I thought highly of Miller drafted #2 (97) in the 4th round 2012, but I'd have to say I'd put him behind Ridley who was drafted #3 (73) in the 3rd round in both draft status and career performance. I don't think Sherman's offense gave Miller the opportunity that Billicheck and Rex Ryan give their RB's because of Sherman's WCO and Lazor also will run a WCO so I'd have to put Chris Johnson on top. Ryan will return to the ground and pound and while Spiller may be the most talanted, the Bills could be playing from behind so after Johnson and Ridley I'd place Miller 3rd and Spiller as far as expected production in 2014.
Cj and spiller are their own type. Crazy talented but not what I would want. I go Fred Jackson as the best. Vareen behind him
If the question is, who is the best RB, I'd say Spiller then CJ. If we're taking about who will get the best opportunities to produce, then I'd say anyone on the Patriots. And don't sleep on the Bills. If they can overcome losing Kiko, they will be a tough team. Talent on both sides of the ball. They smacked us around last year. Embarrassed us.
We have the worst RB situation in the division. However, I don't think the Jets have a great situation either. If they use it correctly with Ivory getting most of the carries and CJ spelling him - a la Jackson and Spiller - they may be pretty good there. I think Miller is talented, but he has some serious limitations. After Miller, we have a serious drop off with a hindered Moreno, and a below average Thomas. As far as RB situations are concerned, I'd go Bills, Patriots, Jets, Dolphins.
Speaking of the RB situation, I think it's one of the reasons why Tannehill has struggled. We're basically asking him to be an elite QB. I always compare Tannehill to Cutler. I don't think they're the same QB per say, but stat wise and career trajection wise, they're close. Cutler always had a running game - Denver & Chicago. Tannehill had a decent running game his first year, but had zero last year. I expect much of the same this year. I think the running game will improve with scheme and talent on the O-Line, but it still won't be average. Rather than bring in all these WRs, I think improving that aspect of our offense could have helped Tannehill.
IMO it's highly system dependent. In the right system I believe Spiller has the highest potential. But as all-around guys I like Jackson and Ivory. If we knew he was healthy, I'd include Moreno in that all-around group. Miller I view as a wild card. He doesn't have Spiller's wiggle, but in the right system he could potentially produce like a poor man's version of what Chris Johnson did a few years back. Obviously that would be incredible, but I'm not predicting that or anything. I see that as his ceiling or a best case scenario. Once we see Lazor's offense and how the OL is developing we can make some guesses as to what Miller will actually provide this season.
Agreed, ppl who stare at stats do not realize what THill has been asked to do for the team. ATM Spiller Ridley Jackson I do believe Lamar Miller will explode this year, he has every tool, is tough, and the OL has been upgraded
Yes. I've posted this several times...If you look at the elite QBs today, the guys winning Championships, just about every one of them had an elite workhorse RB or rush attack when they first started playing in the NFL. They were given a ton of backfield help in their first couple years. Peyton: MFaulk & Edge Brady: Corey Dillon / run-heavy Brees: LT Eli: Tiki Rivers: LT Ben: Bettis / run-heavy Flacco: Rice MRyan: Turner in his prime Wilson: Lynch CKaep: Gore This is not a coincidence. This is how you develop a QB. Workhorse RBs give you someone to fall back on, a reliable guy who can take the pressure off the young QB and get easy yards. It makes the QB development process so much easier. And here we've given Tannehill one of the worst RB situations in the League...smh. I know Philbin is not at all a fan of running the football, but you gotta do better than Lamar Miller and Daniel Thimas...ugh.
Spiller Ridley CJ2K Vereen Miller . . . Sheldon Richardson . . . A 2nd string punter . . . Daniel Thomas
their not gonna have Kiko, Byrd, and Dareus for a while...those dudes have hi-end talent..no way their as good on D imo, on the other hand, I think Sammy is a perfect fit for Manuel, because I believe Manuel plays the game in compartments on the field, and he will be able to focus on Sammy, and Sammy will make that work.. Larry Hughes, Kyle Williams and Mario are formidable as hell, but all the way down the middle, d-tackle, mike backer and safety, their much weaker, Landry and Clay should carve em up real nice.
you could make a case that all 3 of the other teams in our division have two running backs better than any of ours.
I agree with this, sadly. The Bills actually have three...I'd probably take Bryce Brown over Lamar Miller.
Fred Jackson is the best running back IMO... then Spiller., then everyone else in what ever order. Daniel Thomas dead last though.
I don't see Jackson as being as good as Spiller anymore. Spiller had a "down year" and it still wasn't that bad.
The Bills have three REALLY good backs in C.J. Spiller, Fred Jackson and Bryce Brown. I don't think you can make the case for Lamar Miller or Knowshon Moreno being better than any of those three. Chris Ivory MAY be on level with those three. Chris Johnson is not anymore. Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen might be in that category. I'm very bullish on Bryce Brown. I don't think the Eagles really did themselves any favors unloading him unless there's something going on behind the scenes that is not well known publicly.
I don't know about stacked everywhere but I think everyone should be able to agree they're stacked at running back. They were doing fine at linebacker until they lost Kiko Alonso. Now that's a position of weakness along with safety and quarterback.
Their quarterback's rookie year was as good as Tannehill's rookie season. He recorded more touchdowns in less games played than Tannehill's rookie year. He stays healthy and a good season should be expected out of him. And now he will have Watkins to throw to? I know it's hard for you to believe that other teams other than the Dolphins have improved, but I would say it's happening.
At the moment, it's not a difficult case to make. As others have said, the Bills have 3 RB's better than anyone the Phins have, the Jets have 2, and the Pats have 2. On the bright side, we may have a back who cracks the preseason top 8 in the AFC East. Yay? IMO, Fred Jackson is the answer to the question in the OP. I wouldn't kick Spiller off the team, either, but I prefer Fred's style.
I think I would rather have Lamar Miller than CJ1K...just being honest. But yeah on paper Miami has the worst RB position in the East. That could go poorly for Miami if they truly go to the run-heavy look that the Eagles sported in 2013.
I'm a die hard FSU fan so it pains me to admit this: EJ Manuel is not a good QB or anything close to it. If the Bills are an improved team it won't be because of him and comparing him to Tannehill is a slap in the face to RT. The Bills have a lot of talent, as much as we do, perhaps more, outside of QB. Which is the same situation you'll see when you compare the Dolphins to the Patriots. With a decent OL we can handle Buffalo and NY, it's still NE that we need to worry about.
Runningback is probably the most dependent on others doing their job unless your name is Adrian Peterson. I still think Miller can be a very good back in the right system with some blocking. That said he should only get this season to prove it.
That's my feel. I wonder if its possible for a Miami RB to run like their hair's on fire and their life is dependent on a few MORE yards. I'd pay real money to see that...
I'd pay to see our RBs run behind an OL that opens more holes for their backs than they do for the opposing defense.
Well there is the ticket isn't it? Look for where the DLine is coming through and sneak through there!
He's in all kinds of off field trouble, failed his conditioning test today at camp, he's fat right now, and Goodell could drop a hammer on his felony charges.