Why did Reggie Bush Bust?

[NFL_Announcer]

He wasn't a bust by any means. He had a couple 1,000 yard seasons and was always a receiving threat. Pretty threatening punt returner too (had 3 in one season).

Yah you'd probably EXPECT something more like a Christian McCaffrey out of the gates, but he was still decent. In hindsight would you take him #2 overall? No you'd probably take Whitworth (although they took Evans who was great as well, he just ended up as a guard, OT is arguably more important), but I still wouldn't classify him as a BUST. 

I'd call Vince Young more of a bust WAY over Reggie Bush. And that shows how stupid the Pro Bowl/OROY can be.. how Vince Young got 2x Pro Bowl appearances and OROY still blows my mind. 

Edited June 5, 2020 by NFL_Announcer

[JAF-N72EX]

13 hours ago, DannyB said:

Yeah...isn't that what a bust is? Somebody who doesn't meet the expectations of what they were supposed to be. Everybody thought he should be the first overall pick, which couldn't have been that far off because NOLA happily scooped him up #2 overall. For being the #2 overall pick, and a SUPER hyped one at that? Yes, he was a bust.

To me it's not, no.

There are levels to expectations and I'm not going to ding Bush (or any other player) for being unable to meet certain unrealistic expectations painted by the media before the man even took a snap in the NFL. For example, I was never a big fan of Andrew Luck but I'm not going to label him a bust just because the media called him the next face of the NFL and he never reached those crazy expectations---that's insane.

Same with Bush. The man was made out to be the next Barry Sanders or LT for christ sake. Those are crazy high expectations, so I'm not going to say he was bust just because he didn't become one of best RB's in the history of football. That's crazy talk. 

The man went on to have success as a runner, catcher, and contributor on ST's, and despite sharing snaps/carries, he still amassed 5,067 total yards and 37 TDs in his first 4 seasons ,including the playoffs, helping his team reach the NFC championship game twice and 1 Super Bowl win. 

Now if you wanna label him as "overrated" then I'm board with that. But "bust"....no way in hell.

 

13 hours ago, THE DUKE said:

In terms of expectations vs output, AJ Hawk >>> Reggie Bush

I don't know about that. I remember being told by Packers that AJ Hawk was going to be the next Brian Urlacher. Those are some pretty high expectations that was not even close to being met. 

[DannyB]

Man people have low-*** standards here. No wonder Frank Gore is a 1st ballot hall of famer according to FF.

[DannyB]

3 minutes ago, JustAnotherFan said:

To me it's not, no

Actually, I need to slightly amend what I mean: You can not meet expectations (meaning, what you did in college, what scouts think you'll translate to) and not be a bust (I agree with Andrew Luck being that case), but expectations surrounding him notwithstanding, I don't think he lived up to what a team wants, or should expect, out of a running back at #2 overall.

 

5 minutes ago, JustAnotherFan said:

I don't know about that. I remember being told by Packers that AJ Hawk was going to be the next Brian Urlacher. Those are some pretty high expectations that was not even close to being met. 

You mean Packers FANS? I mean I don't think that really counts. Every fanbase overrates their own young players.

[JAF-N72EX]

3 minutes ago, DannyB said:

Actually, I need to slightly amend what I mean: You can not meet expectations (meaning, what you did in college, what scouts think you'll translate to) and not be a bust (I agree with Andrew Luck being that case), but expectations surrounding him notwithstanding, I don't think he lived up to what a team wants, or should expect, out of a running back at #2 overall.

 

You mean Packers FANS? I mean I don't think that really counts. Every fanbase overrates their own young players.

We'll agree to disagree on Bush. But don't you dare throw me into the Frank Gore 1st ballot bunch. 

 And yes. I was talking about packer fans. It was just a quick jab at them that I will never let them live down.  

[Vorsutus]

13 minutes ago, JustAnotherFan said:

We'll agree to disagree on Bush. But don't you dare throw me into the Frank Gore 1st ballot bunch. 

 And yes. I was talking about packer fans. It was just a quick jab at them that I will never let them live down.  

Well if gore stays on the track he is on right now and retires at age 50 with the rushing title I can see it.

 

Edit: may be the first person yo play gor all 32 teams as well.

Edited June 5, 2020 by Vorsutus

[JAF-N72EX]

26 minutes ago, Vorsutus said:

Well if gore stays on the track he is on right now and retires at age 50 with the rushing title I can see it.

 

Edit: may be the first person yo play gor all 32 teams as well.

And it still wouldn't make it right. Eli Manning is all but a lock for the HoF.....but it doesn't mean that it's right either.

[VanS]

1 hour ago, NFL_Announcer said:

how Vince Young got 2x Pro Bowl appearances and OROY still blows my mind. 

Were you in a coma those years?  Cause I don't know how anyone who watched him play those two years could say this.

As a rookie he was spectacular.  He made highlight plays and led a very bad Titans team to a respectable 8-8 record that had them on the brink of the playoffs with a huge winning streak at the end of the year.  His dramatic wins down the stretch had him on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  

Then in 2009 he took over a team that was 0-6 and had just lost 59-0 to the New England Patriots and led them to a 8-2 record down the stretch and once again almost made the playoffs.

Passing stats never defined Vince Young.  He always played better than the numbers.  And that was reflected in how much better the Titans played when he was starting versus when he wasn't. 

[Duluther]

5 hours ago, Heinz D. said:

You do understand that Matt Leinart was the quarterback on the other team in that game you're referencing...right?

You do also understand that Jamarcus Russell was a reality too, don't you? 

Speaking on their college days/careers. Young is held on a much higher pedestal than Leinart. Russell wasn’t overhyped as a college player, he was overhyped as a prospect.

Edited June 5, 2020 by Duluther

[y*so*blu]

In my eyes if you're effective in the pros, you're not really a bust. Bush was effective.

[Thomas5737]

Bush certainly wasn't dynamic as a runner in the pros, which you would expect for a #2 pick. Was more exciting as a receiver but still wasn't what was expected as a tackle breaker from what we saw in college. His biggest downfall though was probably that he fumbled so much that you couldn't give him the ball a lot and just wait for a big play because it was just as likely that he would fumble as it was that he would take something to the house.

[DannyB]

1 hour ago, VanS said:

Were you in a coma those years?  Cause I don't know how anyone who watched him play those two years could say this.

As a rookie he was spectacular.  He made highlight plays and led a very bad Titans team to a respectable 8-8 record that had them on the brink of the playoffs with a huge winning streak at the end of the year.  His dramatic wins down the stretch had him on the cover of Sports Illustrated.  

Then in 2009 he took over a team that was 0-6 and had just lost 59-0 to the New England Patriots and led them to a 8-2 record down the stretch and once again almost made the playoffs.

Passing stats never defined Vince Young.  He always played better than the numbers.  And that was reflected in how much better the Titans played when he was starting versus when he wasn't. 

He really wasn't that good of a quarterback.

He was fun to watch, and he could make a great play here and there, but he was so inconsistent.

The Titans success in 2009 is due to having a certain running back having, oh I don't know, one of the best seasons of all-time at his position. So they had a spectacular running game, and a pretty stout defense. Once they replaced the corpse of Kerry Collins with an at least half-functional quarterback, success followed. I also think that when Vince was "on", the guys on offense really did feed off of it, and liked playing with him. That type of energy helps.

[DannyB]

Remember when Sheldon Brown vaporized Reggie Bush and his entire future bloodline?

 

 

Afterwards Brown said something like, it felt like running through a paper bag or something, haha.

[JAF-N72EX]

Just now, DannyB said:

Remember when Sheldon Brown vaporized Reggie Bush and his entire future bloodline?

 

 

Afterwards Brown said something like, it felt like running through a paper bag or something, haha.

So now your criticizing an offensive player for a defensive player making a great read and play on the ball because he "fumbled the ball" (and I use that loosely here)  while clearly playing within the play call and looking in the opposite direction.

The hate here is getting ludicrous.

[Hunter2_1]

3 hours ago, DannyB said:

Man people have low-*** standards here. No wonder Frank Gore is a 1st ballot hall of famer according to FF.

Yeah I don't understand that. It would be a longevity award.