The Bush Anomaly

In 2006, most mock drafters had the Texans selecting Reggie Bush with the 1^st overall pick. I myself made that pick. However, low and behold, the night before the draft the Texans signed Mario Williams. Thus every mock draft was either ruined or had to be altered considerably. The Texans had considerable pressure on them to draft Reggie Bush, but they refused and picked Mario Williams, who has worked out very well for the Texans ever since. As I study the Detroit Lions this off-season, I see a lot of similarities in their situations.

The Lions just came off of the worst year any NFL team has ever had. Most of the time when a team does as bad as the Lions did the offense gets the brunt of the blame. The Lions offense wasn’t spectacular and rightly does deserve some of the blame. Kitna went down early in the season and none of the other QB’s seemed to know what was going on. They even brought Daunte Culpepper on board midseason and started him with what had to have been a playbook smaller than Techmo Super Bowl’s. However, looking at the Lions’ roster I see a lot of promise on the offense. Culpepper had a 4 to 6 touchdown to interceptions ratio, one rushing touchdown, and one lost fumble. However, the defenses he played against, without any practice, were Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Tennessee, and Minnesota. Culpepper did admirably against the premier defenses. With former Minnesota offensive coordinator Scott Linehan working with the Lions and the “Superfreak” Calvin Johnson, Culpepper could see a revival of his career. The Lions have Culpepper, two young QB’s who could pan out for the Detroit, a strong receiver corps, and a decent running back in Kevin Smith. The offense seems to be on the right path.

The Lions have a new GM and Coach. I could definitely see them taking Matt Stafford and starting a new era. However, the offense is not what lost Detroit 16 games. Detroit’s defense was dead last against the run, in points allowed, and total yardage per game. Detroit needs a defense before it can ever hope to have a chance at winning again. If you don’t believe the Lions have a commitment to defense, why would they have hired Titans D-Coordinator Jim Schwartz as the Head Coach? The Lions would do themselves a great deal of good if they drafted defensive early.

So, what do the Lions do? It’s anybody’s guess at this point. The Lions need to turn things around if they ever hope to be a winning team. Does that mean taking the top rated offensive player in the draft class? Or does that mean they need to revamp their atrocious defense? The same questions were asked about the Texans in 2006. Just as the Texans were under a great deal of pressure to take Reggie Bush, the Lions will see a lot of pressure to select Matt Stafford. However, I think with the steps the Lions have taken via their new coaching staff and Culpepper, they have taken themselves out of the Matthew Stafford race. If that is the case then I believe the Bush Anomaly will go into effect.

When the Texans resisted pressure and selected Mario Williams that provided the Saints with an opportunity they did not take into consideration. It was assumed since the 2005 regular season game in which the Saints beat the Texans that the 1^st overall pick would be the dynamic Reggie Bush. With him now an option the Saints were left with little choice but to take the USC running back. It seemed the perfect steal for a Saints team in as much a need of repair as that Texans team. I think that if the Lions do not pick Stafford, the Rams will be forced to take a strong look at the Georgia QB and at Marc Bulger. The Rams will possibly receive a first round pick for trading Torry Holt and will have the 34^th overall pick, so taking a QB with the 2^nd overall, a QB that should have been taken by the NFL’s worst team, would not be a bad idea at all. This year’s draft could see a return of The Bush Anomaly: A highly touted offensive player, two teams in need of major revamping and strong defensive talent in the top 5. It would not surprise me at all if the Lions did not select Matt Stafford with the 1^st overall pick and if they don’t I think it will force the Rams to take a long look at Matthew Stafford and perhaps put the Bush Anomaly into effect.