Reggie Bush had been the talk of Lions camp for a lot of the preseason, and with good reason. Bush showed in the last two seasons with Miami that he was the every-down running back that he didn't get a chance to be in New Orleans.
The Lions see the value in him, operating as the ultimate scat back who can carry the ball 20+ times and catch it, too. Bush put up 90 yards on 21 carries and 101 yards on four receptions in the Lions' season opening victory against the Vikings. Then he went down in Week 2 against the Cardinals.
For Detroit, the offense wasn't quite as fluid. The Lions didn't want to make excuses, but they couldn't exactly dismiss the impact of not having Reggie Bush on the field due to the knee injury.
“It’s tough. It’s tough not having Reggie out there,” Lions wide receiver Nate Burleson said, via ESPN.com. “But at the same time, we still had opportunities. Guys were still getting open, guys were still catching the ball. The run game was still there.
“Him going down, it didn’t stifle us too much by any means. It’s just tough because he’s one of our big guns and we rely on his playmaking ability.”
And the coach?
“Obviously he’s a big part of the offense but that’s no excuse,” Detroit coach Jim Schwartz said. “We have plenty of other guys that can step up and make plays. We just didn’t get it done on offense in that second half.
“It certainly affected us but we still got 11 guys on the field even after he was down and we have to find ways to convert third downs and get the ball moved and then score.”
Fingers crossed for the Lions on this MRI, because they absolutely need Reggie Bush.
