Cj Spiller has re-signed with the Kansas City Chiefs, and he represents a strong offensive piece that they should hope to hold onto going forward into the future. They are making a push to force the Raiders to compete with them for the AFC West title, and they could have a new threat in Spiller. He is a talent in every sense of the word, but he has gone the way of Sammy Watkins. No one knows what to do with him. I have to wonder why that is, but now he has Andy Reid on his side.
They come from college offenses
The guys who have the most athletic talent in college are often asked to simply use their gifts to make plays.
They are in a toss up type of package that allows them to do much of what they want, and they are thrown into NFL offenses that are very regimented. Timing routes and zone blocking do not often make sense to guys like this because they have never had to deal with it. Michael Vick is a victim of this problem. Tim Tebow is someone who did not adjust well, and Sammy Watkins has been sent to the Rams because he did not adjust well in Buffalo. The college offense can ruin things for certain guys.
Talent is not everything
Your athletic talent is not everything in the NFL. There are a lot of guys who will get coaching that changes the way they play, and they will see their whole careers turned around.
That has happened many times in the history of the league, and they become great players while people who had more talent fell to the wayside. This is part luck and part skill. Trent Green was unlucky, and Kurt Warner honed his skill. Sammy Watkins has not honed his skill, and CJ Spiller has turned into a project.
The fit is not right
Personalities make a big difference in the NFL, and you can see many teams fall apart because of personalities. Sheldon Richardson got traded to the Seahawks because the Jets were not willing to accept his personality. CJ Spiller may not have meshed with anyone, and that will make him ineffective. Joe Montana meshed with Bill Walsh, and you know the results of that partnership.
We may not know for sure, but we cannot undersell the idea that you must fit in with the people who coach you.
The offense is not right
Some guys do not get used right in their offense, and I would trust Andy Reid to fix that. I think that he can give Spiller all the help that he needs, and I think that he will put him in places where he can succeed. Someone who loves the Chiefs should get excited for yards after the catch because CJ Spiller can break plays wide open.
