Reggie Bush Highlights

As well you might know I love the New Orleans Saints more than just about most things in my life (replace the Bud Light for the NO Saints in that beer commercial of recent and you get the picture).  That said, and whilst I am appreciative of the fact we are winning games we would normally loose in years gone past, I can't help but feel we've had a few weeks of fairly indifferent Saints displays (it's dem displays dat win dem championships laddy boy... or so my Irish innerself tells me).

Reggie Bush Highlights Cardinals Playoff Game

So I thought I'd scour YouTube for some New Orleans Saints highlights from seasons past to remind us of the explosive brilliance that is the Saints offence at its best and always a lock for football betting.  And where better to start than with Mr Love him or hate him himself, and I for one love him (just for the record), Mr Reggie Bush.

Presenting the Reggie Bush Highlights reel
 

Reggie Bush Highlights what you can do with +22 mph speed

 

Damn that boy can run.  On that reception against the Niners the Reggie Bush mph measure must have broken the +22 mark surely?

Here's some more Reggie Bush Highlights but taken from some slightly different angles and with extra IN YOUR FACE music for extra IN YOUR FACE effect!

More Reggie Bush Saints highlights

 

Seeing Reggie break one for 55 yards against the Rams on Sunday reminded me of what we've been missing so far this season.  What I love about the Saints offence of today is that we don't even need to go to this incredible athlete all that often to get the job done but when we do he is there ready and poised on the pad to break one.

Reggie Bush Punt Returns Vs. Vikings on Monday Night Football

I bet there are Head Coaches throughout the league who would love that kind of an option.  We should count ourselves lucky for that fact alone whilst not forgetting the selflessness Reggie brings to the team when other big ego's would be bitching in the press week in week out.  That talks to me of a winning attitude and team work ethic.

Reggie Bush USC highlights

I hadn't seen that one for a while, boy could that boy shift.  That's further reinforced to me just what a luxury we have waiting to explode within our team.

Everyone has their day and hopefully Reggie's will come in late January.  Man it's a good time to be a Saint!

Mini Reggie Bush High School Highlights

And finally Pee Wee Reggie.  Some of those moves remind me of the Falconer on the dance floor after a couple of Bourbons most Saturday nights (Warning - may be lying).

Brown's Hit on Reggie Bush Featured On SI Cover | College Football ... - Reggie Bush had never been drilled like this in his life. In high school and college he had always been the best athlete on the field, too fast and too elusive to leave himself open to a clean shot. But here, in an NFC divisional playoff game against the Philadelphia Eagles, his initiation came suddenly.

Usama Young Saints Player of Week 10 Vs Rams

The award was a tough call this week following some indifferent displays all round.  There were a number of Saints who could have walked off with this as a result of so many earning 7 out of 10 ratings but I've forsaken the Reggie Bush vote (he's won enough accolades in his short career) so as usual the Falconer is going for the underdog namely Usama Young and here's why:

Usama Young Saints Cornerback - The 3rd year man from Kent State came into the banged up Saints secondary and did a great job of nullifying passes on his side of the field.  He made an important interception in the Saints end zone snuffing out a potential scoring drive and managed to return it 24 yards.  He ended the day with 4 tackles and 1 pass deflection but more importantly ensured the banged up unit were not left embarrassed andproved we can rely on him for future games this season.

Usama Young Saints MVP Week 10 Vs Rams

And the runners-up are:

Reggie Bush Saints Running Back - He was due a big game and Rocket Reggie duly delivered with a season best 83 yards off just 6 carries and 2 2nd Quarter touchdowns, 1 on a pass from Drew Brees the other on a 3 yard draw play.  The Reggie Bush mph speed-o-meter looked to easily hit +22 on the crossing pattern as the former USC man beat his man to the corner for the go ahead score.  Later in the game Bush exploded out of the backfield for a 55 yard pick up, his longest carry of the season. 

Devery Henderson Saints Wide Receiver - With Marques Colston and Robert Meachem conspicuous by their absence it was left to the former LSU man to represent the Saints wide men with an impressive 4 for 72. 

David Thomas Saints Tight End - The back up man with just 7 receptions all year coming into this game ended it with 5 more.  He made a number of important grabs in the 1st half to help maintain drives and provided an important outlet to Brees with many of his marquee receivers well covered.  Perhaps his most telling contribution was throwing a vital block for Robert Meachem en route to a 41 yard run in the 2nd.  A sound performance all round by the former Longhorn. 

Courtney Roby Saints Kick Return Specialist - Roby took the 2nd half kick off and flew down the sideline to score the first such touchdown by a Saints player since Michael Lewis in the 2004 season.  This was a vital score for the black and gold coming so early in the second half and Roby must be congratulated for his turn of speed in breaking clear on the play.

Jonathan Stinchcomb Saints Tackle - Along with the other unheralded Saints Offensive Linemen he kept the Rams pass rush at bay affording Drew Brees ample time to pick his targets from the pocket.  His run blocking was also a major factor particularly in opening up the hole that Reggie Bush was able to exploit on his 55 yard gain in the 3rd.

New Orleans Saints mid term paper: A

We're at the half way point in the campaign and there have been thrills and spills galore with the Saints this season but overall you couldn't ask for a more complete team effort.  They are setting the NFL alight with their potent offence and keeping us fans on the edge of our seats most game days.  That said, as any coach will tell you, there is always room for improvement so here is my break down of how we're doing so far.

New Orleans Saints offence mid term paper: A+

What can you say about this group that hasn't already been said?  They are playing thrilling, exciting, don't blink or you'll miss it football.  They lead the NFL in points scored with a cool 303 with 8 games played.  That is a huge 67 points more than their next closest rival in these stakes, the Minnesota Vikings.  Factor in a league leading net points differential of 129 and you've got one hell of an argument for unit of the year so far.

The Saints offence is of course led by the indomitable Drew Brees who has thrown for a league leading 17 touchdowns to date and 2,336 yards.  Throw in an unbelievable completion percentage of 68.3 and an NFL best 106.1 QB rating and you've got the premier Quarterback in the NFL right now.

Brees is spreading the ball around to all his options which makes it very difficult for opposing defences to key in on any one individual.  If you take Marques Colston away you've got Robert Meachem open.  You take Meachem out and you've got Devery Henderson.  Cover Henderson and Jeremy Shockey pops up.  Double team Shockey and Reggie Bush runs... You get the idea.

The Jeremy Shockey highlights reel has grown

So the Saints are well fixed as far as their offensive weaponary is concerned.  What has been particularly interesting to watch has been the teams resilience in two particular come from behind wins.

Against the Dolphins in Week 7 the Saints fell behind early and went into the locker room 24 to 10 down at halftime.  Cue a second half fight back which saw Brees adding to the Jeremy Shockey highlights reel with a great second half display and the Reggie Bush mph meter hitting a cool 22 again on his way to a spectacular touchdown leap in the 4th.  Against the Panthers in week 9 the Saints again left it late before establishing their much improved running game (did I mention they are 5th in the NFL in this department?) after relying, for much of the game, on their stellar defensive unit.  Which neatly leads us onto...

New Orleans Saints defence mid term paper: B+

The Saints much maligned defence of recent years is a new beast in 2009.  Gone is the porous secondary that made grown men cry whenever an opposing QB looked deep.  In it's place has come a run stuffing, interception hungry aggressive unit that you would be scared to introduce to your grandmother.

The catalyst for this change has come from new Defensive Co-ordinator Gregg Williams who has instilled a disciplined work ethic and aggressive attack minded philosophy into this unit.  The chief on field protagonists of this change are middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma and strong safety free agent acquisition Darren Sharper.

Sharper has proven to be a great catch for the Saints with his league leading interception record of 7 with 2 returned for touchdowns.  Factor in his blitz stunts, tipped balls and hard tackling (he leads the team in this department) and you've got yourself a Saints Pro Bowl contender at the safety position, something unheard of for quite sometime.

Defensive captain Jonathan Vilma is also having an All Pro year with his pursuit of the ball.  In the win over the Dolphins in particular his tackles, at key moments, kept the Saints in the game and his team leadership is telling.

The Jonathan Vilma girlfriend Christmas card - Available now from Falconer Products Inc. 

The unit as a whole has improved to 16th place from 23rd a year ago, although that only tells half the story.  The fact the Saints D can now be relied upon to keep the team in the game if the offence is ever sluggish, plus the high turnover rate, means you've got a major reason why the Saints of 2009 are 8 and 0 at the mid way mark.  Just don't mention special teams...

New Orleans Saints special teams mid term paper: C-

I'm not going to go into one on this.  Courtney Roby is doing pretty good with returns, Reggie Bush less so but it will come.  John Carney is sound, Thomas Morstead the same but the less said about the coverage teams the better.  Instead I will sum it up as my old teenage self would have done, namely, shrug shoulders, look disinterested and kind of sigh with an 'ehh' sound.  Get the picture?  Job done.

Reggie Bush mph

Last season the Reggie Bush mph display read a cool 22 as he returned a punt for a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football. That was said to be only marginally slower than Usain Bolt when he clocked a new World record in the 100 meter sprint at the Beijing Olympics.  So I got to wondering, just how fast can Reggie Bush push it this year?

The Usain Bolt and Reggie Bush mph challenge

To start with I've put this calculation together:

Reggie Bush mph = Criticism by media and some Saints fans + restricted playing time / natural ability x point to prove

By this calculation I would say Reggie Bush is due a big game and a big game means big speed.  Why?

Reggie is totally committed to the Saints cause, is blessed with frightening natural ability and has been restricted to bit part roles all season.  His contribution in 2009 has been sound rather than spectacular but that is not for a lack of trying.

Against the Carolina Panthers in Week 9 by way of example he caught 7 passes for 37 yards and carried the ball twice for a further 16.  All good and respectable and part of a team ethos that helps the Saints to win so who cares right?  Right.  But you know, you can only keep a rocket on the pad for so long with engines burning before thrust beats gravity and heads for the stars.  So it will be with Reggie Bush one week very soon.

Rocket Man Reggie Bush

In fact I can see it coming against any number of scheduled opponents with the St. Louis Rams first up.  Whoa Betide Donnie Jones (Rams Punter) if he should kick it Reggie's way without sufficient hang time because this Sidewinder is coiled and ready to strike.  Should Jones heed his coaches' advice and punt it out of bounds at every opportunity there's always the hapless Tampa Bay Buccaneers or Washington Redskins.  Or maybe Reggie is saving it up for the New England Patriots in prime time or, huc ttt, America's Team on December 19th.

Whichever it is I'm willing to take bets Mr. Bush has the ability and desire to get it done and break his speed record for good measure.  Just remember that when he does finally take a long one for 6 be sure to check your speed gun for the Reggie Bush mph may be faster than you think.