Reggie Bush: Jack of All Trades, Master Of None

The New Orleans Saints have sprinted out to an impressive 8-0 start, beating a quality selection of teams. Their offense, led by dynamic quarterback Drew Brees, has a variety of weapons including draft surprise Marques Colston, the notorious Jeremy Shockey, versatile fullback Heath Evans, Vince Young’s personal safety valve at Texas in David Thomas, and hometown former LSU Tiger Devery Henderson. However, by far the most popular and well known player is former USC Heisman trophy winner and National Champion Reggie Bush.

Coming out of college, Bush was perhaps the most hyped player of the current generation. His college career was filled with long touchdowns strung together by ankle breaking jukes and eye opening cuts. Additionally, Bush impressed scouts at predraft work outs and overall looked the part of a franchise player.

He was predicted to be a three way threat, rushing, receiving, and returning. It seemed to be a given that Bush would end up being the first player selected.

However, the night before the 2006 draft, North Carolina State’s mammoth defensive end Mario Williams signed with the Houston Texans, and was selected with the first overall pick. This move was widely criticized, frequently referred to as the NFL equivalent of basketball’s greatest draft blunder in Sam Bowie over Michael Jordan.

A look at the supply and demand nature of NFL drafting practices gives better understanding of the Texans’ decision to go with Williams. At the top of the pecking order is Quarterback, a position with the greatest number of responsibilities while being the most difficult to fill. From there, the blindside offensive tackle and pass rushing defense end take precedence.

The offensive tackle position become a major priority upon the arrival of Lawrence Taylor in the 1980’s, as these fierce pass rushers with size, power, and quickness had to be accounted for. Lawrence Taylor-esque pass rushes posed mistakes to the slower tackles  and the smaller skill positions used in pass protection in that time period.

From an overview of human populations, it is clear that maneuverable athletes of such great proportions are extremely difficult to find. Smaller athletes, ones that can fit a position such as runningback, come at a much higher frequency.

To further reduce their value, runningbacks tend to have the shortest careers of NFL players as they accumulate the most amount of damage upon their bodies from the consistent pounding they receive each week. So while these positions may not touch the ball for an entire game (for tackles sometimes their whole career), they have a much higher value then runningback, due to their limited availability and prolonged career lengths.          

In the four seasons each player has been in the league, it has become clear that the Texans had made the right choice.

Williams has ascended to the top of the league, playing both end and tackle in the Texans defense. The ferocious defender at a massive 6'6" 295 lb, whom exhibited nearly unparalleled athleticism for a man his size as well as a wingspan of a jumbo jet, has become a multiple All Pro and Pro Bowl player.

After stringing together a nearly endless montage of highlight plays in college, Bush’s most famous NFL moments consist of taunting the Chicago Bears on an 88 yard touchdown during the NFC Championship game, being the player Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Sheldon Brown nearly decapitated and dating infamous socialite Kim Kardashian.

He has had his flashes, returning 3 punts for touchdowns in 2007 and being a fixture in the Saints passing game (in his three and a half seasons he has had 88, 77, 52, and 27 receptions respectively). It is not as if Bush does not belong in the league, but his outrageously high salary seems to be inappropriate for a player of his caliber.

To elaborate, Bush was expected to be a major contributor to the running game. At this point in his career, even with the departure of longtime Saints runningback Deuce McAllister, Bush has been beaten out by two undrafted free agents (Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas), becoming the third string back in the rotation.

Even after each other back has gone down with injuries, Bush has not been able to overtake them in the depth chart. He is given an average of six carries a game, which is significantly less then Bell (16 carries) or Thomas (11 carries).

Other runningbacks drafted in the Top 10 and regarded as successes, such as Adrian Peterson or LaDainian Tomlinson, are at a level that far surpasses anything Bush seems to be capable of.

In the passing game, the Saints spread the ball around to the wealth of talent at the skill positions, so Bush’s three receptions per game are not that disappointing. However, the majority of his receptions come from short passes to the flat and he is rarely used to test defenses deep on wheel routes, or even from the slot position.

Despite his label of a hybrid runningback/wide receiver, these factors indicate a lack of versatility in his game. Without a doubt, these types of passes are generally high percentage plays, but can be performed by numerous players with significantly less cap figures. Thus, at this point, Bush is used in a scat back role, albeit serving as a mediocre runner and a limited receiver.

In terms of the return game, Bush has shown to be a dynamic punt returner, capable of making big, game changing plays. However, players such as Devin Hester, Josh Cribbs, Leon Washington, and Darren Sproles have performed at a consistently higher level in the return game, with salaries insignificant in comparison.

So it is true that Bush has become somewhat of a three way threat, but not to the extent that was expected. He is somewhat of a Jack of All Trades, Master of none, with a wide selection of skills but not being particularly efficient in any. Consequently, the chunk of the salary cap Bush devours each season seems to overshadow any of the benefits he brings to his team on the field.

Off the field, Bush has undoubtedly aided in the resurgence in popularity of the Saints franchise. Battling through the horrors of Hurricane Katrina, residents of the sunken city have rallied around the hometown team, and the drafting of Bush spurred a rise in ticket sales almost immediately.

His jersey is a consistent high seller and the amount of endorsements he received has brought the attention of many corporations to one of the NFL’s smaller markets.

However in football, nothing brings in revenue better then winning and the Saints have undoubtedly improved their program through the acquisition of Head Coach Sean Payton and a collection of wise personnel decisions.

At this stage, Reggie Bush has not ascended to the same level of play that Mario Williams has in respect to their individual positions as well as their places in the overall scheme of things.

At a cap number of $12.5 million this season and rising to over $13 million in the next, it seems as though Bush is being vastly overpaid for his services. He can be easily replaced by a less expensive alternate, who would garner similar results playing in the same role.

At the end of the season, when Bush’s salary climbs higher, it is the best interest of the Saints to either restructure his contract, or find a less expensive substitute.