Spiller May Sit This Week, Another New QB for the Browns

For the Buffalo Bills (3-4), change has come for them this season. Some has been good and some has been disappointing. One player taking away from the team’s pluses has been running back C.J. Spiller. He has struggled this season and a recent ankle injury is not helping matters.

C.J. Spiller

To date, Spiller has 90 carries for 362 yards and one touchdown. This follows 2012’s stat line of 207 carries for 1,244 yards.

This week, the Bills play the New Orleans Saints (5-1) and the running back has been listed as questionable after sitting out from the team’s last two practices.

On Thursday, head coach Doug Marrone said of potentially sitting Spiller for Sunday’s game via the team’s website, “He wants to go, but we’ve got to make good decisions. He doesn’t feel as good in my opinion. He might say it, but as far as how he’s looked… You see it during the game and you see it out here at practice. We’ve got to make a good decision, a tough decision.”

Spiller has said he doesn’t have a problem with sitting on the sidelines, supporting Marrone’s decision. He added that he does want to play but he said the two are on the same page. All eyes will be on the player during Friday’s practice for any last minute clues about his status for Sunday’s game.

Unfortunately for the Bills, team-leading rusher, running back Fred Jackson, injured his knee in last week’s game against the Miami Dolphins. He did finish the game with 11 carries for 36 yards and one touchdown as well as four receptions for 49 yards. But will he be able to take on a larger workload should Spiller not join him on the field come Sunday?

Jackson has said he does expect to play and said via the Associated Press, “I expect to be out there. I’ll do everything I can. We’ve got a great opportunity in front of us right now. And I want to be a part of it. The confidence in this locker room is sky-high in here. We believe in ourselves. And there’s nothing more powerful than a locker room that has confidence in itself.”

For Marrone, he’ll be facing his former team as he was the Saints offensive coordinator from 2006-2008 under coach Sean Payton.

With a win, the Bills can get back to .500 but the Saint are talented and will get the victory(-12, 48 o/u).

Browns to Start Third Quarterback on Sunday

On Sunday, the Cleveland Browns (3-4) will hope third time is the charm as they’ll have third string quarterback Jason Campbell take the reins as their signal caller.

Jason Campbell

He’ll represent the team’s third quarterback this season but for the Browns, changing this role isn’t anything new.

Since 1999, the team has had 20 different quarterbacks starters when Campbell enters the fray on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs (7-0). That’s the highest for the league during that time, according to ESPN.

This number also surpasses some NCAA teams. While schools don’t keep track of their players’ starts, they those who threw a pass and since 1999, Florida has had 17 players, Alabama (16), USC (14) and at 13, Ohio State and Texas.

For the Browns under Campbell, they’ll get a pro with nine years experience and a 31-40 record over 71 starts. Last season, he was with the Chicago Bears as their backup quarterback.

Last week under starter Brandon Weeden in a 31-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers, he went 17-of-42, 149 yards (48.6 rating), one touchdown and one interception.

Weeden’s record as a starter is now 0-4. With his 66.5 rating, this has him at No. 30 in the league.

It can only get better under Campbell and in his last two years starting with the Oakland Raiders during the 2010 and 2011 seasons, he went 1-7.

Unfortunately for the Browns, this won’t change as the Chiefs will get the win (-9, 39 o/u).