Monday, September 10, 2012

Spiller Time: C.J. to take full reigns at RB for now

BY NICK ST. DENIS

The Buffalo Bills lost workhorse running back Fred Jackson for somewhere between three and eight weeks, according to coach Chan Gailey.

But if any backfield can seemingly handle that kind of shot, it's the Bills'. If Jackson was the Bills' 1A tailback, C.J. Spiller was 1B -- a 1B who's capable of being a No. 1 on his own.

Spiller (pictured) rushed for 169 yards on 14 carries in the Bills' blowout loss to the New York Jets Sunday, including a 56-yard touchdown run.

The third-year former first-rounder showed some pretty remarkable quickness Sunday, picking up where he left off last year. Spiller took over No. 1 duties midway through the 2011 season when Jackson was lost for the remainder of the year to a leg injury.

Sunday, Jackson acquired a knee injury during a hit by Jets safety LaRon Landry, and Gailey said the results of Monday's MRI were inconclusive.

“It’s a huge blow,” Spiller said of the loss of Jackson, according to the team's website. “Fred got voted as a captain and speaks to what guys think of him on this team.

"This just means I’ve got to do a great job of making sure that I’m ready to go until we get 22 back. But I have all the confidence in the world that we’ll get this thing rolling.”

Third-stringer Tashard Choice will have to step up into a backup role, though the Bills won't use him nearly as much as they planned on using Spiller when Jackson was healthy.

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