SmashMouth

During a recent radio interview, C.J. Spiller was asked how he envisions his life changing with Drew Brees serving as his quarterback.

“I won’t see eight guys in the box anymore,” the running back replied.

That was often an issue for Spiller in Buffalo. The Bills lacked an elite quarterback and the kind of weapons that force defenses to stay honest.

Life won’t be like that in New Orleans. The offense might not feature the same number of weapons it did a year ago, with tight end Jimmy Graham and wide receiver Kenny Stills being dealt away, but the presence of Brees ensures defenses will be kept honest and won’t be able to sell out against the run.

But that much is obvious. Spiller will get yards playing in New Orleans, and many of them will come easier than they once did in Buffalo. The question Spiller should have been asked is how he will help Brees and the offense.

A quick glance at Spiller’s numbers paint a murky picture. Those numbers suggest Spiller peaked in 2012 after accumulating 1,703 yards from scrimmage, and that he has been on a downward trajectory since. He finished with 1,118 yards from scrimmage in 2013 and logged just 425 over nine games last year.

Without context, those numbers say the Saints took a big risk by agreeing to terms with Spiller on a four-year, $16 million deal. But those numbers lack context and fail to explain how and why Spiller’s production dropped over the past two seasons.

After reviewing all of Spiller’s offensive plays from the last seasons, it became clear that his drop in production was the result of being trapped in an offensive system that did not utilize his unique skill set. It was almost as if coach Doug Marrone had an exotic sports car but only drove it inside school zones.

Instead of moving Spiller around the offense and creating ways to get him the ball in space, Marrone kept him caged up and used him in traditional, vanilla ways. Spiller’s offensive package in the passing game contained screen passes and little else.




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