MVN - Most Valuable Network

Bush Could Return Sunday; Still Important to Saints Offense

The Times-Picayune’s Mike Triplett reported yesterday that Saints RB Reggie Bush could return to the field in Sunday’s game against the Eagles. 

Bush will attempt to test his knee stability in practice this week.  The Heisman Trophy winner has been inactive for the past two games due to a torn PCL.

Returning Bush to the lineup might not be the best decision Sean Payton could make right now. 

The Saints have rallied behind veteran Aaron Stecker’s steady running and it might not be wise to interrupt the momentum that he’s built.  The career backup has posted 100 and 95 yards in the past two games.

In 10 starts this season, Bush’s topped 95 yards rushing only once—against Seattle.  Stecker reached the 100 yard mark in his first start. 

Now I’m not saying the Saints are worse off when Bush is in the lineup.  I don’t believe the recent talk that Bush can’t shoulder the load when he needs to. 

To quote the hot-tempered Mike Gundy, I think that idea “is garbage.”

The problem with Bush this season is that he never really got into a groove.  When Deuce McAllister went down, Reggie all of sudden became the feature back, a role I don’t think he was comfortable with—just yet.

You have to remember, Bush is only in his second season in the NFL.  He is still adjusting the life as a pro running back. 

Coming out of high school, Bush was as highly touted as he was coming out of college.  At USC, he ultimately became one of the greatest college players of all time—only it took a couple of years.

Why shouldn’t the same be true in his leap to the NFL?  Why can’t it take two/three years for Bush to find a rhythm and start embarrassing people? 

Not everyone has the Superman-type DNA Adrian Peterson apparently has.  Not all backs burst on to the scene and win a Super Bowl in their first year like Joe Addai did.   

I’m not trying to make excuses for Bush because I do think he should have been more productive this season.  What I’m trying to say is give the guy a chance. 

If he has to split carries with a bigger back to reach his potential as a dynamic game breaker, so be it.  Warrick Dunn has done it his whole career and look what milestones he’s reached.  He’s a 10,000 yard rusher. 

There’s no reason Bush can’t be one of the top running backs in the league when he hits his prime.  He just has to get comfortable with the system he’s in and focus all of his attention on winning football games. 

Reggie Bush will be here for a long time Saints fans, so you better get used to him.  In the meantime, Aaron Stecker is the man and the Saints are going to need him immensely in the next two weeks of playoff pursuit.       

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 12:39 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.