Some may look at me as if I am crazy, but The New Orleans Saints will
miss running back Reggie Bush. Bush was vital to the success of Saints
offense. The numbers may not be eye popping, but Bush’s presence on the
field helped his teammates. Bush has been most effective as a receiving
threat as he is someone the defenses must always account for. I am sure
that if you were to ask any defensive coordinator in The National
Football League about Bush’s ability, they would tell you that he has to
be accounted for.
The problem is that many people expected Bush to come into the league
and run roughshod over defenders like he did in college. The game speed
is much different in the pros. To the credit of Saints head coach Sean
Payton, he utilized the skills that Bush has. Bush is a great player in
open space and because of that Payton used Bush on screens, reverses,
and trick plays. In a 2006 contest versus The Atlanta Falcons, a fake
reverse to Bush led to four Falcon defenders covering Bush leaving
multiple Saints open.
Because of Bush’s versatility, Saints wide receivers and tight ends
constantly found themselves in match-ups that favored them leading to
big plays for the offense. In passing situations Bush was valuable to
Saints quarterback Drew Brees both as a check down outlet and as a
blocker. In his five-year career with The Saints, Bush recorded 2,142
yards receiving. His 294 receptions over that span are more than any
other running back during that time. I am not saying that Brees became a
Super Bowl MVP because of Bush, but when a quarterback has a dependable
target to throw to it makes his job easier.
Bush is in that mold of Eric Metcalf and Brian Mitchell as running backs
that do a little bit of everything. The Saints traded Bush to The Miami
Dolphins this week as The Dolphins look to get a little faster on
offense. Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne has had his ups and downs since
coming into the league as a second round pick in 2008. Going forward
Bush will be a viable asset to The Dolphins. Some skeptics feel Bush is
overrated or just not that good. I am sure that Bush hears these things
and it has to be fuel to his fire. People forget that Bush is a player
with Super Bowl experience as he helped The Saints win Super Bowl 44. To
a young team like The Dolphins his experience will be a good addition.
For Bush he gets a chance to find a home in Miami while showing New
Orleans what they are missing.
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