Stop it! STOP IT ALREADY!
For the love of God, can we all please get a grip on things?
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For the last few days, the mind-numbing highlight zombies at ESPN have been playing over and over again Reggie Bush's 44 yard run in the Saints' pre-season game against the Titans. There's a key word in that sentence that I'd like to emphasize: pre-season.
They are showing his highlights from the friggin' pre-season. Somebody give me a barf bag.
To add insult to injury, if you listened to the AOL's Sports Bloggers Live show I was on, PFT's Mike Florio talked about how folks are already laughing at Houston for not taking Bush.
Why?
Because in Mario Williams' pre-season debut he managed just one assisted tackle. Forget the fact that Williams only played 11 plays, and was switched around from DE to DT. The ESPN media idiots only want to look at selective facts to draw their conclusions:
Reggie Bush preseason debut: 59 yards on 6 carries
Mario Williams preseason debut: 1 assisted tackle
Conclusion: Reggie Bush is Jesus in cleats, and Mario Williams is the biggest bust since Ryan Leaf.
If you watched PTI Monday, Dan Le Batard, the Miami Herald writer filling in for Tony Kornheiser (who was fine on MNF by the way), said Mario Williams better get used to the comparisons this early on.
My response to this: why?
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Why is anyone comparing these guys? They play two different positions. They bring different things to the tackle. How the hell can they be compared fairly now when it's only the friggin' pre-season?
Simple, they can't. And those that do compare them at this stage are just mindless TV drones spewing useless crap to fill airtime.
Mario Williams doesn't have to listen to or deal with any Reggie Bush comparisons. Apparently, I'm one of the few people that thinks Houston passing on Bush and taking Williams was a good thing. Bush could be a great player. He could be a good or even a utility player. 59 yards in a pre-season game against the friggin' Titans (who have a horrible defense) does not foretell greatness.
I've watched many Houston Texans games because they play in the same division as the Colts. Houston has never beaten Indy, but for some reason they completely own the Jaguars. In every single Texans game I've watched, the weak link for this team has always been their putrid defense. They do not have a single playmaker in their entire defensive unit, save for Williams. He is the only player worth anything on that defense. In order to win in this league, a team absolutely must have a great defense. Teams like San Diego and KC have great, electric running backs. Both sat at home last year during the playoffs. Why? They have crappy defenses.
Houston saw a chance to draft someone that has the potential to be a great defensive lineman. Remember, New Orleans was going to take Williams themselves until Bush fell in their lap. That seems to suggest Williams is a good player. He has performed well at training camp, where the learning curve is not as easy as it is for a running back. Rookie running backs can come in immediately and contribute.
They take the ball and run. Pretty simple stuff.
If they are asked to do other things (block, play special teams, catch the ball) it takes a little longer. Defensive ends take much longer to develop. Look at Freeney. He didn't start his first game until the middle of his rookie year at Philadelphia.
The bottom line here is this: media outlets like ESPN aren't bashing Houston because they drafted a bust.
They're bashing Houston because they did not take the player that will make them more marketable.
Reggie Bush in Houston would have made lots of media people lots of money. Houston is a huge market. They have a brand new stadium. It's in Texas, which is Football, USA. It was a perfect fit.
Then, those pesky Houston Texans football people passed on Bush, who supposedly lied to their owner about his problems back at USC (according to PFT), for a defensive player not nearly as "electric" as Bush.
The Texans are a team that plays in the AFC South. If you want to have any chance to compete in the South, you must have a defense. Houston made the right choice for them. They are rebuilding with defense. Defense is boring to the numbskull reporting at ESPN. So, they bash Houston. Other markets pick up this line, and they bash Houston. Houston made the right call, and I think Williams will turn into a very good DE, maybe even a great one. Time will tell, and it is both unfair and idiotic to begin making judgment about him now.
Stop it, already.