Dolphins running back Reggie Bush is coming off what may be the best two-week stretch of his NFL career, with 195 rushing yards and 67 receiving yards in Miami’s last couple games. To Dolphins coach Tony Sparano, that’s proof that the team’s offensive plans are working.
As Sparano took some time out from celebrating the Dolphins’ first win of the season today, he told the media in Miami that it took the Dolphins a little time to get Bush worked into the offense because they’ve only had him around since August, but that he’s now doing just what the Dolphins envisioned.
“A lot of this has to do with time missed,” Sparano said. “Had you had some of these guys, maybe you would have a better idea of how you want to use Reggie a little better. The way we used Reggie yesterday is not necessarily the way New Orleans used him.”
Bush’s 427 rushing yards so far this season are more than he had in any of the last three seasons in New Orleans, and he’s on pace to far exceed his career-high 581 rushing yards from 2007.
The fact that Bush is playing some of the best football of his career right now is a demonstration, in part, of the fact that Bush has been a rather significant disappointment, compared to what was expected of him when he entered the league. When Bush was the second overall pick in the 2006 NFL draft, no one could have expected that he’d make it through his first five seasons without ever reaching even 600 rushing yards.
But Sparano is right to take pride in the way the Dolphins’ offense is using Bush now. Bush may never be the All-Pro he was once expected to be, but he can still be a solid contributor to an NFL offense, and the Dolphins are finding the ways to make that happen.