Article:Is Reggie Bush a Bust?

Watching the Saints vs. Bucs game this weekend I couldn't help but think back to the 06' NFL draft when teams were clamoring for a chance to draft him after an electrifying couple of years at USC. The Houston Texans drafted DL Mario Williams and their GM was basically ridden out of town while Katrina stricken New Orleans cheered wildly when they got Bush. How things change. As of this writing Bush has amassed 1440 yds rushing in 36 games 1557 receiving a grand total of 23 Td's (4 on punt returns) and 13 fumbles. Compare that with his college numbers in 39 games (3169 rush yds, 1301 receiving yds, 38 td's from scrimmage) and his numbers pale in comparison.

At 6'0" and 200-205 lbs Bush is a better receiver than running back. He's a tweener, too short to be a full time receiver, not powerful enough to be a 1st down back. New Orleans has tried to utilize his ability to make defenders miss by putting him in space throwing the ball to him almost 6x a game but his ability to break tackles has been poor. He averages a pedestrian 3.6 yds/carry on the ground and 7.5 yds/catch for his career. In the same 06' draft running back Maurice Jones-Drew from Pac-10 rival UCLA was picked at the tail end of the 2nd round and was considered at 5'6 1/2 208 lbs. to be far too small to be a star in the NFL. All he has done is eclipse Bush's numbers with 2212 yds rushing, 1236 yds receiving and an astounding 35 combined touchdowns. Meanwhile Mario Williams has also been more productive with 26.5 sacks and 141 tackes in 43 games for Houston. Thus far the only bigger bust than Bush has been his girlfriend Kim Kardashian. Reggie we are still waiting......