[Official] Reggie Bush or Someone else -- Vince Young out of running

Changing topic a little bit, i read a mock draft that has us taking Marcus McNeill, a huge OT from Auburn, with our first pick.......in the 2nd round. I don't know about yall but i had never heard of him before. He's listed at 6-9, 337 pounds. The guy is an absolute beast. Here's a profile of his strengths and weaknesses:

http://www.nfldraftblitz.com/Profiles/marcusmcneillprofile.htm

IMO, if he's still available after the 1st round, i say it's a no brainer to go ahead and pick him. I can just imagine him opening up huge holes for RB, if we draft him.

 

I heard of that guy.. I think I saw him on the senior bowl thing too.. I think their analysis is right, he is more of a RT that can really do some damage on a sweep.. he might mature into an LT later on though. He reminds me of Willie Anderson.

 

Injury issues? Not a legimate break away threat? I love DD, but I would replace with Bush in a heart beat. Bush scores TDs, plain and simple.

 

Marcus McNeill showed up for the Senior Bowl looking flabby. He didn't practice that well either, which is critical. He did however look good in the game. The Denver philosophy of zone blocking theoretically prefers more agile linemen rather than the Dallas type of huge bodies.

The #2 pick will probably just be a BPA. Could be OL, LB, TE or DE.
We will just have to see whose available on Draft day. My guess though will be one of the top TE's. There are four or five really good ones in the top 100 picks, better than anything available on the FA market.

 

Don't suppose you remember the wheel route Bush ran in the first half when Texas reserve LB Drew Kelson (converted safety) hung with him 20 yards down field man to man and dropped the pick.

Bush's receptions yardage were on screens and dumps where he wasn't covered.

 

Why is this bad? It is like my argument (that nobody likes) of well Vince Young's WRs are always open

 

If a QB finds an open man, he's done his job.

If a RB has space, his OL did their job.

See the difference?

 

False

A RB acting as A WR that got open and then takes the pitch/ screen and makes yards is doing more than his job. The screen where he pitched it was a great run and got bush in the open field. Domanick Davis does not get that many yards

The Qb can't find the open WR without the OL and the WR doing their job.

 

which is a false argument, because they're not always open. i actually thougth about that this weekend when they showed a highlight reel of VY on ESPN that showed him making tough passes into coverage. more than a few of those were touchdowns, by the way.

 

Well obviously they are not "always" wide open

 

...

 

I don't care how he got the yards, he got them against a great defense that has NFL caliber speed. I would expect a converted safety to be able to cover a RB, they start 7-9 yards off the LOS. I am sure that UTs plan was to not get beat deep by anyone from USC -Bush included.

 

I am not saying it is "bad" that Reggie Bush is great at screens and dumps. Those plays can be used effectively in the NFL.

But I watched the Kelson play over and over. He didn't have a huge head start, and covered Bush pretty well on a downfield route. Bush also didn't react to the ball in the air either (didn't protect ML) in what should have been an INT on single coverage with a back-up LB (yes converted safety, Kelson probably has excellent speed for a college LB). The whole thing completely surprised ML, who obviously was used to Bush being wide open from his speed and not route skills, and hints at the kinds of adjustments in the next level. Bush isn't going to kill NFL defenders on speed alone in the passing game.

I bring this up for someone with the pie in the sky argument like you line up Bush as a WR in the NFL and it is like having Steve Smith or Randy Moss out there (demanding doubles) opening up for everyone else. You line up Bush as a WR, and at this point in his route skills, you cover him with your average NFL FS, corner or nickle back just fine. It just like having another WR out there, not a great WR out there, if you moved him out there. IMO for Reggie Bush to really wreak havoc on an defense (in a margin significantly greater than DD) he is going to have to be devasting between the tackles, running outside, and receiving from the backfield (not as a wideout).

UT's receivers last year are not nearly as good as USC's, say OU's from last year. VY didn't have a Jarrett he could just chuck it to and beat a double team (notice ML threw to him down field, not Bush, in the 2nd half).

So if you are arguing UT's receivers are open it is because of the pressure VY puts on the overall defense --I agree.

 

Gosh, he was wide open.

 

all i know is that if we get at least 1 more decent blocker for the O-line in this draft, an offense featuring Carr, Johnson, Bush, McNeal, and Davis will put us near contention for a wild card this year.

bush and mcneal are used to having to evade tackles. obviously our line is the worst ever in history, but you can't just shut them up completely.

i'm excited. REGGIE-REGGIE!

 

I absolutely think he can be a terrific wideout. Getting open is nothing more than the strength to get off the line (which I know he has) and route running and even if his route running is questionable at this point that can absolutely be coached. If Jabar Gaffneys slow ass can get open I know Bush as he is twice the athlete Gaffney is. Now, he may not be the greatest downfield pass receiver in terms of adjusting to the deep ball, but this can be improved with practice - see Seneca Wallace's terrific catch in the NFC championship game. Like Steve Smith, Bush has the potential to be a killer after the catch.

You keep mentioning being a devastating inside runner - please clarify what you mean by this. To me inside running is about patience, vision to find a hole and hitting it hard. I do not think a back has to be a power back to be a good inside runner. I know Bush has excellent vision so that wouldn't be an issue. I know he likes to bounce outside in college but that is because he can. I am sure he will learn patience, and when he can and cannot bounce it outside in the NFL. Again, Dunn is a very effective runner between the tackles and he is significantly smaller than Bush.

 

Damn right. Limas was wide open as were the rest of the Texas WRs all year long. Don't forget that Vince had all day to sit in the pocket and find them too.

 

It is also important to be precise in timing, very instinctive with the QB, and have great reactions to the ball in the air. Some guys have it, others don't. If it was just speed to size Marvin Harrison, Tory Holt and Hines Ward would be nobodies as WRs, and Lelie, Williamson, Peter Warrick, and Rocket Ismail would have been elite WRs. Bush is great in open space and has the athleticism like great WRs, but that is a far cry from being a great NFL WRs. From what I saw in the Texas game I saw a guy used to playing with much slower players, he is going to face 3x the speed in the worst NFL teams than what Texas will throw at him. He will need technique (?) and instinct (?) along with his great athleticism (check) to cause problems as a WR.

Dunn is small but has always been an inside runner, and good in tight space. Not all the guys have the same sense for where the blocks will develop, how to slip the last tackler, where to get the most yards out of play.

One of my concerns with Bush is he didn't seem to have much yards after contact. Yes he is hard to contact, but still. Dunn is the same way. When you hit him, he goes down and doesn't get extra yards. Dunn is still good, but no where near an elite player. Some other very good not big backs--Portis, Barber, Westbrook, finish runs a little better than Dunn, but not great. Emmitt Smith was great at YAC, but he was substantially thicker and more compact and stronger.

Another concern for Bush is that for the most part he had huge holes created by his oline. Most of his big rushing plays all year were like this, not where he took a hit or two but still went the distance. It would have been interesting to see how he would have done if he was the offense and the oline wasn't overmatching dlines and linebackers, as Barry Sanders faced, or Marshall Faulk or Tony Dorsett, etc.

Bush might excell between the tackles, might be durable, might be able to exploit small holes for positive yardage, he might improve his yards after contact, but I don't see it as a sure thing. I think it is a big gamble expecting him to be a workhorse player--a lot more than with Sanders, Faulk, Dorsett, LT, Ricky Williams, The Edge, Cad, Ronnie Brown, etc. Not saying he won't, but he isn't near as proven in those respects where NFL RBs must get most their yardage in.