Reggie Bush vs. Maurice Jones-Drew

[Ole Miss Texan]

I really hate starting a thread on reggie bush. it is really going to look like i'm bashing him but please know that i'm not. I'm tired of people that only watch ESPN talking about Mario and how other rookie DE's outperformed him. I looked up the stats on nfl.com and compared these two rookie RB's. thought some may be interested.

*before all you members that hate the mario pick and still can't get over us passing on vince young and reggie bush...please know that i wanted us to take reggie but when they announced we were signing mario..i didn't have a problem and like the pick...and will always support the texans.

this is just FYI.

Maurice Jones-Drew
941 rushing yards, 5.7 YPC, 13 TD
436 receiving yards, 9.5 YPC, 2 TD
27.7 yd Avg. kickoff return w/ 1 TD
13 yd avg. punt return 0 TD. (*note- 1 return)
1 fumble lost

Reggie Bush
565 rushing yards, 3.6 YPC, 6 TD
742 receiving yards, 8.4 YPC, 2 TD
no kickoff returns
7.7 yd avg punt return 1 TD
Passing 0 for 1 with 1 Interception
2 fumbles lost.

MJD clearly outperformed RB in every aspect

I forgot about the interception...lol.

MJD- http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/409879

RB- http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/407605

[JCTexan]

How did Bush get an Interception? And is it on video?

[Ole Miss Texan]

Originally Posted by JCTexan

How did Bush get an Interception? And is it on video?

I looked to see if i could find a clip but could not on youtube or google.

It was against the Ravens. Saints got to the Ravens 8 yard line, then had 2 false start penalties in a row. Reggie got the hand off from brees and then over threw Colston...Ravens intercepted the ball in the Endzone. Ravens then marched down the field and scored a TD.

[Trap_Star]

Jones-drew is a powerback with speed in a short frame...

Bush relies strictly on his speed and elusiveness(sp)....

[VaBandWaggonFan]

Originally Posted by Ole Miss Texan

MJD clearly outperformed RB in every aspect

NOTE: ESPN ANALYST ARE NEVER WRONG, BUT WHEN THEY ARE IT'S DUE TO EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES


If I didn't know any better ESPN is getting a cut of R. Bush Jersey Sales

[TwinSisters]

Originally Posted by Ole Miss Texan

I really hate starting a thread on reggie bush. it is really going to look like i'm bashing him but please know that i'm not. I'm tired of people that only watch ESPN talking about Mario and how other rookie DE's outperformed him. I looked up the stats on nfl.com and compared these two rookie RB's. thought some may be interested.

Mister Rebel.

Getting a little selective there in what stats you put up and which ones you don't? The receptions are missing. Bush was 10th in the NFL.

What do you think happened with Jones-Drew against the Texans?
Then he has two big 100 yard games on the ground against the Colts...yet nothing against the Redskins?

They are both tremendous athletes, but are hard to compare because they are used in different ways in their respective offensive schemes. I think however on running the ball MJD faired better because he is a N-S type runner where Reggie likes to dance in the backfield a little to much for NFL speed.

[gtexan02]

I think MJD outplayed Bush this year. And I think he was way undervalued in the draft.

That being said, I think Bush had a much more difficult transition. he came from a system where he was able to outrun everyone. If a play broke down, he'd just run side to side until there was a hole and then dash for a 30 yarder. not so in the NFL.
MJDs style translated better

MJD still outperformed him, but Bush's stats made more sense in the 2nd half of the year:

74 rushes for 358 yards (4.83 ypc) and 6 tds
42 catches for 430 yards (10.2 ypc) and 2 tds

[edo783]

Originally Posted by VaBandWaggonFan

If I didn't know any better ESPN is getting a cut of R. Bush Jersey Sales

In a way they do. There is some sort of joint marketing agreement with RBs crowd and ESPIN.

[VY10BurntOrange]

MJD had the better year

[nunusguy]

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, we all know now that we should have
drafted Vince Young last year after we released David Carr. And if VY hadn't
entered the Draft after his junior year, the next best choice would probably have been Jay Cutler, assuming the pick wasn't traded. I left out Leinert because he really was not that well suited for the WCO as VY and JC are.
But ESPN still likes to ridicule the Texans for not drafting Bush more than any other player. Not sure why this is, though I suspect its because the Cable co.
has multiple business relationships directly or indirectly with Bush, and they want to attack anybody or any team that doesn't glorify Bush as they do. Which brings me to M J-D. He clearly is a better "pure" running back than Bush, and can be a feature back in the NFL because of his ability and skills
to run the inside & outside. He can do the heavy-lifting on a full time basis
in J-town, and many have doubts about Bush ever being a replacement for
Deuce McCalister with the Saints. After all in college, he was basically a back-up to Len-Dale White just as he backs up McCaliister in NO.
So if ESPN were objective, they'd ask why didn't the Texans draft M J-D
and not RB ?

[ubecool454]

Originally Posted by nunusguy

With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, we all know now that we should have
drafted Vince Young last year after we released David Carr. And if VY hadn't
entered the Draft after his junior year, the next best choice would probably have been Jay Cutler, assuming the pick wasn't traded. I left out Leinert because he really was not that well suited for the WCO as VY and JC are.
But ESPN still likes to ridicule the Texans for not drafting Bush more than any other player. Not sure why this is, though I suspect its because the Cable co.
has multiple business relationships directly or indirectly with Bush, and they want to attack anybody or any team that doesn't glorify Bush as they do. Which brings me to M J-D. He clearly is a better "pure" running back than Bush, and can be a feature back in the NFL because of his ability and skills
to run the inside & outside. He can do the heavy-lifting on a full time basis
in J-town, and many have doubts about Bush ever being a replacement for
Deuce McCalister with the Saints. After all in college, he was basically a back-up to Len-Dale White just as he backs up McCaliister in NO.
So if ESPN were objective, they'd ask why didn't the Texans draft M J-D
and not RB ?

The best thing that happened for Vince was that the Texans didn't take him. Just imagine all the people that ever did any small thing for him looking for a handout...it would put a lot of pressure on vince being from houston playing in houston. Nuff said.

[shanden]

I almost wonder if Bush will ultimately end up a WR that can be involved in a few running plays.

It seems his best feature is his catching ability and working with open space and acting as a KR/PR.

I simply never bought the hype that he is a hall of fame RB in the NFL, especially when he was playing with Lyndale White and Leinart to really liberate him at USC.

If he is the sole back he will have issues. He already has issues not being a N-S runner and adjusting to NFL defense speed on running plays.

AD on the other hand has much better potential to be a central focus RB in the NFL, if he can stay healthy.

[Ole Miss Texan]

Originally Posted by TwinSisters

Mister Rebel.

Getting a little selective there in what stats you put up and which ones you don't? The receptions are missing. Bush was 10th in the NFL.

If you look I added Yards per catch/reception for each. i'm not trying to distort any stats as they can very easily be taken out of context.

MJD
46 rec. for 436 yards Avg. of 9.5 yards per reception.

RB
88 rec. for 742 yards Avg. of 8.4 yards per reception.


So while yes reggie got a lot more receptions but avg'd 1.1 yards less per reception....just stating a fact...not saying that 1 yard is the make all break all . lol.


I guess a point to be made is that the Saints should have drafted MJD instead of RB (or traded down to get him for more production at less money and picked up extra draft picks/players).

-Don't use the arguement that RB fits the saints better than MJD would have. We're not allowed to use the arguement that RB didn't fit our system...the main stream media looks past that for us. lol

[keyfro]

it all comes down to what your team does...for the jax cubs they love jones-drew and the saints of course love bush...personally i think bush is what we're going to be seeing more of...this hybrid football player who is half runningback half receiver...jones-drew is a solid bowlingball type runningback who has the speed to reach that second gear

like vinny said both are good backs

[jlam]

I have to admit that when I saw this thread and decided to click on it I expected to immediately regret my decision. That said, it wasn't that bad. I agree wholeheartedly that MJD had the better year of the two statistically and quite likely has the more solid future as a full-time pure running back. Just a couple of things I wanted to comment on though.

- The sentiment that Reggie would be better suited as a full-time receiver (usually presented on here in some sort of demeaning fashion) I believe must come from people who haven't seen him play much, and that's fine. It's not your team, I wouldn't expect you to. But it's easy to just look at the stats and think that since he has so many reception and was highly touted for his recieving skills, he should be a reciever. Fact is, very few of the said receptions came from him running actual routes (especially downfield) lined up as a reciever. The VAST majority came as screen plays and dumpoffs (when he clearly wasn't the first or second option). Even the 88 yard touchdown vs the Bears in the NFC Championship Game came on a wheel route he route out of the backfield. This isn't to say that he couldn't potentially be a servicable NFL reciever if need be, but that is simply selling short his abilities.

Originally Posted by gtexan02

MJD still outperformed him, but Bush's stats made more sense in the 2nd half of the year:

74 rushes for 358 yards (4.83 ypc) and 6 tds
42 catches for 430 yards (10.2 ypc) and 2 tds

- I guess it's all in how you look at things, really. It's all too easy to overlook these kind of stats and just claim that a certain player isn't any good, pointing at stats which serve to support you're claim. Statistics can be used to back up any point you want to make if you know how to use them correctly. However, the fact of the matter (from someone that watched every single down of Saints Football this past year, Reggie or no Reggie) is that Bush improved substantially as a running back as the season progressed. Heck, a point could even be made that last year wasn't so different from his first year or so at USC when he had to adjust to a different level of atheleticism and didn't put up big numbers until the next year (but I'll keep any potential homerism in check ). Point is, he got more patient as the year progressed and, while still a little to quick to try and bounce it out, got more content to just take those three yards that were there rather than risk it trying to get thirty outside. There's a lot he still needs to work on. I'd like to see him work on ball security, vision, and see him get a little stronger in the legs. But I still think that he has the highest ceiling of any player drafted last year (in a hell of a draft class for sure) even considering his shortcomings.

Just look at it this way, if you do think Reggie isn't near as good as advertised and are sick of hearing about him, at least you don't have the ridiculously over-hyped, over-publicized player in your division and have to play them twice a year like we have with Vick for the last six years.

[thunderkyss]

Originally Posted by jlam

However, the fact of the matter (from someone that watched every single down of Saints Football this past year, Reggie or no Reggie) is that Bush improved substantially as a running back as the season progressed.

I think that's exactly what gtexan was saying, pointing out his 4.8 ypc & 10.2 yp catch.

The numbers he showed proves the point you're making. Reggie delivered as advertised, very good numbers, though he wasn't the first or second option(or even third option in most cases)

I'm not sure YPC avg. really matters as much as the amount of receptions...


Look at A.J....


Personally I'd rather have a guy whos going to catch the ball 10 times a game and average 10 yards a catch(a.k.a 10 first downs) than a guy who's going to catch it 5 times a game and average 11 yards a catch(a.k.a 5 first downs)

[jlam]

Originally Posted by thunderkyss

I think that's exactly what gtexan was saying, pointing out his 4.8 ypc & 10.2 yp catch.

Right, I was more or less giving him credit for being objective and looking at it in such a way that better represents (at least in my humple opinion) what actually took place on the field during the season rather than painting with such a broad brush. My fault for being unclear.

[jlam]

Originally Posted by xtruroyaltyx

I'm not sure YPC avg. really matters as much as the amount of receptions...


Look at A.J....


Personally I'd rather have a guy whos going to catch the ball 10 times a game and average 10 yards a catch(a.k.a 10 first downs) than a guy who's going to catch it 5 times a game and average 11 yards a catch(a.k.a 5 first downs)

I think that's a good point. I really wish there was some sort of stat I could see that showed just how many time Reggie took a dumpoff pass as a last resort on second or third down and squeeked out a first down to keep a scoring drive going. It happened constantly. But again, that's just something you would have to have seen by watching them play over the course of a season.