Confession time
Eventually, he is going to have to be able to run the ball. that is the bottom line....he is a RB!...if not, move him to slot...
I think that as long as defenses continue to sell out on reggie (watch the middle linebacker drop coverage on henderson when brees faked the handoff, henderson big play down the middle, td, as a result) he will not have a huge game. BU the offense will continue to click. The problem isn't people criticizing bush, it is thier inability to understand what he does to a defense even when he plays exactly as he is. I agree he will have to produce, but i also know why he isn't.
the difference between Bush and Henderson (up till this past week in Hendersons case) is that Bush isn't a liability to the offense. He is contributing to mismatches that create big plays for the saints. He is helping his team succeed. That's all you can ask of a player. If you aren't happy with bush that's fine, but at least recognize what he does to defenses when he lines up.
Also i have been on Hendersons case because he has played timid in the past. i watched him give up a 5 yard slant to a defender, resulting in a crucial turnover. And I have seen very little to make me feel that he creates opportunities for the saints offense. Considering his performance vs Tampa I am very willing to back off of that stance, he played with a swagger and he made a big differnce.
The frustrating thing is watching fans not get the bigger picture. Does anyone actually believe that when a defense fails to over commit on Reggie that he wont burn them? If that's how you feel, Monte Kiffin strongly disagrees with you, so does baltimore etc etc etc. While the criticism that Reggie just needs to go north and south is fair, I think we also need to look at it in the same light that you would look at a QB with a quirky throwing motion. Sometimes it is best to learn how to let a player work his quirks into his game. I think he needs to relax a little at the handoff and then find his space.........but as long as defenses sell out on stopping him.....those spaces are 3-5 yard runs more often than not.
BTW if you move reggie to the slot, the saints don't start the tampa game with 17 unanswered points.