Wazzu Bill Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 After reading through many of the threads, it seems many fans are not happy with Spiller's performance. While it has clearly not been stellar, I have been finding his opportunities slim. He is a dynamic player and can do many things on the football field - so why do we keep feeding it to him up the middle OVER AND OVER again. Maybe I'm wrong. Admittedly I watch the games at a Seahawks sports bar so I can never get a great view of the Bills games. But from what I can gather, Hackett seems to think that if we just hand it off to him up the middle every time CJ will break free. What happened to the screens, the dump offs over the line, etc.? I've always thought those type of plays were Spiller's strong points. That being said, I feel like the playbook we have seen so far lacks a lot of novelty. Why did we go deep 5+ times today on third down when Manuel wasn't even able to keep the ball in bounds? I have been way more unhappy with the play calling over the past 3 weeks than with Spiller. Thoughts?
BringBackFergy Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 Thoughts?? I agree. CJ is spectacular...when there is a 10 ft hole to run through. Wasn't there today...all day. We didn't adjust or try anything different with him.
Meatloaf Sandwich Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 (edited) Spiller did well up the middle last year. How come a RB like McCoy can do it but not Spiller? Also funny all preseason and first 2 games people screamed throw down field more. Today they do and now you know why they haven't been. Fan is short for fanatic so the reason why you think think is b.c as a fan you will overreact to everything. Everyone does it. Edited September 23, 2013 by Meatloaf Sandwich
1billsnut Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 Wait.....I think the Bills just ran another read-option to Spiller up the middle for 1/2 yard!!!!!
Proteus Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 Spiller is an elite back and Nathaniel Hackett has no idea how to use him. Almost every run the try with him comes out of the read option and Manuel may be athletic but he is terrible at making that read. Manuel makes the wrong read and the defense is right there almost every time, plus Spiller has to take the ball at a stand still out of the read option and the defense is already at full stride. Hackett is in waaaaaaaaay over his head and it is going to be a brutal year with him as the offensive coordinator, but he will be gone next year.
Meatloaf Sandwich Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 Spiller is an elite back and Nathaniel Hackett has no idea how to use him. Almost every run the try with him comes out of the read option and Manuel may be athletic but he is terrible at making that read. Manuel makes the wrong read and the defense is right there almost every time, plus Spiller has to take the ball at a stand still out of the read option and the defense is already at full stride. Hackett is in waaaaaaaaay over his head and it is going to be a brutal year with him as the offensive coordinator, but he will be gone next year. From this post it sounds like EJ is in way over his head more then Hackett...
Wazzu Bill Posted September 23, 2013 Author Posted September 23, 2013 Spiller is an elite back and Nathaniel Hackett has no idea how to use him. Almost every run the try with him comes out of the read option and Manuel may be athletic but he is terrible at making that read. Manuel makes the wrong read and the defense is right there almost every time, plus Spiller has to take the ball at a stand still out of the read option and the defense is already at full stride. Hackett is in waaaaaaaaay over his head and it is going to be a brutal year with him as the offensive coordinator, but he will be gone next year. Exactly. Not only has it been up the middle every time but it's been out of #&%ing read option every time. The defense sees the play before it even happens! Spiller did well up the middle last year. How come a RB like McCoy can do it but not Spiller? Also funny all preseason and first 2 games people screamed throw down field more. Today they do and now you know why they haven't been. I was thinking that too...it used to be "we must be hiding the deep ball, can't wait til we unleash it". Now its "oooooh...that's why they were hiding it" While from what we saw of Goodwin he didn't have great hands, he was definitely a burner and that also hurts our deep ball...=/
billsfan714 Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 (edited) Hackett has turned 6.0 ypc Spiller into less than 1 yard per touch today. Thats some pretty poor game planning. Edited September 23, 2013 by billsfan714
Dorkington Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 The playcalling in this game was very similar to the Patriots game, and surprise, he struggled in both. The Carolina game, meanwhile, had less shotgun-runs and he did better... Unless I'm remembering wrongly.
Clippers of Nfl Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 Exactly. Not only has it been up the middle every time but it's been out of #&%ing read option every time. The defense sees the play before it even happens! I was thinking that too...it used to be "we must be hiding the deep ball, can't wait til we unleash it". Now its "oooooh...that's why they were hiding it" While from what we saw of Goodwin he didn't have great hands, he was definitely a burner and that also hurts our deep ball...=/ Very predictable play. What happened to the slants the screens or other calls. at this point I wouldn't mind direct snaps to him. just stop calling the same play over and over Hackett. its not working. he's not that kind of back......
ChesterRocCo Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 Kind of funny how last year the offense looked rather good with a limited amount of talent and the defense was more of an issue. Although the D didn't look great today I would put some of that on all those three and outs. I actually have liked how they have been using Fred on short yardage and at times I think the guy puts the team on his back. But they are not getting CJ is space, and that might be the biggest offensive failure in the first three games. I would consider with all the blitzing today there would have been a few great opportunities for a couple screen plays. I'm not going to say Chan was a great head coach but I keep finding myself day dreaming of EJ and the speedy new receivers running his spread scheme.
Dragonborn10 Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 Why are we talking about a RB in 2013?
Sisyphean Bills Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 Kind of funny how last year the offense looked rather good with a limited amount of talent and the defense was more of an issue. Although the D didn't look great today I would put some of that on all those three and outs. I actually have liked how they have been using Fred on short yardage and at times I think the guy puts the team on his back. But they are not getting CJ is space, and that might be the biggest offensive failure in the first three games. I would consider with all the blitzing today there would have been a few great opportunities for a couple screen plays. I'm not going to say Chan was a great head coach but I keep finding myself day dreaming of EJ and the speedy new receivers running his spread scheme. There really is no question that CJ's best game is playing in space. Yeah, maybe Chan knew a thing or two about offense after all.
CFLstyle Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 (edited) Spiller did well up the middle last year. How come a RB like McCoy can do it but not Spiller? Also funny all preseason and first 2 games people screamed throw down field more. Today they do and now you know why they haven't been. Fan is short for fanatic so the reason why you think think is b.c as a fan you will overreact to everything. Everyone does it. Kelly and the Eagles spread their offence out which leaves McCoy with a lot of extra space in the middle of the field. Plus Vick is a much bigger threat to hit on the deep ball, so teams can't plug the middle of the field. Gailey spread things out last season too and that's why Spiller had plenty of room, Hackett doesn't seem to be doing that and with Manuel's inability to hit on a long ball teams are just keying in on Spiller, whether he runs inside or out. And I don't think people knocked Chan for his ability to put together an offensive game plan. The offence actually overachieved quite a bit for the talent it had, considering Stevie was a low draft pick and guys like Nelson and Jones were go-to players, while Fitz was the one throwing the ball. Chan knows offence and he probably would have been a winner here had he been given more talent. Come to think of it, had Pettine been here last season over Wannstedt it's possible they'd have been a playoff team. Edited September 23, 2013 by CFLstyle
ChesterRocCo Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 There really is no question that CJ's best game is playing in space. Yeah, maybe Chan knew a thing or two about offense after all. Yea, with all his shortcomings as a head coach most of us probably wrote of any of his down home fixins about limiting CJ's run to maximize effectiveness. I still think CJ can rebound from a slow start, being a feature back, as long as the other young players improve and become more of a threat and Hackett evolves his scheme throughout the season. Until then
DanInUticaTampa Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 Why are we talking about a RB in 2013? Because he is our best offensive player?
Dean Cain Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 It should come as no surprise that NE & NYJ plan was to stop Spiller. Belichick & Ryan will continue to stack men in the box until we can consistently hit the intermediate to long ball. It's probably the right time to open up our offense and dictate the personnel matchups.
qbford8 Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 just hope we can get healthy soon and see what happens i feel like we are missing alot on both sides goodwin is a difference maker
first_and_ten Posted September 23, 2013 Posted September 23, 2013 After reading through many of the threads, it seems many fans are not happy with Spiller's performance. While it has clearly not been stellar, I have been finding his opportunities slim. He is a dynamic player and can do many things on the football field - so why do we keep feeding it to him up the middle OVER AND OVER again. Maybe I'm wrong. Admittedly I watch the games at a Seahawks sports bar so I can never get a great view of the Bills games. But from what I can gather, Hackett seems to think that if we just hand it off to him up the middle every time CJ will break free. What happened to the screens, the dump offs over the line, etc.? I've always thought those type of plays were Spiller's strong points. That being said, I feel like the playbook we have seen so far lacks a lot of novelty. Why did we go deep 5+ times today on third down when Manuel wasn't even able to keep the ball in bounds? I have been way more unhappy with the play calling over the past 3 weeks than with Spiller. Thoughts? The offensive game planning clearly lacks diversity. The coaches don't seem to know how to get Spiller into space and to create matchup problems for the defense. Where are the screens? Why isn't Spiller involved in the passing game? The Bills are running a very basic scheme offensively. I hope Hackett is a quick study because right now he's showing his inexperience. He was badly outcoached today.
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