Reggie Bush NFL Odds

As training camps open, Saints RB Reggie Bush is poised to steal lots of attention

July 23, 2007

By Adrian Brijbassi
Bodog Nation Contributing Writer

So, what'd you do with your time off?

Those words - or others to the same effect - will be heard lots this week when NFL training camps open. Some guys golfed a little, fished a lot, high rolled in Vegas (but not with any NBA refs), kicked back on a beach: the usual stuff pro jocks do in the offseason. The stories told by most will be cool but not extraordinary. Then Reggie Bush will walk in and say he got a guy who pulls down $27 million a year to tie his shoes.

Oh, and he had dinner with the secretary of state, did the freak on the floor with some of L.A.'s most popular ladies and racked up endorsement deals like they were yards after a catch. For a 22-year-old running back who's a blur on the field, Bush sure is hard to miss these days.

Chances are you've spotted him on the street (his No. 25 has been the NFL's hottest-selling jersey since April 1, 2006), and you've definitely caught him on TV. He's currently involved in nine ad campaigns, seeing more face time than any NFL player other than Peyton Manning.

Not a bad parlay for a guy who averaged only 3.6 yards per carry and a mere 565 rushing yards in his rookie season. Hardly numbers that warrant the star treatment. In Bush's case, though, those stats only mattered to the fantasy football fool who reached for him in the first round.

"I've been doing this now for over 30 years, and there's just a phenomenon for Reggie Bush," said Mike Ornstein, the phenom's marketing agent. "I think there's the combination of the Saints having such a good year. And he did enough exciting things last year to keep people on the edge of their seats.

"And he's a good kid, and he continues to come off that way."

Bush eased his way into the league and, because of the presence of established back Deuce McAllister, Saints coach Sean Payton had the luxury of picking spots with the Heisman Trophy winner. As the season progressed, Reggie started to hit home runs. He didn't score a rushing or receiving touchdown until the ninth game of the season, then totaled nine by the end of the year. In the last five games of 2006, he averaged 5.1 yards and proceeded to flash his gifts in the playoffs, including a one-for-the-ages moment on Jan. 21 against the Bears.

At the start of the second half of the NFC Championship Game, he split wide left, caught a short pass from Drew Brees along the sidelines, then burst 88 yards through the Chicago defense, crossing the end zone with a somersault and a taunt for which he was fined.

In all, Bush's first year in the NFL served as a trailer and that play against the conference champs is what makes him a must see. Last July, he entered training camp with hype and unreal expectations after his stunning career at USC. This year, Bush will have to deliver or he'll learn how brief honeymoons with fans and Corporate America can be. Cynics may want to predict a sophomore slump or insist that Bush should've been learning more about his own game of football rather than teaching David Beckham for show and pay. However, the truth is Bush is poised for a massive and unconventional year.

To Payton, the kid's better than an iPhone. He's a gadget: Let's see what else Reggie can do. You can be sure the Saints' innovative coach spent plenty of hours in the offseason contemplating how to get the maximum out of the No. 2 overall pick in the 2006 draft.

If you believe Bush, he's going to make his coach's job easy. He caught 88 passes in his rookie year and racked up 1,307 yards on offense, and now says he's learned the most important lesson a young running back can: patience.

"Sometimes no gain is a big gain. The one thing we're trying to stress is not to have any negative runs, no matter what. Just try to get back to the line of scrimmage as much as possible.

"If I have the mind frame of just running for four yards, the big runs will come," Bush said recently. "At the same time, you're always trying to score touchdowns."

We won't have to wait long to see Bush and the Saints at work. New Orleans kicks off the NFL preseason in the Hall of Fame Game against Pittsburgh on Sunday, Aug. 5, only 11 days after the team's camp starts in Jackson, Miss.

For NFL bettors, New Orleans continues to offer solid value despite its stellar performance last year. The Saints' over/under for wins is 9.5 - an easy over play if you ask me. They twice face the Falcons, who will be a mess because of the Michael Vick controversy, and the Buccaneers, a team that needed to have a good offseason and didn't. New Orleans' Super Bowl odds are 12/1. If you think that's a waste of money, maybe taking them at 6/1 to win the NFC sounds more reasonable. Gone for a good long while, it seems, are the days when the Saints were a joke. To think, the Reggie Bush Era is barely through its first scene.

Random Thoughts on the Week in Sports

* If he hasn't already, Sergio Garcia needs to have a few words with Phil Mickelson. Garcia, after all, has filled Lefty's shoes as the golfer with the least luck and/or least ability in the clutch. With his unraveling on Sunday, Garcia dropped to 0-for-33 in majors. He led this British Open through three rounds and it seemed like he should've had his favorite bottle of grappa ready for the Claret Jug - but then Carnoustie happened. Padraig Harrington deserves tons of credit for stealing the championship and Garcia must accept his fate. From now on, he has to prepare himself for the questions that will dog him until he finally wins a big one.

* Speaking of dogs, how do you think Matt Schaub looks to the Atlanta Falcons now? Either Joey Harrington or second-year QB D.J. Shockley may have to start if Michael Vick isn't on the field because of his legal issues. That wasn't the plan when Atlanta let Schaub go to Houston. Also, the Falcons had held NFL odds of 4/1 to lead the league in rushing yards again. But if Vick isn't playing, there's no way that will happen.

* Alexei Yashin will play hockey in Russia this season. For an overrated player who held out three times in his career, it's a fitting comeuppance. He's been dispatched from the NHL because no one is willing to put up with his feckless attitude. A player of his skill level has to plummet a long way to have nobody believe in him.

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