C.J. Spiller spent part of this week cleaning out his old locker at Orchard Park.
Now a member of the New Orleans Saints, the sixth-year running back remains fond of the team that drafted him, telling Tim Graham of The Buffalo News: "I'll always be a Buffalo Bill at heart."
"The mentality there is 'Super Bowl,'" Spiller said. "You want to win the division and then the conference. But they want to win Super Bowls, and so do I.
"At the end of the day, the window is closing in on everybody. I'm just looking forward to being a part of that, a piece of that puzzle."
Spiller has yet to match his heroics under ex-Bills coach Chan Gailey, who set him free for 1,700-plus total yards in 2012. The past two campaigns were mired by injury and a decreased role in Marrone's offense. Even with Mark Ingram embedded as the bell cow in New Orleans, Spiller is bound to see an uptick in touches under Payton.
"I'm excited to get down to New Orleans," Spiller said. "Coach Payton knows how to get the ball to the running backs. At the same time, (quarterback) Drew (Brees) isn't going to force anything downfield, so he loves getting the backs involved in the passing game."
We anticipate the Saints churning out a pounding, ground-control attack that turns often to Spiller through the air. After all, the departed Pierre Thomas averaged 52.8 catches per season over the past four years under Payton, while Darren Sproles hauled in 77.3 catches per campaign during his three seasons in The Big Easy.
A healthy Spiller offers more explosiveness and quick-cutting ability than either of those backs, setting the table for defenses to experience their share of headaches and open-space trauma in 2015.
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