Rauch, Johnson, O.J. Simpson and the parallels to Spiller

[EasternOHBillsFan]

For many of you who don't know the Bills' history before the 1990's, the Bills struggled through years of NFL wasteland after losing to Kansas City in the AFL playoffs in 1967. The reason why we were able to draft O.J. Simpson is because we were terrible, like 1-12 terrible, and something had to change. So, Ralph Wilson decided to go for a big name coach (at the time) and signed John Rauch, who recently resigned from the Oakland Raiders.

 

I'm not going to get into the personal differences that O.J. and Rauch had or who was more guilty, but to say that O.J. was underutilized is an understatement. He had 300 attempts over 2 seasons, gaining over 1,100 yards, which didn't bring the Bills any success- Rauch went 7-20-1 during his tenure, and the underutilization of O.J. continued over Bills coaching retread Harvey Johnson, when in going 1-13 his attempts and yardage remained virtually the same. Whatever happened during the first three seasons of O.J.'s career, it was clear that Rauch had established that O.J. wasn't going to succeed and it was indeed a self-fulfilling prophecy without belief.

 

Fortunately, Lou Saban took over as coach of the Bills, and things vastly improved for the Bills' running game, despite the abysmal Dennis Shaw at quarterback. Soon his average shot up to 300 carries a season and you should know where that led to- an NFL record 2,003 yards and a (gasp!) playoff spot the next year. Despite the Bills having the worst quarterback situation since their inception, they finally figured out how to use their star running back and that turned it all around. Unfortunately, the continued lack of stability at quarterback doomed the Bills and Saban left the team as only Lou could.

 

Today, we face a team with a better quarterback and a coach who refuses to '"let loose" Spiller. It has happened before, and probably will happen again, but it is not too late. We can most certainly avoid what the past has shown us and fix it NOW. Question is, will it happen?

 

 

This is a nice article from Sports Illustrated in 1975 on the Bills and O.J.'s experiences:

 

http://sportsillustr...90350/index.htm

 

Excerpt:

 

But enough of this new math. O.J. Simpson lives. He is the light, the spirit, the guru of all running backs. He became that as a collegian at USC, when he was merely brilliant enough in only two seasons to make everybody's alltime, 100-year team. And now, after a slow start in Buffalo that was largely attributable to the coaching genius of such pillars of the profession as John Rauch and Harvey Johnson, who thought in terms like "Hey, gang, I've got an idea; let's use him as a decoy," O. J. has immortalized himself as a pro.

 

As anyone who ever saw him at USC knew, Simpson was destined to become the best there ever was, if he could stay healthy and if he was given the opportunity to carry the ball behind a group of linemen who could block as well as Donald Duck's nephews. He missed that opportunity in his first three seasons in Buffalo under the marvelous tutelage of first Rauch and then Johnson. Although O.J. always said, "The more I carry the ball, the better I get," in no season from 1969 through 1971 was he called on often enough that he was able to gain as many as 750 yards. It was not until Lou Saban returned to Buffalo as the head coach that O.J. was unloosed.

Edited December 12, 2012 by BmoreBills

[tomdayfan]

I remember when Lou Saban returned as Bills coach.

He said "We have a new offense. OJ left, OJ right, OJ up the middle".

He saved OJ's career.

CJ may not be another OJ (I still think for pure talent, he was the greatest Bill of all time) but he is a rare talent, and it's criminal that our coach not only isn't utilizing him properly, he just isn't utilizing him.

But given our history, maybe there's still hope.

[K-9]

Good stuff. Brings back a lot of memories. The days of OJ and Perreault were great times to be a fan of pro sports in Buffalo. Heck, let's throw in McAdoo, Ernie D, and Randy Smith while we're at it.

 

I agree there are similarities between how Juice was used then and the way Spiller is used now. Chan would need to re-design his entire offense to best utilize Spiller's talents and I just don't think he's willing to do that. The days of the Power-I are over I'm afraid.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[Mr. WEO]

To be fair, keeping OJ on the bench wasn't quite the same as keeping CJ Spiller out of the game.

 

After only 2 years at USC, OJ was the most famous college player in the country--having run for over 3100 yards for 33 TDs and a Heisman trophy.

 

Spiller was a multipurpose back in the ACC who ran for over 1000 yards once. He was never an every down RB.

[K-9]

I remember when Lou Saban returned as Bills coach.

He said "We have a new offense. OJ left, OJ right, OJ up the middle".

He saved OJ's career.

CJ may not be another OJ (I still think for pure talent, he was the greatest Bill of all time) but he is a rare talent, and it's criminal that our coach not only isn't utilizing him properly, he just isn't utilizing him.

But given our history, maybe there's still hope.

 

Agreed. Greatest player to ever wear the uniform in Buffalo. Big, with world class sprinter's speed, strong and had moves that even Spiller would envy.

 

GO BILLS!!!

[All_Pro_Bills]

Some similarities for sure between past and present with a slightly different theme. Gailey is either stubborn, stupid, or incompetent when it comes to utilizing Spiller and designing an offensive scheme that can get the most out of his abilities. My guess is stubborn. What is most puzzling is by not using Spiller he is putting his position as HC in jeopardy given the overall record of the team during his tenure and the expectation that getting Spiller more ‘touches’ will lead to more points on the board for the offense.

 

Why not give yourself the best chance to win? Like one of my old bosses used to say, as a manager you can only be successful if the people in your organization are successful. I always remember that and try to put it into practice. I think it applies to NFL Head Coaches too and Gailey is not putting his people in a position to be successful because of his unwillingness to alter his approach given the specific talents of the players to run the offense. Something that Saban was able to clearly see and do with OJ when he returned.

[GRHater69]

One thing in Gailey's defense is that the game has changed a lot since the days of John Rauch. You rarely if ever saw the type of spread formations that you see now which dictate more wide oppen passing and less running. That still doesn't give Chan an excuse for not giving Spiller enough touches.

[JPS]

Good stuff. Brings back a lot of memories. The days of OJ and Perreault were great times to be a fan of pro sports in Buffalo. Heck, let's throw in McAdoo, Ernie D, and Randy Smith while we're at it.

 

I agree there are similarities between how Juice was used then and the way Spiller is used now. Chan would need to re-design his entire offense to best utilize Spiller's talents and I just don't think he's willing to do that. The days of the Power-I are over I'm afraid.

 

GO BILLS!!!

 

Not to mention Swen Nader (sp?) and the $3 orange seats you could get at Bell's.

 

OJ was bigger than CJ, more elusive and just as fast. I like the topic and agree with the premise, but CJ is smaller than most RB HOFers. I think in a Saban offense, CJ goes for 1200 and 8-10 TDs, mainly because he would miss 4 games.

[Stealth]

Keeping OJ on the bench would be akin to if the Vikings kept Adrian Peterson bottled up. Keeping Spiller on the bench is akin to the colts/rams keeping a faster Marshall Faulk on the bench. At this point we know Spiller is electrict. We know he's a pretty receiver out of the backfield. We don't know how many times a game he should be getting the ball but it should be well more than 8. If he touched the ball 20-25 times a game rush/rec we'd be in a much better spot as an offense than we are now

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

CJ needs to be on the field to be considered a decoy.

[JPS]

CJ needs to be on the field to be considered a decoy.

Ouch... True.

[Marv's Neighbor]

Ouch... True.

Yeah, actually make the other Team think we're serious about winning!

[I'm Spartacus]

I was thinking about this same comparison during Sunday's game. The Bills (with OJ) had a mediocre passing game (Shaw, and even Ferguson). Saban knew he has a horse in OJ, and ran him all game - every game. Defenses still could not stop him. Gailey doesn't seem to have a clue with what he has in Spiller. Gailey is either too DUMB or too SUBBORN to give him 20-25 touches a game. Besides this fact, Gailey's play calling & game mis-management has cost the Bills at LEAST 4 losses this year (not the players)! The Bills are like watching Ground Hogs day. Crap over & over & over & over....

[Nitro]

Golden age of Buffalo Professional Sports 1972-75. Bills running wild thru the NFL, The French connection inspiring a generation of young hockey nuts and the Braves with Dr Jack Ramsey leading a hot young team with stars like Bob McAdoo and Randy Smith. Chan should look at highlight films of OJ in the 2000 yard season. That is how you turn a back loose. Tweak and tailor it to CJs talent and you will be the wiser. OJ was knocked about his blocking but the got around that by getting him big Jim Braxton to do it. No more empty backfields...keep in a back or a TE. Flank CJ to the flat and force the defense to widen their coverage. There is so much that they could go with CJ. I hate to see his prime years wasted.

[Helpmenow]

Rauch came from the superbowl raiders team, chan came from being fired from many teams.

[EasternOHBillsFan]

Rauch came from the superbowl raiders team, chan came from being fired from many teams.

 

Rauch also never found success again after the 1968 season. We found out early he wasn't a good coach, and he got fired from many teams.

[Haven Moses]

Drafting Reggie McKenzie and Joe D didn't hurt Saban either.

[JÂy RÛßeÒ]

Drafting Reggie McKenzie and Joe D didn't hurt Saban either.

And Paul Seymour who was basically a 6th lineman.

[Coach Tuesday]

I was thinking about this same comparison during Sunday's game. The Bills (with OJ) had a mediocre passing game (Shaw, and even Ferguson). Saban knew he has a horse in OJ, and ran him all game - every game. Defenses still could not stop him. Gailey doesn't seem to have a clue with what he has in Spiller. Gailey is either too DUMB or too SUBBORN to give him 20-25 touches a game. Besides this fact, Gailey's play calling & game mis-management has cost the Bills at LEAST 4 losses this year (not the players)! The Bills are like watching Ground Hogs day. Crap over & over & over & over....

 

And consider the Vikings, who have no passing game to speak of, allowing opposing defenses to key on AP completely - and yet he still leads the league in rushing.

 

Chan is an idiot.

[SF Bills Fan]

I was thinking of that parallel recently. Spiller is no OJ, but he has some good talent. Hopefully, Chan will be gone soon and the next guy will use CJ properly.