Brian Cushing — a Vanishing Act

I've been going through posts and could not find one dedicated to Brian Cushing. So I decided to present Cushing with his own thread!

Brian has simply vanished from our defense. His presence is relatively unknown and frequently misses tackles and assignments. Many of the holes gifted to the Charger's runningbacks can be attributed to Mr. Cushing.

As we all know, his career has been plagued with allegations of steroid abuse dating back to high school when he ballooned from 165 lbs to 225 in one year. The speculation proved to be true as Brian Cushing was suspended this season for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

So that leads us to the debate: was Cushing's dominance last season a product of steroids? Or is he placed in a position to fail courtesy of our brilliant defensive coordinator, Frank Bush?

He's off the roids

...and Frank Bush's brilliant coordinating probably isn't helping.

He needs to go back to trying to get pregnant ... errr .... overtraining. Or whatever.

Dwade said:

He's off the roids

...and Frank Bush's brilliant coordinating probably isn't helping.

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I thought from reading most of the posts in here that he was never on the roids and that he was just "working out to hard." :mariopalm:

Yeah, I totally agree with you though. He hasn't done hardly a thing since he came back. He has been playing a different position though at MLB the last two games. But yeah, it's definitely making me worry now that the roids may have helped him last season more than people thought, because I'm not seeing the same guy that I saw last year.

Our defense is terrible, and Brian is adapting to MLB, a position he has never played (I assume), and you want to bring up another steroid debate? Give me a break.

Dwade said:

He's off the roids

...and Frank Bush's brilliant coordinating probably isn't helping.

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Yup. All we need is the #1 ranked defense from last year! Lol.

The more he is invisible, the more the 'overtraining' argument seems ridiculous.

wagonhed said:

Our defense is terrible, and Brian is adapting to MLB, a position he has never played (I assume), and you want to bring up another steroid debate? Give me a break.

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Adapting...

What about the first couple of games he played WITH DeMeco Ryans at his former position? He wasn't much of a factor then.

Can yall imagine how much MORE putrid the defense would be with out Cushing? Jezzzzz. Wrong guy to pick on IMO.

CretorFrigg said:

Adapting...

What about the first couple of games he played WITH DeMeco Ryans at his former position? He wasn't much of a factor then.

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Do you really expect a guy that missed 4 wks of practice to come back in mid season form?

The defensive scheme and the defensive play calling are just flat out not working. The offense is due a bad game every here and there (Indy, anyone?), but if your defense is bad, you're not going to be making any playoff runs.

Cushing is no different than Marriman. Merriman is nothing more than a shell of his self since coming off the juice...

Cushing will be the same...

was demeco exactly a standout every game at mlb? the run game for the chargers didnt get going + none of the big plays were on him= cushing prob having a good day

I think that moving him to the middle was a bad move. He is an all-pro at a position, you leave him there. Instead of having a stad at one position, you are just weakening two positions.

DeMeco Ryans must have also been jacked up on steroids when he first came into the league. Considering how he pulled the same vanishing act forn 2 years now; playing behind the same defensive tackles that Brian has.

Cushing looks like a different player. Position change or not, he's been easily blocked this season after being a monster last year. He just doesnt shed blockers like he did last season

There's a lot of things about this board that I don't get, but threads hating on our best players is a total mystery to me. Cushing, Williams, Smith, etc. It makes no sense.

gtexan02 said:

Cushing looks like a different player. Position change or not, he's been easily blocked this season after being a monster last year. He just doesnt shed blockers like he did last season

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To be fair, our 2nd year players have all regressed from their rookie season. With the exception of Mario and Diles. Also, I know I'm talking about pre-season, but Cushing looked like the same beast that he was last year in this year's pre-season games.

I'm more inclined to blame the poor coaching of our defensive staff for the continuous trend of regression on our defensive players.

Also please look at body of work. He had 2 games at his old position after missing 4 games. 2 at a brand new position. This is enough to start talking mad **** about his performance and steroids? At least we are level-headed around here.... oh wait.

Brian I fear is going to be our Sean Merriman. I wouldn't get real attached to Brian Cushing if I were you guys. I'm beginning to think I'm glad I didn't pick up a jersey when I started to earlier in the year.

It's starting to look like he's just another steroid user who lied to everybody. I know there are a lot of extenuating circumstances here what with his move to the middle and everything but he looks nothing like the player who won DROY last season. That's hard to deny.

I'm trying not to think the obvious but it's hard. Around these parts the obvious is usually exactly what's happening.

BullNation4Life said:

Cushing is no different than Marriman. Merriman is nothing more than a shell of his self since coming off the juice...

Cushing will be the same...

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Agreed. Cushing is now JAG on the field....and that predates the move to MLB.

Roid boy - and Rick Smith and/or Kubes and/or Bush needs to answer for this because they had to know he was a roid freak. How much time is spent now on first rd picks?

And speaking of which, my God is Kareem Jackson a bust or what? He couldn't cover the worst receiver on the Little Sisters of the Poor wheelchair football team - female division 85 yrs old and up.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought he failed the test at the beginning of the season. He then passed all of the tests afterwards throughout the rest of the season. If the roids theory is true, then he should have started playing bad in the middle of last season.

I also think he had a good game against the Giants. He caused the two turnovers with his pressure.

Moving to the mike, I think, may have been a bad decision.

:mariopalm:


Jesus, our defense would fall in shambles even worse without Cushing in here, if anything pick on the underachieving pass rush and the god awful DTs, since the secondary is already a given.

Or heck, blame it on the scheme, the coordinator, and the guy who hired the coordinator, just not Cushing. I mean do you really expect him to be everywhere on the field at once? I guarantee you if every player in their positions had the skill set of Cushing, we'd be a great defense.

wagonhed said:

Our defense is terrible, and Brian is adapting to MLB, a position he has never played (I assume), and you want to bring up another steroid debate? Give me a break.

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Ole Wagonhead at his finest.


You're always good for a nice chuckle.

Hervoyel said:

Brian I fear is going to be our Sean Merriman. I wouldn't get real attached to Brian Cushing if I were you guys. I'm beginning to think I'm glad I didn't pick up a jersey when I started to earlier in the year.

It's starting to look like he's just another steroid user who lied to everybody. I know there are a lot of extenuating circumstances here what with his move to the middle and everything but he looks nothing like the player who won DROY last season. That's hard to deny.

I'm trying not to think the obvious but it's hard. Around these parts the obvious is usually exactly what's happening.

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I'm right there with you Herv. I'm not willing to think he's the next Merriman yet, but I knew it was a possibility when the news came about his positive test. I know that moving to the middle on a team with poor DT's makes it hard, but we;re just not seeing the same guy that went sideline to sideline with ease last year who could destroy blockers in his way. And I even watched some of those MMA videos where he was learning new techniques to shed blockers through some of his trainers as well. It's still pretty early to write him off though. But the fact that people are trying to say that he's barely played this season as an excuse is pathetic, because that's no different than a player being hurt and coming back from injury and guys like that come back as big time players all the time.

Ray Lewis has gotten hurt many times in his career and came back as a beast every time. So did Troy Polumolu. That entire Steelers defense was a huge difference when he came back to that unit and they are again this year with a healthy TP. The Texans haven't been any different at all with Cushing back and he had a similar impact on the Texans defense last season as guys like TP, Urlacher, and Ray Lewis have had. All those guys have had bad injuries in their careers and came back and totally changed the effectiveness of their team's defense when they returned. Cushing has not done that and we're not even talking about a player that was hurt. We're talking about a player that tested positive for banned substances. And a lot of people forget that Cushing played hurt for a large part of last season and still wrecked guys all year long. This year he has been totally healthy and has been a shell of his former self.

Hervoyel said:

Brian I fear is going to be our Sean Merriman. I wouldn't get real attached to Brian Cushing if I were you guys. I'm beginning to think I'm glad I didn't pick up a jersey when I started to earlier in the year.

It's starting to look like he's just another steroid user who lied to everybody. I know there are a lot of extenuating circumstances here what with his move to the middle and everything but he looks nothing like the player who won DROY last season. That's hard to deny.

I'm trying not to think the obvious but it's hard. Around these parts the obvious is usually exactly what's happening.

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It's not that big a leap. If Cushing played for the Titans and the same series of events had occurred, most here would "know" he was guilty and would have known for months already.

wagonhed said:

Our defense is terrible, and Brian is adapting to MLB, a position he has never played (I assume), and you want to bring up another steroid debate? Give me a break.

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Totally agree. If you watch how Ryans could read the run vs the pass and quickly adapt, it obvious how awesome he is.
To put Cushing in the middle and expect him to do what Ryans did right away is unrealistic.
Call me dumb, but I always saw Cushing play the line backer position like a free saftey. Give it time. If anything, this will make him a better player down the road.
Plus most of ya'll forget he tested positive before the season even started last year.
He just seems a little heavier this year, and alittle slower.

Texecutioner said:

Ray Lewis has gotten hurt many times in his career and came back as a beast every time. So did Troy Polumolu. That entire Steelers defense was a huge difference when he came back to that unit and they are again this year with a healthy TP.

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Do you really think thats a fair comparison though? Adding in one great player to a really bad defense isn't going to turn it around, there are simply too many holes. Those guys you mentioned are surrounded in real quality players, and they just add in a real game changing ability. How can Cushing be compared to Ray Lewis, a future hall of famer?

Texecutioner said:

Ole Wagonhead at his finest.


You're always good for a nice chuckle.

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Are you so speechless you can't think of anything beyond a 3rd grade insult?

I say we shoot up our whole D before the Titans game.

TexCanada said:

Do you really think thats a fair comparison though? Adding in one great player to a really bad defense isn't going to turn it around, there are simply too many holes. Those guys you mentioned are surrounded in real quality players, and they just add in a real game changing ability. How can Cushing be compared to Ray Lewis, a future hall of famer?

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He should have at least a slight impact. He was relatively unknown throughout the first two games after the suspension where he played at his original position. Remember when Cushing was plagued by injuries, missed significant practice time and completely skipped the preseason games? Yet, he still had a significant influence on our defense.

Even if Cushing was still the SLB, are you guys completely confident that he'll continue to dominate like he did last year?

Screw it. Give 'im 'roids! Problem solved.

CretorFrigg said:

He should have at least a slight impact. He was relatively unknown throughout the first two games where he played at his original position. Remember when Cushing was plagued by injuries, missed significant practice time and completely skipped the preseason games? He still had a significant influence on our defense.

Even if Cushing was still the SLB, are you guys completely confident that he'll continue to dominate like he did last year?

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No I'm not confident in that, but I'm not ready to write him off either. Maybe part of the problem is that he set the bar so damn high with his rookie season, that the expectations for him this year are just through the roof. I know he hasn't been as effective in his 2nd year, but I think its more of a result of the garbage he is surrounded in.

It is also not uncommon for a player to regress in his 2nd year with this coaching staff. They seem to have a way of getting the least out of a player.

wagonhed said:

Also please look at body of work. He had 2 games at his old position after missing 4 games. 2 at a brand new position. This is enough to start talking mad **** about his performance and steroids? At least we are level-headed around here.... oh wait.

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Agreed. Although I may not always be level headed tho.....

TexCanada said:

It is also not uncommon for a player to regress in his 2nd year with this coaching staff. They seem to have a way of getting the least out of a player.

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Yes. Yes they do.

It's a pet theory of mine.

They suck so badly that the suckitude is contagious and even rubs off on the players.

Cushing has been dejuiced. You can throw him on the huge pile of defensive draft mistakes by the Texans that is starting to look like an Aggie bonfire pile of sticks.

CretorFrigg said:

He should have at least a slight impact. He was relatively unknown throughout the first two games after the suspension where he played at his original position. Remember when Cushing was plagued by injuries, missed significant practice time and completely skipped the preseason games? Yet, he still had a significant influence on our defense.

Even if Cushing was still the SLB, are you guys completely confident that he'll continue to dominate like he did last year?

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not with our inexperienced secondary

Maybe it's BOTH dejuicing and decoaching (2nd year player).

Give 'im roids and don't coach 'im!

Wolf said:

not with our inexperienced secondary

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Give 'em roids!

Sorry, I'm on a roll here.

Can we dispense with these stupid ASSumptions on the steroids, please?

Demarcus Ware isn't playing the way he was last year, either. Was HE on steroids last year, too?

Marcus said:

Can we dispense with these stupid ASSumptions on the steroids, please?

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No.

Marcus said:

Can we dispense with these stupid ASSumptions on the steroids, please?

Demarcus Ware isn't playing the way he was last year, either. Was HE on steroids last year, too?

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No, but he should be this year.

no need to single out cush, even if he went into juggernaut mode the dbs will still get smoked. the entire D has vanished.

Marcus said:

Demarcus Ware isn't playing the way he was last year, either. Was HE on steroids last year, too?

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Was he? If he was busted like Cushing I would wonder.

Oh what, like 59 was doing anything better?

This D is crap from front to back. To skybox. To office.

Again, 2 games off of suspension and then moved to a position that he hasn't been asked to play. It's a completely different roll. On top of that our defense is designed to "highlight" the SLB with "juiced up" stats because the MLB is supposed to push the play to the strong side. Ryans had a big numbers when he was our entire defense, bu talso had his injuries. Cushing comes along and Ryans was albe to do his job which helps inflates Cushings numbers and overall visablity on the field. Don't discard what Ryans did for this defense. He was on his own while Cushing was not out there. Diles is second rate at best, and Adibi will not be on the team next year.

Well, at least Dallas is losing...

:wadepalm:

Marcus said:

Can we dispense with these stupid ASSumptions on the steroids, please?

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Not until he proves otherwise by actually showing up to a game.

I just spent over $200 on three jerseys a few days ago... two of them are Cushings.

:kubepalm:

This is the first time Cush has played the mike lb spot in his life.

You cant expect him top play at an all pro level. PED or no PED.

Now the genius who decided to move him to the mike can be called into question.

i don't like seeing cushing in pass coverage. he belongs at spy at least i think.