spkb25

GET BUSH!

DRAFT EVE STUNNER GIVES JETS SHOT
By MARK CANNIZZARO

April 29, 2006 -- Reggie Bush a Jet?

Stunningly, that became a possibility last night after the Draft Day Eve signing of North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams by the Texans.

Houston added high drama to today's draft at Radio City by passing on Bush, the Heisman Trophy-winning running back from USC, and instead signing Williams and making him the first overall pick.

That left the possibility the Jets - with the Nos. 4 and 29 picks in the first round - could trade with the Saints, who own the second pick.

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In a shocking move just hours before today's NFL Draft, the Texans last night signed N.C. State defensive end Mario Williams as the No. 1 pick - opening the possibility the Jets can trade up with the Saints for the second pick and grab USC Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Reggie Bush (above.) Photo: WireImage.com In a shocking move just hours before today's NFL Draft, the Texans last night signed N.C. State defensive end Mario Williams as the No. 1 pick - opening the possibility the Jets can trade up with the Saints for the second pick and grab USC Heisman Trophy-winning tailback Reggie Bush (above.)
Photo: Wi

Your team stinks

LivnaLieTimay

Up here in NY people are going crazy about Bush. I've had a countless number of Jets fans call me up and tell me they want Bush and every newspaper is focused on the Jets trading up for Bush. With the draft in NYC the Jets may very well break the bank for him, but I still prefer to draft Bush ourselves.

spkb25

that is good news

spkb25

Jets must fly to pick Reggie

Anything else is Bush league

D'Brickshaw Ferguson (from l.), Vernon Davis, Vince Young, Mario Williams, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush will be among top picks.
Reggie Bush moved one pick closer to the Jets last night when the Texans passed on him and signed defensive end Mario Williams, who will lead off today's NFL draft. Now Mike Tannenbaum and Eric Mangini must take the final two steps and go get the new Gale Sayers.

Even though the Texans said they were always willing to listen to offers - they never got one - it seemed a typical predraft half-truth. Bush was out of reach for the Jets when Houston was in control of the draft. Ultimately, the Texans were enamored with Williams' potential to be even better than Julius Peppers and never got into serious negotiations with Bush. Houston's decision is the most shocking in the draft since Dan Marino fell to No. 27 in 1983.

The Jets will call Saints GM Mickey Loomis this morning to find out what it will take to move up from No. 4 to No. 2. "I'll listen to anything," Loomis said from New Orleans last night.

Last night, however, Bush was listening to what new Saints coach Sean Payton, the former Giants offensive coordinator, had to say. Shortly after the Texans signed Williams, Payton called Bush in New York to tell how excited he was about the prospect of him joining the Saints.

Does that mean the Saints are going to take him? Maybe, maybe not. The Saints desperately need Bush for his star power and his ability to sell tickets and give the franchise a new look as it returns home to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

Still, the Saints have a lot of money tied up in running back Deuce McAllister. He's 27, played five years and is coming off a torn ACL, but Loomis said, "He'll be ready to go by minicamp." That said, the Saints did draft McAllister when they already had Ricky Williams.

The Titans called the Saints last night about moving up from No. 3 and the Packers (No. 5) and Raiders (No. 7) are believed to be interested, too. But the Jets are in the most powerful position to make a trade because they have an extra No. 1 pick (29th overall) and the Saints could move back two spots and still get Virginia tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson.

The Jets never made a bid for Houston's pick. The draft choice price would have been a lot higher. And the cost of signing Bush would have been higher in the top spot, too. The Saints have been desperate to move down for months and with Bush now the prize, they should be able to find a buyer. But they never thought they would have a chance to draft Bush.

The Jets already established they will not take QB Matt Leinart in the fourth spot. Now they will compound that mistake if they let somebody else move up for Bush. There is a slight chance, of course, the Saints could take Ferguson at No. 2 and the Titans take Texas QB Vince Young at No. 3, meaning Bush would fall right into the Jets' laps.

"I'd love to play here," Bush said at the NFL draft luncheon on Thursday. "New York is becoming like a hometown to me. Everytime I come out here, it's always been a good occasion. The fans are great. I would love to play in New York."

The Jets don't love Leinart. They fell in love with Bush when they met with him in Los Angeles on April 18. If they are unable to make a trade for Bush and then pass on Leinart, well, it will be unbearable for Jets fans today at Radio City Music Hall.

Tannenbaum and Mangini, the rookie decision-makers, would hit a grand slam in their first at-bat if they swapped spots with the Saints. According to the draft choice value board most teams use, moving up from No. 4 to No. 2 would cost the Jets their second first-round pick and a third- or fourth-round pick. Fair price.

Will the Jets make the move? They've been adamant they are not moving up. But that was for a quarterback. They will make a strong pitch to the Saints today now that Bush is within their reach. He is the most dynamic player to come into the draft since Barry Sanders in 1989. He has been compared to Sayers. He can score from anywhere on the field. The Jets are in desperate need of pizzazz and firepower.

When it was suggested to Loomis that the Saints have nothing to lose by moving down because Bush was not a top need for them and they could still get Ferguson, he said, "That's probably what Portland said when they took Sam Bowie."

Which left Michael Jordan on the board for Chicago. The Texans may have done the same for the Saints, or possibly the Jets, by signing Williams to a six-year, $54 million contract with $26.5 million guaranteed. They made the Williams-over-Bush decision Thursday.

"This is a decision that took a lot of time to make, but at the end of the day, we felt this was the best player for our football team," GM Charley Casserly said. "Both players, Reggie Bush and Mario Williams, are going to, I think, be great pros. We made the decision to go with defense."

Two days ago, the Jets had no shot at Bush. Now they do and they have to make it impossible for the Saints to say no.

Your team stinks

spkb25

another new york news paper. you are right bro they are all about doing anything they can to get the kid

LivnaLieTimay

Getting breakfast this morning every, and I mean every NY based newspaper is about Reggie. This is some major pressure for an organization with a rookie gm and rookie coach. They may give into the media and do what it takes to get Reggie, I guess we'll have to wait and see.