Should Theo Riddick Take over for Reggie Bush Full-Time?

The home fans in London can be forgiven for needing to double-check their game programs when the Detroit Lions had the ball. No. 25 in white sure looked like Reggie Bush, even wearing the same number the popular Bush donned in his New Orleans Saints days.

Yet it wasn't Bush, who missed the Lions' 22-21 miracle comeback win with an ankle injury. Instead it was Theo Riddick providing an integral role in the second-half offensive renaissance. In fact, Riddick had more success across the Atlantic than Bush has had in his games back in the U.S.A.

Success is relative when talking about Detroit's troika of running back talent. Bush, Riddick and Joique Bell form one of the most plodding, underachieving and least impressive groups in the league. Their productivity has seen a stark drop-off from Detroit's moderately successful ground attack in 2013:

	Attempts	Yards	YPC (rank)	TD	Yards per Game (rank)
2013	445	1792	4.0 (22nd)	15	112.0 (17th)
2014	208	637	3.1 (t-31st)	6	79.6 (31st)

Bush in particular has dropped off dramatically. He's been nothing short of terrible as a runner in 2014:

	Attempts	Yards	YPC	TD
2013	223	1006	4.5	4
2014	49	171	3.5	1

While battling a seemingly endless barrage of minor ailments, Bush has run with little authority or urgency. He's too frequently dancing in the backfield, failing to attack the hole or futilely attempting to outrun the defense to the edge. 

The former Heisman Trophy winner has just one game, the Week 3 win over Green Bay, where he topped even 50 yards. Worse, he appears to have lost his propensity for the big play. Here's a play from the Buffalo Bills game where Bush blew a chance at a big gain.

NFL Game Rewind

Bush takes the handoff from the shotgun and comes to a near stop two steps later. Note how upright he is here, and his legs are too close together to make a great burst.

NFL Game Rewind

The line creates a decent crease, and in this instance Bush's instinct to bounce the run further outside would serve him well. But instead of taking that path (in blue), he meekly turns the run up to the inside...smack into linebacker Preston Brown, who thumps him to the turf for no gain. 

His decline is even more noticeable in his work in the passing game. While the number of catches is fine—Bush has snagged 25 of the 30 targets per Pro Football Focus (subscription required)—the production from those receptions has been downright anemic. 

Bush has gained just 164 yards on his 25 receptions, an average of 6.6 per catch. Just one catch has produced a gain of more than 20 yards, and he's yet to crack the end zone barrier. One of his three charted drops was intercepted, though Matthew Stafford's throw was high and behind where it needed to be. 

Last year Bush caught 54 passes for 506 yards, a 9.6 yards-per-catch average. He was a major threat on inside screens and circle routes out of the backfield, even lining up as the slot receiver at times. That Reggie Bush has been missing in action.

Riddick has been more productive as a receiver in just two games. 

Opponent	Rec.	Target	Yards	YPC	TD
Minnesota	5	5	75	15.0	1
Atlanta	8	10	74	7.3	1

He made his most impressive catch at a time when the Lions needed him to make a play the most. Check out this gem from Detroit's game-winning drive against the Atlanta Falcons:

That sure looks a lot like vintage Reggie Bush, doesn't it? The acceleration, the great hands, the vision, it all surely calls to mind Bush's salad days in New Orleans, or even at USC. 

His earlier touchdown in the game is another play that calls Bush to mind. The Lions savvily use Golden Tate as a decoy to create a little space for Riddick on the rollout pass. He confidently does the rest.

There is no hesitation, no dancing; Riddick gets the ball and immediately attacks. That is no longer a quality Bush demonstrates, not consistently anyway. 

Some of the blame for Bush's falloff is certainly due to injury. He's now 29—beyond the prime for most running backs—and has almost 2,000 combined runs and catches in the NFL. He's missed at least two games in six of his eight-plus seasons, including this one, with a long list of knee and leg issues. 

"

I'm pretty sure I've seen more shots of Reggie Bush injured on the sideline than I've seen him actually carrying the ball during his career.

— Mike Loyko (@NEPD_Loyko) October 26, 2014"

Those factors are part of why the Lions drafted Riddick in the sixth round back in 2013. Unfortunately, Riddick has shown the same propensity for being hurt. He missed two full games and parts of two others this year with a hamstring injury, a malady plaguing him dating back to his Notre Dame days. 

Perhaps the durability issues are why Lions coach Jim Caldwell waffled a little when asked about how he would divide up their action moving forward. As Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press documented, Caldwell refused to put one ahead of the other:

"

"That's a problem that we hope we have, and I think there's enough to go around for everybody," Lions coach Jim Caldwell said at his news conference today. "I think both guys have unique qualities and both guys have, certainly, big-play impact, and we plan to use them both."

"

Or maybe, the Lions need to rely on both precisely because neither has proven durable. Even though Riddick has clearly been more effective this year, he has to demonstrate he can remain in the lineup with an increased workload. 

Still, there is a general consensus the proverbial torch should be passed...

"

You're going to have a hard convincing me that Theo Riddick isn't as good as/better than Reggie Bush right now

— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) October 26, 2014"

That is a very popular sentiment these days. Riddick has proven more effective than Bush this year, and it's hard to see that changing going forward. It helps that the young Fighting Irish product is impressing in ways that don't show up on the stat sheet, too:

"

Great blitz pickup by Theo Riddick on that third-and-2. Allowed Stafford to step into that throw.

— Chris Burke (@ChrisBurke_SI) October 26, 2014"

Yet Bush still holds real value for these Lions aside from being insurance for Riddick's balky hamstrings. Defenses do still react to him, and he has flashed his old self a few times, notably on a decisive 3rd-and-3 late in the Packers game when he dodged forward and toughed out four big yards.  

Rick Osentoski/Associated Press

Depth at running back is a necessity in today's NFL, and the Lions are blessed in that regard. Even though the numbers aren't pretty, this remains a very talented backfield rotation. 

Don't expect a lot of changes to the respective workloads, though perhaps Riddick gets a few extra snaps at Bush's expense. It's beyond this year where Riddick's emergence truly threatens Bush. 

The veteran is due $7.5 million over the next two seasons after restructuring his contract earlier this year. As noted by Spotrac, the dead money on his remaining deal is just $2 million in 2015 and $1 million the following year. 

It wouldn't be prudent to pay the third running back on the roster over $3 million dollars, certainly not for a team perennially butting up against the salary-cap ceiling. By contrast Riddick will make less than $1.3 million over the next two years.

Why pay more for less?

While it's too early to say Bush won't be back in Motown next season, it's easy to see the underwhelming veteran playing somewhere else in 2015. Detroit's future at running back is Bell and Riddick, not Bush and Bell.