Reggie Bush and 5 NFL Players Digging Themselves out of Obscurity

No, it's not how you start the season, it's how you finish.

And while we're certainly not near the finish line of the NFL season, at this midway point, a number of players have resurrected their reputations, especially after their respective Week 9 performances.

Here are five who have seen their stock rise after a string of forgettable starts.

Miami Dolphins RB Reggie Bush

Reggie Bush has been dogged by criticism throughout his short professional career, and those claims followed him to the Miami Dolphins.

It seemed, yet again, that another team was unsure of how to involve Bush in either the passing or rushing offense, and he fell by the wayside in the team's attempts to get something going around, and without, him.

But, it looks like Miami has found the proper formula to make Bush not only a part of their offense, but a major focus.

In his past two games, he has a total of 262 yards, with 120 coming in Week 8 against the New York Giants and 92 rushing yards and a touchdown and another 50 yards on three catches against the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 9.

Good blocking has been part of why there's room for Bush to run, and if the team can keep that up, he'll easily take over the feature back role currently held by Daniel Thomas. A third performance like this and it's not a fluke—Bush may have just come into his own.

Miami Dolphins WR Brandon Marshall

Reggie Bush isn't the only Miami Dolphin rising from the mist and the mire of obscurity—wide receiver Brandon Marshall, one of the best in the league, has finally found a way to be a reliable big-play target for quarterback Matt Moore.

Bush's production this season has been up and down, with the receiver being plagued by dropped balls and timid play from his quarterback. However, it seems that Moore found the right formula in Week 9, tossing eight completions to Marshall for 106 yards and a touchdown in the team's beating of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Moore played with more confidence than we've seen from him perhaps ever, ending the day as one of the more successful quarterbacks of the week.

Much of this has to do with Marshall's reliability (and perhaps the Chiefs, who may have regressed back to their early-season form), but whatever the reason, it's nothing but a positive sign about Marshall's ability to live up to his potential no matter the quarterback throwing to him.

Seattle Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch

While the Seattle Seahawks lost this week against the Dallas Cowboys, one thing about the now-2-6 squad that emerged was the talented play of running back Marshawn Lynch.

Despite his low numbers this season, Lynch has scored in four of his eight games (missing his team's Week 7 contest against the Cleveland Browns) but hasn't managed a 100-yard rushing day until this Sunday, when he had 135 yards and a score on 23 carries.

Lynch has had two seasons with over 1,000 rushing yards; while he won't likely reach that number this season, it's encouraging that the team is willing to hang its offense on the veteran back and give him a chance to put up a good deal of yardage even when playing from behind.

It bodes well for Lynch's chances to continue playing at a high level for the rest of the season, granted that he stays healthy.

Washington Redskins RB Roy Helu

Another running back from a losing team has proven himself a re-emerging talent—Roy Helu of the Washington Redskins.

With so many issues at quarterback, the Redskins have been searching (as of late, in vain) for a solution on the ground, with Helu and Torain getting the so-called start week after week while trading off on which has the more productive day.

While Helu has clearly been more useful in the struggling passing game than on the ground, he's certainly proven that he's the likely starter for Washington from here on out.

He had just three carries for five yards in Weeks 6-8, and seven receptions for 37, but in this week's loss against the San Francisco 49ers, he rushed 10 times for 41 yards and caught 14 passes for 105.

It's hard to assume what Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan truly thinks of Helu's performance this week, and thus, hard to assume that he's the unquestioned starter heading forward.

But it's also hard to believe that a player putting up those kinds of numbers will be held down by his coaching staff going forward.

Kansas City Chiefs WR Steve Breaston

When the Chiefs signed wide receiver Steve Breaston, the move was met with a bit of skepticism.

While it was clear that quarterback Matt Cassel needed more reliable—and veteran—targets, one could also point to the relative failure of Chris Chambers last season as proof that the team hadn't much of an ability to work those veterans into their offense.

However, Breaston has managed to insinuate himself into his team's offense in a big way, as a viable second option behind fellow starter Dwayne Bowe, as a more reliable veteran option than the up-and-down (through a mere three games, might I add) Jonathan Baldwin.

In Week 9's 31-3 loss, Breaston still managed seven grabs for 115 yards and was targeted 11 times, the most of any Chiefs receiver.

Breaston served a very clear purpose in his years as an Arizona Cardinal—a No. 2 option, usually in single-coverage, when star receiver Larry Fitzgerald was blanketed.

As long as he remains in that type of role with the Chiefs (with Bowe playing the role of Fitzgerald), he's well on his way to reaching or surpassing the 700-and-change yardage he accomplished in his last two seasons in Arizona.

Considering that's what the Chiefs brought him in to do, it's clear that Breaston is not languishing in obscurity any long.