Ch-ch-ch-ch-cha ching! Turn and face the strange, Saints fans. This thing just keeps getting more bizarre by the week. It’s damn near a full blown Space Oddity at this point. Is it just me, or have you found yourself getting a hell of a lot lot louder and more obnoxious with each passing game?
If I weren’t seeing it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it. Fortunately for me, I am. And I do.
10th in the league in total defense. 7th in scoring defense. 8th in rushing defense. 14th in pass defense. Still 2nd in the league in rushing offense. 1st in scoring offense. 2nd in total offense. Leading the league in takeaways. 2nd in turnover margin (and if not for Reggie Bush, they’d be first.) Leading the league in defensive 3-and-outs and leading the league in hits on the opposing quarterback. Leading the league in interceptions and passes defended, and tied for 8th in sacks. Still unbeaten, and still yet to trail. Seriously, holy shit.
Check this out: The Saints currently lead the league with 316 yards on interception returns. There are four teams in the league who have fewer than 316 rushing yards on the season. (And two of those teams are Atlanta and Carolina. I’ll pause for a second while you chuckle.)
By this time next month, Darren Sharper could very well have more INT return yards than JaMarcus Russell has passing yards.
The Saints are tied with San Francisco for the league lead in defensive touchdowns with 3. Oakland and St. Louis each have 3 touchdowns on the season, total. And Cleveland and Carolina each only have 4.
This Sharper guy… this is my kinda guy. The Sammy Knight comparisons are apt. APT!!! Well, to the extent that Sammy Knight is the closest the Saints have ever come to having a free safety like Sharper, anyway. I’ll always love Sammy, but he was never this good.
So everything continues to come up Milhouse. Mike Bell, Jermon Bushrod, (maybe) Kendrick Clancy and Lance Moore should be back after the bye, just in time for yet another "toughest test yet" game. A game that at this point I think we’d all agree will loom large in December.
Speaking of Lance, after all this time, we’ve still yet to come up with a suitably groan-inducing nickname for the guy. Until today, that is. I would like to take this opportunity to announce that henceforth, this here blog shall refer to Lance as: Bob Snag-it.
So yeah, everything’s great. The Saints are great, quite possibly the best team in the whole damn league. Top of the world, ma! The only problem with that is we’re running out of ways to say it. It’s getting progressively more difficult to avoid just rehashing the same stuff everyone else who offers Saints commentary is saying. And if there’s one thing this here blog strives to avoid at all costs, it’s rehashing.
So with that in mind, here’s your warning: We’re about to talk about the elephant in the room.
It’s not about being Captain Bringdown. If anything, this is the perfect time to address the issue, since everything else is so great and we’re all so high on life right now, it would be hard for anything to bring us down. It doesn’t mean we don’t love the team. It doesn’t mean we’re not over the moon about how things have been going. It doesn’t mean we’re looking for things to complain about, or that we’d rather bitch and moan than sit back and enjoy the ride. It doesn’t mean we’re happy about it, and it doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t love nothing more than for it to change. But we’re all adults here (in a manner of speaking) and no baby animals are going to be hurt if we set the pom poms aside for a few minutes, take a momentary break from the season-long pep rally, and take a sober (in a manner of speaking) look at quite possibly the season’s only disappointment so far.
We can agree to disagree, as always. But if you just can’t handle it, you might want to think about just stopping here. You have been warned.
Reggie Bush’s Midnight Train to Brooksville is pulling into the station. And Kim’s ass is stuck on the tracks. This is not going to end well.
I’ll freely admit that this is nothing more than a hunch, a gut feeling. I have little (not exactly nothing, but little) to back this up, I’m just telling you about something I think I just "sensed" Sunday afternoon. I sensed the camel’s back being broken. I sensed an "It’s over" moment. Or, all-but-over, anyway. The point at which enough finally was enough. I imagine it won’t become obvious for a while yet, and I’m sure there are legions of Saints fans who will simply refuse to believe it until it’s official. But unofficially, I think it’s over.
Which isn’t to say they’re gonna bench him. Of course they’re not gonna do that. It’s not in anybody’s interest for this thing to flame out. The smart thing is for it to be a slow, steady fade out. And I don’t think anybody planned it, I don’t think anybody was hoping for it. I’m sure everybody would have been far happier if this had been "just the beginning" rather than "the beginning of the end." But the beginning of the end is where I think we’re at.
Now, I want to at least try to be fair to Reggie, even though I know that attempts to be fair don’t usually do much good when you’re being a "hater." This season’s 4.1 yards per carry is a career high. His 8.6 yards per catch, also a career high. Assuming he plays 16 games, he’s on pace for a career high 592 rushing yards. He’s also on pace for 484 receiving yards over 16 games, which would be his highest total since his rookie season.
Hey, all that stuff is great. So what’s the problem?
The problem is that it’s still just 5.38 yards per touch. And, I’m sorry, but that sucks. A lot. Those aren’t "playmaker" numbers, those are "just a guy" type numbers.
The problem is that the Saints have three other rushers who give you more yards per carry than Reggie. (Four if you count Robert Meachem.)
The problem is that there are eight (EIGHT!!!) receivers on this team who give you more yards per reception.
The problem is that Reggie’s 269 total yards from scrimmage over 4 games is a whopping 31 yards more than what Mike Bell has produced in 2 games, and 15 yards more than Pierre Thomas has produced in 2 games + 1 touch.
The problem is that there are two rushers with longer "playmaking" runs and four receivers with longer "playmaking" receptions.
The problem is that he’s currently tied for 41st in the league in punt return average, with a "playmaking" 4.7 yards per return.
The problem is that he’s scored one touchdown in four games, and has fumbled three times. That’s on pace for a career low in the former and a career high in the latter over 16 games.
The problem is that he’s currently 44th in the league in total yards from scrimmage, behind such superstars as Kenny Britt and Mike Sims-Walker.
The problem is that those career highs I mentioned above while trying to be fair to Reggie before hating on him assume a full 16 game season, and there are about three people left on the planet who expect 16 games out of Reggie. If we assume a more realistic 12 games out of him, the rushing yards go from a career high to 4 yards from a career low (the current career low being over 10 games, not 12) and the receiving yards become a career low by a lot. The fumbles though? Those would remain a career high, even over only 12 games.
But none of that is why I think it’s over. Oh, it’s a big part of it. But the main thing is that 12.5 touches from scrimmage per game is a career low. He’s becoming progressively less relevant on offense. And at the moment, he’s a bonafide liability on special teams. It could be reasonably argued based on production per touch that he’s a liability on offense.
Because, ultimately, it is a zero-sum game. People like to claim that it’s not, but it is. You only run N offensive plays per game, whatever N happens to be on a given Sunday. Every touch one offensive player gets is a touch some other offensive player doesn’t get. And every touch that a less-productive player gets is lost yards.
Evidently, Sean Payton is slowly but surely coming around to this point of view. And that’s the silver lining here.
It’s also why I’m pretty sure we’re in the final chapter of the Reggie Bush Experiment. Because I suspect that the touches per game won’t ever again be significantly higher than they are at this point, and in fact, I expect them to continue to dwindle. At this point, there are simply too many other attractive and established options.
Even the "big play" "threat to take it to the house" factor is all but irrelevant these days. Reggie’s longest run is 19, his longest reception is 29 and his longest return is 22. None for touchdowns. Remi Ayodele has as many touchdowns as Reggie does, for crying out loud. And Darren Sharper has twice as many.
Oh sure, I know what’s coming. "But but but, any day now Reggie could bust out for 300 total yards and 5 touchdowns!!!"
I’m sure Sean Payton would agree that the days of hoping and waiting for "any day now" have passed. We’re beyond that. There’s no longer any upside to continuing to stick quarters in the slot machine, wondering how many pulls it’s gonna take to win half your money back. No amount of flashing lights and loud noises changes the fact that you’re still in the red even after you collect the payout.
It’s over. There won’t be any more "2 punt returns for touchdowns" (in a loss) days. There won’t be any more "Reggie was the best player on the field today" days (if there ever really were any in the first place.) Those days are past, and this team is too good to really give a shit anymore.
This team has passed Reggie Bush by. And it’s only gonna become more evident as the season rolls on.
Did you do a “Freaky Friday” switch with some bitter ex-wife?
I agree with you completely re: Bush. I still think he’ll make us eat our words once or twice, and yet give more reason for fans to hop back onto that wagon.
But yes, I think Bush is a quintessentially average RB. And I don’t think he’s “integral” to what the Saints do on offense, which is how it’s been explained.
So this Sunday was like the day that you realize you are no longer trapped by a shitty relationship and are ready to walk away or the day that you realize that you just don’t care about X that has been hanging over your head for months anymore. This was the day when I was over Reggie Bush. I’ve been extolling Reggie’s decoy handiness. I’ve waiting for the big game. Hell, I’ve been waiting for the big play.
Well it finally happened. Leading 17-3, he fumbled deep in Saints territory. Four plays later and it was a one score ballgame. Instead of being able to, at a minimum, pin the Jets deep, or possibly get some points out of the offense, we hand them some practically free points and let them back into the game.
At some point, that catches up to you. Like when you aren’t playing 4 QBs with a combined 29 starts, when you play a team that has an offense, defense and special teams rocking (you know like a play-off contender), or when Drew shits the bed (which he is entitled to once or twice a year).
Reggie is the Saints’ version of the Wild Cat. He’s some kind of gimmicky toy out there that looks cool and is a little baffling to a defense, but unless it ain’t exactly blowing the doors off anybody. If it works, great. If it doesn’t? Eh, we don’t use it that much anyway.
He’ll have his uses this year, but I just don’t think we’ll have the big game necessary to justify the risk.
Preach that shit, Kippah.
I’m afraid you’re dead-on, Wang. I can’t get this guy’s back anymore. And it does look like Payton’s tired of babysitting the superstar’s ego. His long leash is about to be shortened. Sadly, the ability is there, but now our alternatives make him expendable.
And yet I still hold a little hope that a demotion from elite status/treatment will right the ship. That he’ll run north and south. That he won’t run so upright and dance in place. That he won’t feel the need to take it the distance on every play. That he’ll tuck the ball away when being tackled. Nah, don’t see it. If the light actually goes off for him, it’ll probably be when he’s on another team.
Side note, Wang – is there a cheat sheet or legend for your ever growing list of nicknames?
You know.. I didnt realize what i was feeling insde until you put it in words here.
I remember the next run after the fumble where he was gripping that ball with two hands like a kid running thru the playground and hes got the only bag of candy. I was like Yah Reggie.. thats how you hold the ball.
But, if thats what he is going to do hes just a very high paid RB. We have PT, it seems we have Bell (not sold on Bell yet) and we have Bush. I would hazard a guess the other two RB we have make a combined less then Bush. And if I wanted a running play to be called I would rather have… those other two guys.
Sorry to the Reggie faithful, but alas I think the Grandmaster Wang has spoken the truth.
Is it wrong that I’m still in the “any day now camp?” and i know what you’re thinking: you’re thinking im blinded by the pecs. but strip the pecs away (and send them to me in an unmarked box) and i’d still want the best for this guy. granted, my love for the team far supercedes my love for reggie. after all, who knows what kind of anal cooties he got from what’s her face. but i’m a sucker for an underdog story. it’s what’s fueled my passion for the saints. i really want him to right this ship before his status as a liability is solidified. like jack dawson holding on to that iceberg while rose’s ass snuggled comfortably on the headboard, i’m just not ready to say my goodbyes
Boo . . . Hiss. . .
I’ll agree with you next week on this one. Promise.
For now, I’m pretending to live in ignorant bliss.
What you’ve done Wang, very well I might add is use the whole statistical analysis argument that Bush is somehow a valuable, vital cog.
First, I am not advocating that the Saints Bench Bush. I am not saying he isn’t contributing.
What you’ve outlined is that we’re going into the fourth year and it’s painfully obvious that the same problems: A. Inability to consistently run north and south B. Ball-handling issues C. And general, wtf? moments, like a few he’s had as a Punt returner.
After the fourth year, fans and coaches alike have to come to the realization that Bush will never be a consistent, reliable, football player.
See, this debate would not be as animated if Bush was say, a 3rd or 4th round pick. To justify that first player in the first round selection, the Saints aren’t getting enough bang for the proverbial buck.
I think it’s obvious that there are plenty of players on the Saints’ roster, and all over the league who are just as productive, or better yet, far more productive for what Bush does–whether it’s running the ball or catching passes, or lined up as a WR.
True, he’s still a jack of all trades, but master at none, and at least in 2009 he’s been a liability because for all his “big play” potential, he still is making rookie mistakes–trying to run around defenses, hesitating and not getting positive yardage, or worst, running the wrong way and losing yardage.
I don’t think the “light will come on” for Bush, because eventually he’ll lose a lot of that speed he has. Running backs have short life spans as it is, but most don’t have to get the ball “in space” like Bush does. I keep hearing all the time “gotta get Bush out in space” Well, any NFL RB with a lot of space can get big plays, but the great NFL RBs, and WRs for that matter, don’t need fucking space to get yardage.
Wait. Did someone in this thread just refer to Reggie Bush as an “underdog story”? Isn’t that like calling Rita Benson a self-made businesswoman? Or giving Ray Nagin an award for “excellence in recovery”?
Reggie Bush is not an “underdog” He’s the whiny spoiled kid who always had everything handed to him and is even now waiting for someone to tell him he’s a special boy. I guess you could call him tragic if you’re in a sympathetic mood. But he is not an “underdog”
There was one vital statistic that you failed to mention and it is (depending on who you are) the most important one of all: It’s called the BPA. The Bucks-Per-Appearance stat. Now, I don’t have to tell you to whom this stat is important. Suffice it to say that it isn’t anyone not named Benson (okay, so I told you). This is the one statistic that Reggie dominates, second perhaps to only Vick, Favre, or the Second Coming. Thanks to our modern luxuries, such as the NFL Network and DirecTV’s Sunday Ticket, the Muffer’s appearance nationwide draws fans, well, nationwide. This means big Neilsen numbers, which means big advertising numbers and lots and lots of black and gold jerseys with the number 25 on them being sold, as well as Bobbleheads, posters, keychains, jock straps, and Franklin Mint collector plates. Do the Iggles need Vick? Do the Saints need Reggie McMuffer? Absolutely not, except for this reason, the only reason that counts to the Man Who Writes the Checks.
Do the Vikes need Favre? Does the world need Jesus? Only if they deliver what they’ve promised. Favre has returned and the Master is on his way. Which is where Reggie needs to go, but don’t bet the farm or even a couple of chickens that it’s going to happen, unless…
…he takes a page from the Ricky I’m-outta-here Williams handbook.
Let us not forget where Reggie played in college, the land of the unholy, the den of iniquity, the kingdom of the douchiest college coach ever to walk the land: Southern Cal. I hate Southern Cal with the fury of a thousand suns. This hatred nourished me in the womb and nurtured me as a child. Seeing him in a Saints jersey was always cognitively dissonant.
And since the team does not need him anymore, I can enjoy his slow, sick demise with the level of schadenfreude he deserves.
Eff a Bush. Tommy Myers > Sammy Knight.
Bob Snag-it! Cha-chong! I like it.
I’m afraid I don’t have much to add the Bush topic though. Wang and Kippah pretty much nailed my feelings on the subject. The only thing I’ll add is that I always thought Reggie’s “specialty” was actually the screen pass. Open space with a couple of blockers is custom made for a guy like him, he’s meant to bob and weave in that situation. But the problem now is that Pierre Thomas runs those just as well as Reggie ever did. We also finally have a tight end capable of effectively running screens, and hell, our fullback could probably run em ok too. Just a thought, since the juicer parts of the argument were already claimed.
If Reggie learned to put his head down and run into people, he’d be a top back in the league.
Get him to watch Barry Sanders.
Much smaller guy…still power runner
Meh.
I spent a good part of my day Sunday cursing Reggie Bush, and worried that we would lose a game because of him. He’s had a hand in losses before.
But we’re winning, and Reggie is good for misdirection plays, which Payton loves. So I’m willing to let this cook a little longer before I turn the oven off.
I’ve seen him run well, and if anything, this year he’s tapdancing more than ever. Given how much he was held out of the preseason, I think he’s not back from his knee injury. His cuts are terrible – moving like an old man. Too nimble, even for Reggie.
I honestly think he’s going to get better over the season. I don’t know what camp this puts me in, and I don’t care. From what I’ve seen, he’s trying to re-learn football right now, and being ginger on his joints. Until he costs us a game directly (not just from lost touches) then I’m going to let this one coast.
Reggie is playing pretty bad football, but he’s not playing dumb football. His blocking is improved, and he’s trying to gain some patience about hitting his holes. Even with all the bad play, I’ve seen him run the middle better than before this year (still not great, but whatever). So can we just lay this topic to rest and see what happens from Week 8 onwards?
~ I think this is how Nola Chick feels. Nola, can we just quit this Reggie-style tiptoeing and elope to Reno? It’s all getting a little ridiculous ~
This is how good the Saints are doing so far. When you said “I’ll pause for a second while you chuckle, I chuckled.”
PS: Anonymous: FAIL!!!
sadly, you have hit the nail square on the head. in saints teams of the last 3 years, we never thought of ourselves as truly an “elite” team. sure, we said that in public, but we never truly felt it. we were all content to win a few, and watches crazy offensive fireworks displays mainly driven by our lack of success in every other facet of the game.
now, we ARE Elite, we have every single ingredient any team ever could dream of for a super bowl. it IS Superbowl or bust, not just playoffs, but a full on Superbowl victory. it took 40 years, but the saints finally seem to have found the football holy grail to prolonged success. play “team” football, give the ball to whoever will get yards, and play to win, not to entertain.
ive loved Reg ever since he came here, hes been great for the community, never very selfish, and generally polite and gentlemen like. this has spared him from much criticism in these parts, as so long as we were a middling team we tolerated it. look at any successful team, and you will see that they have little care for “BPA”, only winning. the saints now know, they will do whatever it takes to win, period. Reggie is no longer part of the equation.
so, as an elite team, we need to stop debating the “Reggie” aspect of our team. he dose NOT win us football games, there is no arguing that fact. as a winning football teams fans, we have to get over that, and accept that our favorite players mean nothing when held up to the teams success.
I wonder if our Bob does dirty stand-up like the real Saget does?
Reggie…..I was actually over Reggie last year, and some of the year before. But I’m I think I might be starting a “he’s really improving” bandwagon????
I’ve always felt his largest problem was not running at the line of scrimage full speed when he should. The three step had become an EVERY play occurence. If he was moving faster going through the hole, the D-line’s arm tackles would be a lot less effective. But he didn’t. And I hear ya “Waiting for the hole to open up” guy. But a lot of the time the other RBs get to the line, it’s because they are full speed that enables them to break it off to the LB’s. I feel if Reggie did this consistently, his performance would be a lot more beneficial to the team.
That being said, I think he has shown improvement running at the LOS. He still studders sometimes, but I’m not a RB so what the fuck do I really know about a 300+ pounder coming for my anal virginity??? I’d studder too and try to figure out how make sure I don’t get hammered. But if you paid me millions and said put these pads on and run full speed at this fat-ass, believe you me, I’m running fast.
His blocking is good. But After writing all of this I have realized that I too am taking an apologist approach to it. Fuck it, hope you do well this year Reggie, but I’m not holding my breath.
Ypu have put into words what everyone feels. Great insight and read for me
Why does Payton rarely put Evans in the backfield with Reggie? From what I remember from the game, PT ran from the I a lot. Reggie, not so much. Not saying RB would have been as productive as PT with a fullback, but I just can’t figure out why Payton goes to a single back with Reggie.
I got an answer for that one Soggy Bottom….
IT’S FUCKIN’ POINTLESS!
He never follows the FB anyway, it’s like wasting a man on the field. So I’m guessing that putting an extra WR or TE on the field takes away a defender.
I think some of the success others on offense are having at times is partly due to Reggie just being on the field. Defenses have to pay attention to him. Moreover, despite the fumbles this year, punters tend to kick away from Bush. I still think Bush’s best games are in the future.
Michael,
You are wasting your time, which is a shame since you are absolute right about Bush helping this team win every game this year…But this is “Grandmaster Wrong’s” blog, and the thinks he not only knows football but he also understands the mind of Sean Payton… Tell you what. All of you who are sure that “Reggie will fade away”, just hold your collective breaths. Just as sure as all you experts were that Will Smith and Charles Grant were washed up, and are now denying you ever thought that, you will end up looking equally stupid about your Bush hating before this season is over. Sean Payton knows exactly what he has in Bush, and I’ll wager dollars to doughnuts that he still fully believes in the young man. And as a loyal Saints fan, I’ll stick with the coach instead of the foul mouthed bloggers.
WHO DAT!
Dude, good stuff! All very well put and considering how much frustration I’ve built up watching the Reggie Experiment fizzle with each attempt, I’d say you refrained from really being, REALLY as harsh as you “could have” been. Good read!
I wonder if Saints Nation was sticking with the coach when he left Brooks in and sat Delhomme, or when he drafted Ricky Williams, Danny Wuerffel and Rob Kelly.
Or maybe there was no internet then for foul-mouthed bloggers to be wrong on.
Hey “Saints Nation” —->
“Grandmaster Wrong” eh? That’s gold, Jerry. Mind if I use that?
Saintsnation,
Payton does know what he has, that’s why he isn’t geting as many handoffs. I agree that Reggie is an intergal part of the offense and the 2nd most irreplaceable piece. Other people can do what PT and Bell do(not everyone can be Reggie) That fact alone leads me to believe he’ll be around
I am not giving up on Reggie. He is an important part of our offense. Payton needs to give him more touches. He averaged 6.2/carry last week.
SoggyBottomBoy Said:
October 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Why does Payton rarely put Evans in the backfield with Reggie? From what I remember from the game, PT ran from the I a lot. Reggie, not so much. Not saying RB would have been as productive as PT with a fullback, but I just can’t figure out why Payton goes to a single back with Reggie.
ASaint Said:
October 8th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
I got an answer for that one Soggy Bottom….
IT’S FUCKIN’ POINTLESS!
He never follows the FB anyway, it’s like wasting a man on the field. So I’m guessing that putting an extra WR or TE on the field takes away a defender.
My guess on this, and excuse the lack of recent review of any DVR’d games game film, is that part of Reggie’s problem is he is too quick to abandon a play if the hole isn’t available immediately. By putting another body in Reggie’s way it simply makes it more likely that he abandon the designated hole.
Again, totally off of recall here, but many of Reggie’s utter failures, come when he gets nailed in the back field from a guy coming off the edge. Reggie’s more recent successes have come on taking the ball straight up the gut. Teams have clearly recognized Reggie’s impatience in permitting an interior hole to open up and bouncing the play to the outside and have the ends adjust accordingly.
In turn, if you’re going to have your ends shoot the outside trying to intercept a reggie improv to the outside, you’ll likely cheat your linebacker to cover the flat lest you be burned by a swing pass. Presto! If you get the hole open in time to satisfy Reggie and he takes it up the gut, the end will whiz by and be in the back field having a cup of tea with Brees and Reggie has a good shot of being able to sneak out between the LB’s, thus giftwrapping a 6-8 yard minimum gain.
Of course, all of this is straight, albeit hazy, recall, so it could be completely false. But this I think is an example of the “defenses have to plan for Reggie!” arguments bearing out. Of course they plan for him, but the history has shown that more often than not, Reggie shuffles and tries to bounce out way more than not, so the D Cord’s are willing to take their chances on the outside (which is where the more damaging stuff could happen anyway).
Saints Nation Said:
October 8th, 2009 at 10:38 pm
Michael,
You are wasting your time, which is a shame since you are absolute right about Bush helping this team win every game this year…But this is “Grandmaster Wrong’s” blog, and the thinks he not only knows football but he also understands the mind of Sean Payton… Tell you what. All of you who are sure that “Reggie will fade away”, just hold your collective breaths. Just as sure as all you experts were that Will Smith and Charles Grant were washed up, and are now denying you ever thought that, you will end up looking equally stupid about your Bush hating before this season is over. Sean Payton knows exactly what he has in Bush, and I’ll wager dollars to doughnuts that he still fully believes in the young man. And as a loyal Saints fan, I’ll stick with the coach instead of the foul mouthed bloggers.
WHO DAT!
Interesting little thing stats are. You know lies, damn lies, and statistics and all. Here’s a little breakdown of touches, this includes rushes, receptions and returns (to help the numbers just a smidge):
RB Guys named Reggie: 15-15-34-14
RB Guys not so named: 28-19-19-23
Standout game for Reggie? Game 3 against the Bills. Score at half time? 10-7, a mere 3 point game. Touches by Reggie: 27 Touches by some guy not named Reggie: 5
Final score? A comfortable 27-7.
Touches by Reggie: 7 Touches by some guy named Pierre: 14
I think the writing is on the wall here that SP sees what he has. In every game, the other RBs are getting ~2:1 touches on Reggie and it isn’t because there are more of them. Bell had the duties in games 1 and 2 with Pierre in (half of)3 and 4.
Bush is a smaller part of the offense than ever before, and is even less of a part when it matters most. Pierre had been banged up and sick leading up to the Bills game. If SP had sufficient faith in Bush to take the team from the 10-7 quagmire (giggty) to a commanding 27-7, do you think we would have pushed Thomas to run in the second half? No, he would have rested the guy who was banged up and let Reggie do his thing, but he didn’t. And because he didn’t, we put away a team that was hanging around through 3 quarters.
One more for good measure :dads: