Reggie Bush is a BUST

Yao Ming still showed more through the halfway point of his rookie year than Reggie Bush has.

 

LOL - they can succeed, don't forget Bryan Westbrook, but I am saying GALE Sayers....whom was another animal all together...

He was just incredible, and SOOOO much faster than the other players.


DD

 

Exactly... and knowing what we know today, Steve Smith and Warrick Dunn would STILL not be #1 picks in a draft... and they wouldn't ridicule a team/city for 3 straight months for passing on them.

 

Maybe, but I'd argue Reggie has contributed more than Yao. Reggie is doing a lot of things well while defenders are focusing on him if for no other reason than the hype.. put a little hot sauce on him, if you will. Remember how the entire league was itching to posterize Yao, the Marbury crossover fiasco? Steve and Cat carried the load while Yao learned the NBA and adjusted... same for Reggie and Deuce.

I'd like everyone in this thread to realize the hypocrisy of defending Yao and trashing Reggie. Enjoy your "I was the first to say he's a bust" cookies.

 

Reggie is a victim of his own hype. If people truly believed that he would be the next Gale Sayers, then thats egg on their faces thus far. RB has shown an inability to run between the tackles and gain positive yardage when runs to the outside.

Yao was hyped up much the same way, but when he got to the league people were calling him Shawn Bradley, Rik Smits, a stiff, etc. which are a far cry from Gale Sayers and Barry Sanders respectively. Yao proved that once adjusted to the speed and type of game the NBA is has flourished.

The learning curve for running backs in the league is a short one, and Bush hasn't even approached the level of game his hype indicated. You can talk all you want about decoys and diversions, but right now the Steelers aren't game planning for Bush, they are game planning for Deuce and Colston. Reggie will be a good player, but he won't revolutionize the game like so many thought.

 

actually, it's not a fair comparison. Yao was predicted to be a poor man's Rick Smits. Bush was projected as THE running back that would change the game. in other words, Yao was supposed to be a bust that shut everyone up. Bush isn't living up anywhere to his supposedly great play making abilities. it's still early, and that's the only thing i can give you.

 

You have a selective memory. Aside from being a lousy comparison between sports and situations - Yao's transition was very short, in fact, at about the moment he fell over in Phx (his 8th game ever in Mid November) pretty much marked the end. After that, Yao went on a rampage, regularly scoring 20 ppg, starting with his breakout vs. the Lakers (that was game 9, or about 10% of the way in to his NBA career ). Two games later, when Yao put 30 and 16 on the Dallas Mavericks on national TV in just 30 minutes - any questions as to whether he could be a great player were effectively answered.

That would be the equivalent of Bush busting out by game 2. Bush however has yet to do anything midway through the season, and most importantly, he has not shown that he can do the things that people questioned his ability to do.

 

I could have sworn I heard people saying Yao would change the game... especially on this board. I think the analogy holds, absurd expectations and asinine predictions are what they are.

If the Steelers aren't game planning for Reggie, they are in trouble. He's too fast, and gets the ball too often. Ignore him at your own peril.

 

Far less people were saying that... there were some, but far more were worried about getting the next shawn bradley. Hell, some were eve HAPPY if he could equal Smits production.

Reggie was predicted to be a success by EVERYBODY... he may learn how to become a productive back, but that still doesn't mean he'll be able to do what he did in college (which is what everybody expected him to do).

 

VY has more wins than Matt Leinart.
Matt Leinart has Edgerin James, Larry Fitzgerald and Antoine Boujain.

VY has Bobby Wade and Drew Bennett.

VY lost to Jacksonville in Florida after they shut down Donovan McNabb.



Plus Deke's got VY's back, who has Reggie's? Peja?

 

Yes, Yao showed flashes of brilliance earlier than Reggie. Reggie, however, has been far more consistant than Yao.
Forget the stats, he's carried a heavy load for a good team.

I've seen enough of Reggie running the ball to know the guy can break tackles and fight for first downs. He just hasn't done THAT consistantly... He hasn't gotten it yet, and I don't find that shocking when you see the guy picking up blitzes in the backfield, catching out of the slot, screens... being all over the place. I imagine that sort of thing is what they are working with him on during practice. It will take time before the guy who says he wants to be "GOAT" to slow down, and take what the defense gives him. When he starts doing that, then you will see what Reggie really is.. Donte Hall or Marshall Faulk.

 

Consistent? Well that's one way to spin it - consistently underachieving. Whereas Yao looked bad and then took off like gangbusters.

I know which one I'd prefer.

 

Having teams game plan for you isn't enough. You have to produce on the field.

 

I'd say they BOTH have struggled to CONTRIBUTE. How many games has VY thrown for under 50% and under 100 yards? VY is not "carrying" any NFL offense anytime soon. It doesn't matter to me if his team has sucked less under some other sucky QB, that mainly has to do with how the rest of the team has played.

As far as comparing him to Eli Manning, I'd really like to see VY throw for 24 TDs his second season. I seriously doubt that will happen considering how raw he still is. He locksinto receivers and is very inaccurate. They really should be bringing him along slowly like they did McNair.

I am glad we didn't draft either VY or Bush.

I think Bush's struggles are showing that you can't have just speed, you also need strength and power to be a good RB. Some guys like Dunn and Tiki can succeed, but they are rare.

 

Honestly, I've never heard of anyone talking about "decoying" and "gameplanning" until Bush started to struggle to average 3 yards per carry.

 

i love the "teams gameplan for reggie bush" argument. uh, teams gameplan for Tomlinson and Larry Johnson and i don't see them getting negative yards on 11 carries.

 

That's because Tomlinson and Johnson aren't as good as Bush, so teams don't gameplan for them as much.

 

I'm not calling Reggie Bush a bust yet. But, I don't know what makes you think Reggie Bush can break tackles, because he has shown no ability to do that. Not in college, not in the pros, maybe in highschool. He's super fast, and is more elusive than the average back. But, he needs to get stronger to play running back in the NFL. Nice undersized slot receiver though.

 

Like Mr. Clutch posted, Bush was never hyped as being a decoy, its just another excuse people have been making for him.

As for game planning for the Saints, they should aim at stopping Drew Brees who is quietly the 3rd or 4th best QB in the NFL right now. Claiming that NFL defenses NEED to game plan for Reggie Bush is a great example of the arrogance some Bush supporters have.

The kid has yet to score a single TD on offense. If you want to claim that he is a decoy, that is fine, but I'm sure glad the Texans didn't spend the #1 pick and $60M+ on a decoy.