Yea, every other time I've heard it mentioned, it was his wife who introduced Leon to Keels. Either way, I'm not going to excuse Leon for his agent at this point. He hired him, he kept him. That one is on him.
I can't believe people are still debating the Bush/Leon thing. They have played in entirely different offenses for the majority of their careers! And does anyone seriously doubt Brees is an elite QB? Bush has played with him for his entire career. Leon has played with the QB carousel, which includes the likes of (a broken) Pennington, Clemens, and a rookie QB. It has nothing to do with bias, it has to do with acknowledging that we're comparing players of very similar skill sets, but who have played with very different teams in totally different systems. Bush's systems have catered to his skill sets, whereas Leon has not had anywhere near the same advantages. So quit posting stats. Bush was great in college, but he's been nothing short of a disappointment. He makes big plays occasionally, but not consistently enough to be worthy of the 2nd overall pick. Unless you're capable of getting 20+ touches a game, you're not worth a 1st rounder, let alone a top-5 pick.
This isn't the 90s. The league has evolved. The NFL is a RBBC league now. Teams almost have to use two or three running backs a game.
20 touches isn't that much your saying the number 2 pick in the draft cant touch the ball 5 times a quarter? Bush vs Washington all I'd say is I'd rather draft Leon in the 4th round then Reggie in the 1st.
I thought the argument began when someone disagreed with the article's point that McKnight has an easier task replacing Leon on the Jets than he did replacing Bush at USC. That's not the author's opinion...that's a straight up fact. Bush was a Trojan legend.
Even if true, my point still stands. Spending a top-5 pick on a player who can contribute on only < 20 plays seems like an absolute waste, IMO. QB, OL, DT, etc. can contribute on every play, offensively or defensively. His lack of contribution, either with the ball in his hands or because of his inability to take on 20+ touches/game, is what makes his 2nd overall selection a disappointment. Huh? Right. The sentences prior to that addressed the argument (or at least one of the *few* arguments this thread has broken off into). But there was also this: And the reasoning by most why Bush is a better player is due to his stats. My point is, the stats don't tell the whole story, so quit using it as evidence.
No, it doesn't stand. Saying he's a wasted pick because he's not the focal point of their offense is wrong. The Saints offense uses so many players. Sean Payton's an offensive genius. Just because he doesn't touch the ball on every play doesn't mean he isn't contributing. Reggie Bush is one of the biggest decoys in the NFL. The guy can line up all over the field and hurt you in multiple ways. Sean Payton runs the perfect offense for a player as versatile as Bush. The guy's been SUCCESSFUL in this league for four seasons and people are calling him a bust? How? ...he was one of the best college players ever and people expect more - but Bush has been a very good player in this league and he's only going to get better. (Also, the stats do tell the whole story. Bush has twice as many TDs as Washington - that's all anyone really needs to know.)
I totally agree. All stats do is show what a player accomplished on the football field. Obviously, that knowledge is useless when comparing the accomplishments of 2 football players. That's why I stick to my assertion that Chad Pennington is a better QB than Peyton Manning...and I don't want anyone using pesky "stats" to argue against me, damn it!!!
Hows this then, Chech the Jerry Hughes thread to see I disagree with E a lot. He's actually able to have a mature disagreement if your willing to back up your stance. That said, I agree with him here and your being a asshole about it.
Reggie has had alot more opportunities to put up #s. I like how you leave out YPC where leon's is 4.8 compared to 4.0 for Bush. if leon had Bush's # of touches his #s would look like: 2342 rush yds, 2054 rec. yds, Bush is the better reciever, leon the better RB. Especially considering where the 2 were drafted I'd take leon in a heartbeat.
He's not the better player, Leon is the better runner, Bush the better receiver. When evaluating RBs I use rushing stats over receiving stats, Leon is the better rusher.
i agree with the bolded statement. still, i believe that bush is a better pro player than leon ... but i dont think its by as wide a margin as some of you all are making it out to be i think mcknight will be a better pro than them both
you cant say that because as soon as we increased leons workload, he got injured ... so theres no telling how many games he would have missed if he was given the same opportunities as bush
