The Dissapointment of Reggie Bush

Reggie Bush is a messianic running back recruited by the New Orleans Saints from USC

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April News
•Saints Want Bush to Emulate Westbrook

March
•Reggie Bush Vows to Focus on Football

February
•Bush teams with Shaq to host All-Star charity event
•Dog thinks 2 $900 Super Bowl tickets tasty treat
•Boonton man scores big with Super Bowl tickets
•Dog thinks 2 $900 Super Bowl tickets tasty treat

Super Bowl Weekend
•OK!'s Guide to the Super Bowl Parties
•"Hannah" primed to claim Super Bowl weekend
•Paris Hilton, Ludacris party alongside 50 Cent at pre-game Super Bowl concert

January
•Reggie Bush Engaged to Kim Kardashian?

December
•Eagles vs. Saints Preview 12/23/07
•Bush Hoping to Play Against Eagles 12/18/07
•Cardinals 24, Saints 31
•Bush Out For the Year 12/12/07
•Falcons 14, Saints 34 12/10/07
•Falcons vs. Saints Preview 12/10/07
•Buccaneers 27, Saints 23 12/02/07
•Buccaneers vs. Saints Preview 12/02/07

•2007 News
•2006 News
•2005 News

The Dissapointment of Reggie Bush

If you saw all of Reggie Bush's commercials -- and never watched him play -- you would conclude he is one of the NFL's best players.

He isn't. Bush has charisma, Bush has endorsements, but Bush has not lived up to expectations in the NFL. He has not been nearly the player he was when he won the Heisman Trophy at USC, which makes him a target for criticism. Bush now seems trapped, both by opposing defenses and by the weight of expectations.

I asked Bush after the New Orleans Saints' 23-10 loss to the Houston Texans whether the transition from college football to the NFL was harder than he expected. "It definitely hasn't been easy," he said, still in a somber mood long after most of his teammates had departed from a disappointed locker room.

Bush has not rushed for 100 yards in any game this season (he did so only once as a rookie), nor has he topped 100 yards in receiving (something he did twice last year). The moves he mesmerized defenders with in college don't work as well in the NFL, where players are faster and bigger, less paralyzed by Bush's speed and uncanny ability to change direction.

Bush's performance against the Texans was typical of his season. He had 15 carries for a paltry 34 yards and caught 12 passes for 70 yards. He also fumbled the ball away at the Texans' one-yard line, a crucial mistake that took away an almost certain Saints touchdown.

For Bush to become as good as he hopes to be -- indeed, as good as his No. 2 overall draft selection in 2006 says he should be -- he must follow the blueprint of undersized runners who became NFL game-breakers, such as Brian Westbrook of the Eagles and former Giant Tiki Barber. Though Westbrook is most dangerous in open space, he also can run effectively between the tackles, as could Barber. That is Bush's biggest weakness -- his inability to run with force inside. That makes him one-dimensional and much easier to defend, especially with Saints power back Deuce McAllister out for the season.

The Saints are giving Bush plenty of opportunities to run inside. But too often on inside handoffs, he looks like a contestant on Dancing with the Stars, making shifty moves left and right instead of running forward. Sometimes the Texans stuffed the run well and left Bush nowhere to go. But on several occasions, Bush hesitated at the line instead of hitting the hole hard or bounced outside, looking unsuccessfully for the big play. Because defenses don't respect Bush's ability to hurt them between the tackles, the field has become narrower for him. Defenses are happy to oblige Bush's preference to run outside because they can use the sideline to negate his speed.

"I mean, he's a great player," Texans linebacker DeMeco Ryans said carefully. "But I think we contained him well and just funneled him out to the sidelines. The sideline never misses a tackle, so you keep him pinned in. He can't make those big runs. You don't allow him to cut back and reverse the field on you."

Saints Coach Sean Payton bluntly assessed Bush's performance against Houston . "To be honest with you, he had some missed assignments that bothered me," said Payton. "He had a couple of drops and a fumble. It wasn't good enough. He needs to play better."

Bush will play better only if he becomes a complete back, a runner who can deliver yards inside and out. He needs to take three or four yards inside when they are there instead of trying to get fancy and turn every run into a big play. He will never be a power back, but I don't buy talk that he's not big enough to carry the ball effectively inside. It's obvious Bush has been hitting the weights; his upper body is noticeably bigger than it was last season. And he's bigger than Westbrook and taller than Barber. Without McAllister around, Bush has been asked to do more, but he has done less, which is part of the reason the Saints have struggled.

Off the field, Bush has already achieved stardom. His jersey was by far the most popular fashion statement among Saints fans Sunday. But to be worthy of his high draft status, Bush must give the Saints more. So far in his brief NFL career, he has found making commercials far easier than making yards.

Heisman Watch:
1. Andre Woodson, QB, Kentucky
Andre Woodson has been remarkably efficient as Kentucky's signal-caller thus far. The senior quarterback has completed 67.1 percent of his passes for 1,309 yards with 16 touchdowns through five games. Andre Woodson finally threw his first interception of the season on Saturday, but not before he extended his NCAA record-breaking streak of pass attempts without a pick to 325. Unfortunately for Woodson, a brutal three-game stretch versus South Carolina, LSU and Florida will likely knock Kentucky from the ranks of the undefeated.

April News
•Saints Want Bush to Emulate Westbrook

March News
•Reggie Bush Vows to Focus on Football

February News
•Bush teams with Shaq to host All-Star charity event
•Dog thinks 2 $900 Super Bowl tickets tasty treat
•Boonton man scores big with Super Bowl tickets
•Dog thinks 2 $900 Super Bowl tickets tasty treat

Super Bowl Weekend
•OK!'s Guide to the Super Bowl Parties
•"Hannah" primed to claim Super Bowl weekend
•Paris Hilton, Ludacris party alongside 50 Cent at pre-game Super Bowl concert

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