This Bush's Approval Rating at all-time High

Yeah, that's right, a horrible, corny, completely ridiculous heading, but after Reggie Bush's (insert adjective here) performance against Fresno State on Saturday night, he deserves praise. I'm not saying he didn't deserve praise before, but WOW! I am glad I have two televisions in my house so that I could keep one of them on the game while others watched SNL. Then, when we went to the bar, the bartender was nice enough to turn on the game for us (and she should have with the tips we were laying down). I don't care if Bush wins the Heisman or not, I probably won't remember if he did, but I will probably never forget watching him shred Fresno State for 513 all-purpose yards, and the 2 touchdown runs he had in the third quarter, of 45 and 50 yards, were awesome displays of his ability and were exactly what USC needed to beat a Fresno State team which matched almost every USC score.

If Bush doesn't declare for the 2006 NFL Draft, it will be more shocking than Barry Sanders' retirement. So that begs the question, will Matt Leinart or Reggie Bush be the first pick in the draft? Well, if the rest of the season holds to form, the top 9 will look something like this:

Houston, San Francisco, Tennessee, NY Jets, New Orleans, Green Bay, Baltimore, Arizona, and Miami. The first pick will likely end up with either Houston, San Francisco, the Jets, or New Orleans.

Houston used its first pick ever to select David Carr and since 2002, he hasn't exactly played as well as they would have liked. His career rating so far is 72.9, and this was supposed to be his breakout year, but a 75.0 rating isn't helping that at all. Domanick Davis was also supposed to have a big year this season, but he is headed for his lowest rushing output of his career. He is only 25 and Carr only 26, so both still have some time to develop.

Has Carr's time run out? How long will the Texans ownership allow Carr to try and run this offense with little progress? Will a new coach change the way the team plays and make them more competitive? Would Carr benefit from having a game-breaking tailback? Would Davis benefit from having a threat at quarterback everytime the ball is snapped? Or do they forgoe Bush and Leinart and select someone else, perhaps AJ Hawk or another defensive playmaker?

I think that if Houston has the number one pick they will select Reggie Bush and hope that having a game-breaking running back and probably a new coach and scheme will help out Carr.

San Francisco is probably a little easier. They selected Alex Smith first overall last season, so I don't think they would go with Leinart, but the last time they had a lefty quarterback, it worked out pretty well for everyone. I also don't think that Frank Gore or Kevan Barlow is the answer in the backfield. Bush would give them a solid option at running back for the first time in years. If it is San Francisco, I think it is Bush again.

New York has quit on this season, that's it. Chad Pennington's arm may never be right again and they can't count on him to be healthy for an entire season. Curtis Martin won the rushing title last season but is 74 years old and won't be able to carry the load for too many more seasons. Bush goes number one here as well.

New Orleans is the other team with a good shot at the number one pick. This is the only team I see taking Leinart over Bush number one (if it is one of these four teams). Aaron Brooks has not been the quarterback they have wanted him to be since he arrived, he is too inconsistent. Deuce McAllister is a very good running back and with a consistent passing game will become even better. I don't see New Orleans passing up a chance to get a quarterback who can come in and play right away and probably do better than Brooks. So, if the Saints get the number 1 pick, one of the above three teams is going to be very lucky, because they are probably still going to get Bush.

Whatever happens with the Heisman, and whoever goes number 1, I am glad I was able to see the "Reggie Bush" game and have been able to watch this impressive team for the past few years.


-Until next time...