Will Reggie Bush be known more for his girl’s ass than his NFL talents?
The upcoming NFL season could prove pivotal toward answering that question.
While Bush’s girlfriend, Kim Kardashian, does have a wonderful posterior, I highly doubt he would be content being known as “that NFL player Kim Kardashian is with.”
Despite being behind only Peyton Manning in NFL endorsement deals, and despite being drafted No. 2 overall by the New Orleans Saints in 2006, Bush’s illustrious star has slowly dimmed to such a point that another lackluster season could potentially lead to Bush’s star-power fizzling out.
How could this happen to the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 player on nearly every draft board prior to the 2006 draft?
Despite not having a featured running back, the Houston Texans chose defensive end Mario Williams with the No. 1 selection, leaving Bush for the New Orleans Saints at the No. 2 pick.
The Saints gobbled up the former USC scat back, even though NO already had Deuce McAllister (a mainstay in the Saints’ backfield, rushing for over 1,000 yards in three of the four previous seasons before Bush’s arrival).
After breaking out for 141 all-purpose yards in a 19-14 win against Cleveland in his first NFL game, Bush experienced a roller-coaster rookie season:
Week Two: A week after showcasing his talents in Cleveland, Bush only accounted for five yards rushing on six attempts—the first of nine times Bush rushed for less than 30 yards in a game.
Week Five: Reggie was the hero after returning a punt for the game-winning, and his first career, touchdown with less than five minutes remaining.
Week 10: It wasn’t until Week 10 that Bush finally scored his first touchdown from scrimmage on a 15-yard double reverse.
Week 11: He put up his second game of over 100 all-purpose yards
Week 12: In an NFC South showdown with the Falcons, Bush managed only 44 total yards.
Week 13: Four touchdowns and 168 total yards.
Week 15: Only 33 yards from scrimmage.
Week 16: Bush rushes for over 100 yards for the first time, averaging 6.3 yards on 20 carries.
Week 17: Only 20 yards rushing.
Even with #25’s peaks and valleys in year one, he was a hot commodity, thanks to a couple of exciting plays (including an 88-yard TD catch in the NFC Championship game) and the Saints falling just one game shy of making the Super Bowl.
Bush had finished the season fairly strong, scoring seven touchdowns in the Saints’ final five regular-season games and finding the end zone twice in the playoffs.
Despite finishing with only 565 yards rushing (3.6 yards per carry), the Saints had found ways to utilize Bush’s skill set in the offense. His sure hands led to 742 yards receiving (8.4 yards per catch) and another 154 yards receiving in two playoff games.
Year two came with lots of expectations, and also a few questions of whether Bush could overtake McAllister and become the featured back. Would his slight build stand up to running between the tackles for 25 carries per game?
When Bush took over the majority of the carries after McAllister went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week Three, he was supposed to become the superstar he had been hyped to be since his days at Southern Cal.
Instead, he never had a 100+ yards rushing, he suffered injuries to his shin and PCL, he was not the threat he had been his rookie season, and he fumbled the ball eight times on the season, despite only playing in 12 games.
Bush finished with only 581 yards rushing—38th overall in the NFL — less than a seventh-round pick out of Ottawa College (Derrick Ward), a sixth-round pick out of Toledo (Chester Taylor), and a guy named Maurice (Morris).
The Saints’ third-string running back, Aaron Stecker, had only 140 yards less than Bush, despite getting 10 carries only five times.
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