Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Marrone's injury test: Have a big dude fall on you

BY DAN BEGNOCHE

Running back C.J. Spiller's lingering ankle injury forced him to miss the Buffalo Bills' Week 8 matchup against the New Orleans Saints and has kept his status uncertain for much of the year.

He was even spotted limping at times and visibly frustrated with the ankle during Sunday's loss, despite a productive game. 

But when asked Monday about Spiller's status, Bills coach Doug Marrone was confident the star running back's ailing ankle is much improved compared to weeks past, with his reasoning based on some pretty airtight scientific proof.

"I talked to C.J. afterward and he said he felt good," Marrone said, via buffalobills.com. "The one concern was when someone landed on it, how would he feel. He said one of those big defensive tackles landed on it and I told him, 'Well heck, if a defensive tackle, one of their defensive tackles, land on it and you're OK, you should be fine.'"

Legit enough.

Spiller looked the strongest he has in weeks against the Kansas City Chiefs, running downhill, making strong cuts and hitting holes with confidence en route to a 116-yard day on the ground. And despite the limps and some short-windedness, he was able to finish the game without missing an extraneous amount of snaps. 

But while Spiller may be poised for another strong day on the ground against a Pittsburgh Steelers defense allowing more than 130 rushing yards per game, it doesn't take a specialist to know that one minor twinge to a weak ankle in practice could put the third-year star right back where he was two weeks ago. 

We'll wait for the Friday injury report before setting our fantasy lineups. 

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