Can Michael Bush emerge as the go-to-guy?
Posted: Friday, July 24, 2009
by Chris Limburg
http://gothicfootball.com
We're in to the real dead period of the offseason, with no OTAs scheduled for a while and little in the way of speculation other than the status of defensive end Derrick Burgess and rumors regarding a trade. Michael Bush was the subject of trade rumors himself this offseason, most of which never made much sense from the Raiders perspective because he's an upper-tier talent playing for fourth-round money coming off a spectacular season finale.
In Week 2 against Kansas City, Bush had 77 yards on 11 carries and had a 32-yard touchdown run. In Week 17 against Tampa Bay, Bush had 129 yards on 13 carries and a 67-yard touchdown. In those two quarters, Bush carried 24 times for 206 yards and scored twice on breakaway runs. He was the dominant force in two of the Raiders five wins. If you want to anoint Bush as the second-coming of Jim Brown, is it hype or hope. Because other than those two quarters, when the Raiders were cut-blocking the opposition to ribbons with Bush and his 245-plus pounds breaking into the second-level untouched, he was ordinary. Even less than ordinary.
This production is the kind of play you expect out of a 245-pound back. With Bush's strength and power, you expect him to destroy smaller players once he gets into the secondary. On the short run, he also took on players bigger than himself and drove them backward. That was something the Raiders wanted from Bush last year, hoping he could take over short-yardage duties and get key first downs.
As the season went on, Bush never became the back the Raiders went to on short-yardage. His use was limited even though Fargas had his usual assortment of dings and dents and McFadden had turf toe on both feet. Did that mean the coaches lost confidence in him? Did it mean they did not believe in him?
It's worth noting that on a couple of occasions, Bush has stated he would be open to playing a little more fullback. Maybe he is being more receptive to simply getting on the field-the first step to staying on the field. Conventional wisdom has it that at some point this season, whether because of injury or simply a changing of the guard, Fargas will begin to be phased out in favor of Bush. Bush would then join McFadden in a two-back system, with both players being threats as pass receivers as well as runners. Fargas, ever the team player, would recede into the background without complaint and be ready and waiting when someone got hurt. Fargas is not as big as Bush, can't catch the ball nearly as well and doesn't have as natural a running style. Bush, on the other hand, hasn't run with the same abandon as Fargas until he's faced with someone smaller. With Fargas around and should Lorenzo Neal still have enough left to make the team and be a contributor, Bush is surrounded by professionalism, not to mention a powerful lead blocker.
Whether Bush is truly an exceptional back or simply an intriguing talent who keeps you interested with a big quarter here and there will be answered starting in late July when training camp opens. Once again, can you believe the hype?
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