A little curious as to why they didn't try a fade attempt to Marshall instead of running the old 44-Power O four straight times at the goaline.

 

I agree but you just know somebody that is held up in his basement for fun is going to find 54 things that we sucked at, the plays sucked at such and such and a time and you know its just pre season and its just Carolina :) You know thats coming. LOL. They played well for being together less than 3 weeks.

 

301 yards total offense despite Marshall and Bush sitting down early.

The Panthers look like a rebuilding team that simply can't matchup, but they aren't making a lot of mistakes (speaks to coaching). Dolphins are playing very well and are beating up an opponent it looks like they should be beating up on.

What you like is that the OL is doing their job, Thomas has gotten his bearings a bit and Henne is playing well. Oh, and REGGIE BUSH!

The defense wasn't challenged tonight.

 

I liked it, even if didn't work. I think the coaches needed to do that.

We've got to be able to run and we're going to need to be able to punch it in down there. Those first attempts were weak sauce. And now they've got some confidence.

Regular season.....they probably try the fade.

 

I think they wanted to work on their short yardage package .....

 

Guys....

Reggie Bush looks like a RB...not a Slash.....a RB. Wow.....

 

After a sluggish start, I'm starting to really like what I'm seeing out of Daniel Thomas.

 

Yeh,....

It really looked like DT started to learn how to run in the NFL....

 

Or a play-action. I seem to remember them working on a play-action goalline play in practice where Henne his Mastrud 3 different times for TDs.

 

Agreed. If you go by this game only (as some did last week) Bush and Henne should...read SHOULD...shut a few naysayers up for at least the next week.

Bush has a chip on is shoulder and Henne actually has some good feet! lol....I hate to see the overthrow to Hartline, but I think that will come with more practice. After all, Henne rarely got to do those deep throws in games last season.

 

Reports have been that Bush is often the first guy on the field at practice or the last guy to leave. Looks like he has put in the extra work to be GREAT! As long as he stays injury free and keeps working hard, which goes a long way to staying injury free, he could be a STUD!

 

Because a TD pass would have bolstered Henne's QBR and infuriated a bunch of individuals?

I kid... I kid... still. :tongue:

 

He reminded me tonight of the RB at USC where I just marvelled at his vision and cutting ability.

 

if bush could hold up with this usage ,we will have a lot of fun this and he will be a number 1 fantasy pick next year

 

Just bought my Bush jersey. I'm sold.

 

One of the most exciting players in the history of college football. The cutback on the sideline against Fresno State was just a thing of beauty.

[video=youtube;xwS5x920i8A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwS5x920i8A[/video]

 

"Could be" but won't be. At this point, Reggie Bush is what he is, a complementary running back. His contribution to the offense is an outside mismatch against linebackers and maybe slot corners.

He did look better as an interior runner than Daniel Thomas, though. Wow, what a scam he appears to be so far.

 

Thank you Nostradamus. :lol:

Someone should tell Reggie he is wasting his time putting in all the extra work to be great. Apparently, it doesn't make a difference.

 

There's more to being a feature back than just putting in extra work. In the NFL, everyone puts in extra work. It's not particularly noteworthy in and of itself as you make it out to be.

Meanwhile, expecting Bush to suddenly be a different running back because he stays less than an hour after practice catching passes—important distinction—is more than a bit of Nostradamus-type behavior on your part. He'll always be more effective as a receiver than as a rusher, and the extra work he's putting in has to do with his receiving skills, not his rushing skills.

 

If Bush can stay healthy, and I think he can, he can be an inside runner.

 

When a player has talent, which Bush has and particularly at RB, and don't put in the extra work it shows (injuries and lack of production). When a player of his talent puts in the extra work it definitely shows. It is in fact noteworthy.

 

He's played 60 games over 5 years. Bush's health is no longer a question of "if". He's going to miss time this year, probably 4 games (his historical average).

Bush was a talented college running back. In the NFL, he's not a particularly gifted running back. Again, the extra work he's putting in—which isn't particularly unique—has been focused on his receiving skills. He's catching passes after practice. Big difference here.

He'll be a great checkdown receiver, and can carry the ball once in a while. He's not going to suddenly turn into Arian Foster because he's catching passes for 45 minutes after practice.

 

And running extra sprints, and doing extra sled work. He's not just catching passes for 45 minutes after practice.

 

to me, Bush looked like he was running with a chip on his shoulder tonight. Hopefully it carries over to when it really matters.

 

Unless you have been to the practices and seen for yourself, how do you know for sure what all he does when he stays after?

 

You could be correct that he will not be successful as an every down back... but... as long as he is on the field and you can get him the ball in space... he is very dangerous. We didn't have anyone on the roster last year even remotely like him in his ability to take it to the house at any given time. In space the man has a ton of talent.

 

All of which is going to help his open field elusiveness, yes. But he almost exclusively gets into the open field by catching passes. Again, the work he's putting in is going to make him a better receiver—we saw that tonight, he had a fantastic night as a receiver—but he's not going to become a featured running back just because his uniform now has different colors.

I was saying the same thing months ago. Not sure why you think I'm denigrating his ability as a receiver or his obvious improvement there. He had a fantastic night.

I'm just saying that if people think Reggie Bush is suddenly going to become a featured running back, they're in for a huge disappointment.

 

Lots of people think he ain't big enough to run inside much, but it is as much about reading blocks, good vision and decisiveness as it is about size.

 

Of course the Dolphins aren't going to run him inside 20-25 times a game and are going to design plays to get him in space. There have plenty of great RBs over the years that aren't workhorse inside runners...Roger Craig and Marshal Faulk types...if you think putting in the extra work does not make a difference in a player with Bush's talent from being good to great...OK. I have no problem waiting to see Bush prove it on the field assuming he stays healthy. Clearly showed tonight he is far and above any other RB we have on our team.

The difference is I will enjoy the show. Whereas, you will be waiting for him to have that bad game or those one or two plays where he didn't (fill in the blank).

 

Was it just me or did anyone else notice Bush's right forearm wrapped up when they showed him on the bench in the 3rd quarter? Obviously with that "awesome" crew of Stockton, Moore, and Griese, they were right on top of any injuries.

 

I see what your saying, but I believe I'am thinking of a different definition of featured back than you are, I thought the touches were the right amount, and out of the proper formation...not traditional feature back stuff..more like X back.

 

I missed that... how was it wrapped?

 

The problem is that if he is an inside runner, he can't stay healthy,,,,at least he hasn't managed in the past

 

Hard to say as CBS4 put up a graphic with his stats right when they started to show it. I'd so it's not broken, and was wrapped in a towel it looked like. I think it happened on the play in the 1st quarter where he ran into a defender and was picked up and dropped by two more (pretty decent gain on a run if I remember right).

 

The real fact is that our OL showed up and played. To me, that was the big difference. Bush was the primary carrier early and Thomas later in the game. But even with the occasional OL hiccup (couple of penalties), other things worked for Henne...play action, underneath throws, slants, etc...and with a scootch more time to throw, all the difference was seen.

I also think we need to keep in mind, that even our anemic offense of last season should have beaten the Panthers...The

 

Did they really show up to play, or was it a matter of who they were playing against? They looked pretty bad trying to punch it in from the 4 yardline on that first scoring drive. Lydon Murtha struggled quite a bit with Charles Johnson and Richie Incognito shouldn't be your best pulling guard. Ever. I think Tampa Bay will be a nice measuring stick next week to see just how good these guys are. Certainly, last night's effort won't be good enough against a front three of Haynesworth, Wilfork, and Ellis in a few weeks.

 

You mean like his previous 5 years

 

While I certainly didn't lose any sleep over last week's lackluster performance, I don't think I'll be sleeping any easier over the illustrious one this week.

 

Well, the Bucs in Gm #3 will be a better test, especially after the pats shredded them, they make for a good measuring stick for a preseason game.

I thought:

Bush-looked fine,
Henne-he looked okay, he created some plays like the long reception to Fasano and the run for the first down
DTrain-looks like he has the "ronnie brown" problem, takes him a bit to get warmed up
Sheets-looked better then Grgisby
Livas-played a smart game he looks like a 5 yr pro back there

Marlon Moore showed why he is Marlon Moore, have to make that play son.