After getting just seven carries in the Buffalo Bills 15-12 loss to the St. Louis Rams on Sunday, running back C.J. Spiller admitted to having some frustration in his lack of touches.
Spiller tried to say the right things but the displeasure still came out in his comments following the game. Spiller is trying to draw inspiration from Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald in how to handle a difficult situation.
“I have definitely just been trying to be professional about it and also just eying Larry Fitzgerald,” Spiller told Seattle reporters Wednesday in a conference call leading up to the Bills game against the Seahawks in Toronto this week. “You look at that guy and he is not complaining. They do not have the best quarterbacks over there, but he is still going out there, getting his job done and being a professional about his business. "[I’m] just trying to take some tips from how he handles it.”
Fitzgerald graciously handled the aftermath of a 58-0 loss to Seattle last weekend that saw his father, a Minnesota-based media member, be highly critical of his team’s performance. Fitzgerald is also on pace to have his worst season as a professional through little fault of his own. He was targeted 11 times in Seattle by Arizona quarterbacks. Three of those passes were intercepted and Fitzgerald managed just one catch for two yards in the fourth quarter. He has every right to complain about his quarterbacks, the coaching staff or team management and yet Fitzgerald never is openly critical of his team.
Spiller wants to follow that example and be the best teammate he can be.
“I cannot get selfish and get caught up in how many times I touch it,” Spiller said. “That is for the outside world to continue to debate. I have all the faith in the world in what Coach Gailey is trying to do with me in our offense.”