After an injury-ridden and underwhelming first season in New Orleans, C.J. Spiller is ready to thrive in the Saints' offense. Spiller, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee during training camp last year, says he's well on his way to becoming an explosive back again.
"It played a big role, because of the style of play that I play, the cutting and stopping, I didn't have that explosion that I'm known for," Spiller said per The Advocate. "I tried to block it out as much as I could and give it everything I can. But the good thing is, it's behind me now. The road to recovery is looking very bright."
The Saints placed Spiller on injured reserve with two games remaining in the regular season. Spiller said the persistent knee problems prevented him from succeeding.
"It was a decision that had to be made," he said. "Obviously, you don't want to get shut down at any time, just because I had just come off a season where a collarbone caused me to miss several games, so it is what it was. The coaches made that decision. I thought I was good. Full-go, straight-line I was good, but the cutting part, the stopping part wasn't there."
Spiller signed with the Saints on a four-year, $16 million contract last offseason after five seasons with the Buffalo Bills. The move was regarded as a dream fit for both parties. However, in 13 games with the Saints, he amassed a career-low 112 rushing yards, averaging 3.1 yards per carry. (From 2011-2013, Spiller averaged 5.3 yards.)
"When I'm 100 percent and able to do what I'm able to do, I know I can flourish in this offense," he said. "This offense is built for my type of skill set. I wouldn't want to be in any other one -- a great head coach that knows how to put players in position to make plays, and then you've got a quarterback that's a future Hall of Famer, that knows how to win matchups and to take advantage of each and every play. I'm just happy that I have a chance to revamp or redeem myself and give this team hopefully 100 percent."
