"It is a great experience, except for the losing part."
Going 0-6 to begin a season is a whole new experience for Buffalo Bills rookie running back C.J. Spiller. In his senior year at Clemson, the Tigers went 9-5 and they ended up beating Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. Now in his first season in the NFL, Spiller is still waiting to see what it feels like to win a game as a pro.
I caught up with Spiller at a charity event in Toronto and we talked about what he has found to be the biggest adjustment from playing in the NCAA to the NFL. "It is more mental than anything. Right now it is about staying positive and keeping a positive attitude throughout the season. We have a lot of a lot of great veteran guys on the team that is helping the young guys stay positive," said the 23-year-old.
Staying positive when you are the only remaining winless team in the NFL is a full-time job. However you would never know the Bills won/loss record from speaking to Spiller. Part of his positive attitude comes from the fact the Bills were able to score 34 points and racked up 506 yards of offence against the Ravens this past Sunday. "We are very close. I mean we just went up against a tough defence (Ravens) and to be right there and have a chance to win the game it gives you a lot of confidence. Once we can play a complete game we will be fine."
A big reason the Bills decided to select Spiller with the ninth pick overall was because he ran for over 1,200 yards and scored 12 touchdowns in his senior year at Clemson. So far through six games in his rookie season, Spiller’s only touchdown came off of a kick-off return. As a running back, Spiller knows that even with his above average speed, he still has a lot to learn about putting up big numbers in the NFL. "It has a lot to do with being a more patient runner and when I see the hole hitting it. The faster I get north and south I think I get the advantage of them. I still have big expectations for this year and it is going take a while for me to adjust but I am doing it one game at a time."
Spiller admitted to me that he needs to be better and he thinks he knows the biggest problem plaguing him this year. "I can be the first one to admit I haven’t played the way I normally play; probably pressing it too much just trying to make something happen for our team. At the end of the day I wasn’t having fun. So I am going to go back to the old CJ and start having fun and just go out and get into the game."
Like any rookie, Spiller quickly realized that all of his favourite players that he’s been watching on TV all these years are much better at what they do when all of a sudden you are playing against them. Two players in particular blew him away the first time he faced them: "Dwight Freeney, you see how fast they come off the ball watching on TV and then to actually get into a game and you experience it, is on an other level. You hear all the time how smart a player Ray Lewis is, but until you get on the field and you get across the line from him, you don’t realize it."
Dallas Cowboys rookie Dez Bryant made headlines recently when he was hit with a bill for $54,896 dollars at the team’s rookie dinner. Being a first round pick that is guaranteed to make over $20 million dollars, Spiller knows his turn is coming. But even before Spiller books the private room at E.B. Green’s Steakhouse in Buffalo, Spiller has been assured the bill won’t be in the same stratosphere of Bryant’s: "The guys say I won’t get that high. I am going to hold them to their word when they say my tab won’t go that high." C.J. is a good kid, so I hope someone tells him that a rookie should never believe a veteran when they tell him the bill won’t be that high.
The losing, the learning curve, Ray Lewis and the high priced dinners are all part of the trials and tribulations that a rookie goes through in the NFL. While Spiller struggles through his first season in the NFL he should remember this fact, it took Chiefs running back Thomas Jones six years before he had his first 1,000 yard season. Not every rookie running back puts up numbers like Adrian Peterson or LaDainian Tomlinson. Most need time to learn what it takes to be great in the NFL. Unfortunately for Spiller and the winless Bills, time is not a commodity they have in great supply.
