Aaron Maybin was not BPA at 11 a few years ago , Jauron drafted for need and got burned with a one dimension situational player. Dareus was BPA at 3 last year. Was DT the Bills greatest need? No. Glad we drafted Dareus though, right? I gotta be honest. I, as most of you were, was excited about Spiller's potential, but upset that we drafted a seeming luxury pick instead of something of true need. Bills fans knew Freddy Jackson was the real deal, but Gailey was unsure. This regime wanted to draft a playmaker to build their offense around, and ended up finding that in Jackson. Obviously if they had done their homework I think they would have known Freddy was a real running back and the pick for Spiller may have gone towards something different. I suppose my point is, I trust their judgement at this point, and I think they're taking the Bills in the right direction. Very excited to see what they can do with Spiller being more established and Freddy splitting the carries. I see the Bills leading the league in rushing next year, taking a lot of the pressure off of Fitz, something we saw late in the season he doesn't handle very well. Go Bills! Bills fans are just so desperate for something positive. A savior. Anything. If any no 1 pick is anything less than an immediate star, the guys labeled a bust. It's been a long time since Wade was fired by nutty Ralph and this whole downward spiral began, it will be a while before it is fixed.
Homey D. Clown Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Once again Spiller was not a luxury pick. The Bills knew how good Jackson was. Everyone did. go and look at that draft. Name one player the Bills should have taken in the first round. The only one is Pierre Paul who was taken 5 picks later. The Bills took the best player available which was Spiller who fell to them. there is nothing luxury about it. the Bills take the best player available period under Buddy Nix. I have been preaching this to deaf ears for 2 years now, I said from the beginning this guy will be a very good player, and I would take him over marshawn lynch any day, 3 times over. I was extremely relieved when the pick was made, I knew it spelled the end of least mode.
jr1 Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 We don't know if Fred will be slowed down next year from the broken leg plus age. CJ's patience has improved and is a franchise level back now
Turbosrrgood Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 (edited) I'm now happy with the Spiller pick… something I couldn't say before the week 13 game against Tennessee just 5 weeks ago. I was just about resigned to putting him in the bust column. Now I'm excited about his potential. The irony of course is that once Spiller showed the world that he was capable of great things, the Bills decided to underutilize him and employ Tashard Choice as the 3rd down back. I for one have been happy with the way Nix has handled this team, and think Gailey is doing a decent job as well. One thing I have noticed though, is that these guys are pretty infatuated with "familiar" guys from old regimes. Hence Choice (Georgia Tech with Gailey). They also brought in Merriman and Davis (Nix), they also just signed a former GT MLB. It seems like they are trying to force some of these "familiar" guys into action, and so far none of them have worked out. It also makes you think that Vincent Jackson, and Bowe are on their short list of FA WR's to look at... We don't know if Fred will be slowed down next year from the broken leg plus age. CJ's patience has improved and is a franchise level back now Broken bones rarely affect football players once they heal. Broken bones are nothing (unless they shatter), it's ligament and tendon issues that are worrisome. He will be just fine. Spiller played great at the end of the season, but I am convinced that he could not carry a full season as the lone running back successfully. He has amazing speed, and big play ability, primarily when he has space. He excels out of the spread formation, which Gailey uses extensively. In other formations, such as short yardage and goal line, even single back and the rare (for the Bills) I formation, he struggles. In "conventional" running situations, Spiller hasn't been as effective. I question how effective he would be trying to grind out the end of games with the lead. I think Bills need Jackson for those situations. Jackson is more of a balanced back. Next year if they are healthy, and if the line is healthy, we could have one impressive 1-2 punch... Edited January 12, 2012 by Turbosrrgood
jcbillsfan Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Once again Spiller was not a luxury pick. The Bills knew how good Jackson was. Everyone did. go and look at that draft. Name one player the Bills should have taken in the first round. The only one is Pierre Paul who was taken 5 picks later. The Bills took the best player available which was Spiller who fell to them. there is nothing luxury about it. the Bills take the best player available period under Buddy Nix. I agree I said it one at least ten times on the board. That first round was not good. I think buddy looked around and said Cj is probably the only inpact player left . The paul thing was a good job by the giants , at lot of draft mocks were having him later first early second. And before the Buluga crownd starts in. Paying a right tackle number 9 money is unheard of. I know patience seems to be an evil word around here, but as difficult as it is, sometimes we need a bit of it. Spiller is the perfect example. I agree and I think for the first time in a long while we have a group that patience will pay off. Very excited to see what the next few months will bring
Bob in STL Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 We still have a problem, although it is a good problem. We do not run the ball enough to keep Spiller and Freddy happy. Running backs need carries to become involved in the game. Sometimes it takes a few quarters and some patience to get the running game going. I did not see Chan committed and patient enough to get both of them involved on a consistent basis. The NFL is a passing league and we pass a lot. Both of these guys can put up huge numbers. Freddy was about to have a monster season until he got injured. We have just seen the tip of the iceberg on what Spiller can do and I think he will get even better as a runner and as a reciever. His speed brings tremendous upside. I guess the good news is that with Freddy and Spiller both healthy wwe may not see much of Mr. Choice again.
Cash Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Spiller looked a lot better this year than last, to the point where he actually looked like a viable NFL running back this year. Having said that, I still feel that it was a terrible pick, and it would pretty much take an MVP season or thereabouts (a la CJ2K's 2010 season) to change my mind. If Freddie hadn't gotten hurt this year, Spiller would've been nearly useless. And he was totally useless last year. Not to mention the fact that picking Spiller necessitated the trade of Marshawn Lynch, who had a pretty good year last I checked. Drafting a RB in the top 10 is generally a bad idea, especially when you're at the start of a long rebuild and have needs all over the place. It's an even worse idea when you already have two proven NFL backs on your roster. My hatred of that pick at the time had nothing to do with expecting Spiller to be a bust, so the fact that he's not a total bust does nothing to make that pick look better in hindsight.
Boludo Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 the spiller pick was obviously terrible - if you won't admit that you are just being foolishly stubborn he's not even among the 15 running backs in the league (perhaps even lower) - that caliber of running back can be obtained MUCH later in the draft good teams don't draft running backs that high in the draft these days the worst part wasn't even the reach, it was the fact that there were so many areas of greater need on the team tat needed to be addressed before adding an additional running back
Dopey Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 (edited) The first thing I said when he was drafted was I like it. We needed talent on this team and he was the most talented player coming out of that draft when it was our turn to pick. He is already way better than Lynch. Nix and Gailey took over a team in bad need of an infusion of talent, everywhere on the roster. Even though we had Lynch and Freddy, we needed talent and they chose the BPA. No one knew Freddy would play lights out like he has when Spliier was picked and Lynch had his issues with the Weed and running people over and leaving the scene. Spiller is a really good person on top of his talent. I'm not the kind to say I told you so, but... the spiller pick was obviously terrible - if you won't admit that you are just being foolishly stubborn he's not even among the 15 running backs in the league (perhaps even lower) - that caliber of running back can be obtained MUCH later in the draft good teams don't draft running backs that high in the draft these days the worst part wasn't even the reach, it was the fact that there were so many areas of greater need on the team tat needed to be addressed before adding an additional running back it was the fact that there were so many areas of greater need on the team tat needed to be addressed before adding an additional running back The whole team was devoid of talent. So, tell me what pick would you have made? And I'm giving you the benefit of hindsight. Edited January 12, 2012 by Dopey
deep2evans Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Spiller looked a lot better this year than last, to the point where he actually looked like a viable NFL running back this year. Having said that, I still feel that it was a terrible pick, and it would pretty much take an MVP season or thereabouts (a la CJ2K's 2010 season) to change my mind. If Freddie hadn't gotten hurt this year, Spiller would've been nearly useless. And he was totally useless last year. Not to mention the fact that picking Spiller necessitated the trade of Marshawn Lynch, who had a pretty good year last I checked. Drafting a RB in the top 10 is generally a bad idea, especially when you're at the start of a long rebuild and have needs all over the place. It's an even worse idea when you already have two proven NFL backs on your roster. My hatred of that pick at the time had nothing to do with expecting Spiller to be a bust, so the fact that he's not a total bust does nothing to make that pick look better in hindsight. lololol
JohnC Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 For the last third of the season Spiller was our best offensive player on the field, and that includes the qb and receiver corps. He was our only legitimate big play player. What was very noticeable and encouraging was that the more he played, the better he got. His running style became more disciplined and decisive. He also demonstrated that he can catch the ball. Having two quality running backs isn't a luxury in this league, it is a necessity. The rational for the Spiller pick was very simple. They took a top ten talent and drafted him at the spot in which he was ranked. How can anyone complain about that drafting strategy, especially when this francise has been notorious for reaching for need on draft day? I thought Nix had a solid year in his last draft. His first draft is still under question. Is Troup going to be a quality player or is he going to be someone constantly plagued with injuries? Is Carrington going to get better or is he going to be stuck in a system that doesn't play to his strengths? The Nix drafts are noticeably different from the Jaruon era drafts. He seems to be determined to rework this roster into being bigger and stronger compared to Jauron approach of lighter and quicker. In general, I would characterize Nix's drafts as not being homerun type of picks but workmanlike type of picks. Being competent and selecting in a sound rather than a quirky manner is the right approach to take.
Cash Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 For the last third of the season Spiller was our best offensive player on the field, and that includes the qb and receiver corps. He was our only legitimate big play player. What was very noticeable and encouraging was that the more he played, the better he got. His running style became more disciplined and decisive. He also demonstrated that he can catch the ball. Having two quality running backs isn't a luxury in this league, it is a necessity. The rational for the Spiller pick was very simple. They took a top ten talent and drafted him at the spot in which he was ranked. How can anyone complain about that drafting strategy, especially when this francise has been notorious for reaching for need on draft day? I thought Nix had a solid year in his last draft. His first draft is still under question. Is Troup going to be a quality player or is he going to be someone constantly plagued with injuries? Is Carrington going to get better or is he going to be stuck in a system that doesn't play to his strengths? The Nix drafts are noticeably different from the Jaruon era drafts. He seems to be determined to rework this roster into being bigger and stronger compared to Jauron approach of lighter and quicker. In general, I would characterize Nix's drafts as not being homerun type of picks but workmanlike type of picks. Being competent and selecting in a sound rather than a quirky manner is the right approach to take. Pretty easily - that drafting strategy has produced records of 4-12 and 6-10. Strategies that lead to terrible records tend to be criticized.
papazoid Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 Once again Spiller was not a luxury pick. The Bills knew how good Jackson was. Everyone did. go and look at that draft. Name one player the Bills should have taken in the first round. The only one is Pierre Paul who was taken 5 picks later. The Bills took the best player available which was Spiller who fell to them. there is nothing luxury about it. the Bills take the best player available period under Buddy Nix. calling Captain Hindsight.... Pro Bowl: Maurkice Pouncey, Rob Gronkowski, Jason Pierre-Paul, Earl Thomas, Devin McCourty Solid Starters: Bulaga, Tebow, Demaryius Thomas, Ryan Mathews, Iupati Nice Backup: Spiller
CBD Posted January 12, 2012 Posted January 12, 2012 They also brought in Merriman and Davis (Nix), they also just signed a former GT MLB. The MLB was from Pitt, familiar with Wannstedt.
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