My greatest fear has been realized . . .
 

I have been telling sone Who Datians that I work with since last year that I wished they would not use Reggie to run back punts. They have just blown off my comments telling me how good he was fielding punts. Well my greatest fear came true last night. He is much more valuable to the team as a RB than he is as a punt returner. I am afraid after reading on fibula fractures that Reggie will be out longer than 6 weeks. Wanting a good chance for 6 points has caused a big paradigm shift for our offense . . .

Personally I have always liked Courtney Roby as the kick/punt returner. But, maybe that is just me...

I don't know if I agree with not using him on punt returns. You have to put the ball into the hands of play makers, and with his potential to turn a game around is just too much to ignore. I do see your point that his value to the offense makes it risky to use him on special teams, but he is just too good not to use on punt returns.

My guess is it's pretty safe to assume when he does return from the injury, he will not be returning any more punts this year. At least in the regular season...

I had a clean break of both the tibia and the fibula of my right leg when I was a child. I was in a cast for about three months. I still had to walk on crutches for about three weeks after the cast was removed, but I was able to start adding more pressure to my step every day. Now, I was not even close to the physical stature that Reggie Bush is, but I was very active and athletic. I know that a fracture isn't as severe as a clean break, and the recovery time is probably less, but I honestly would be surprised if he is back on the field in six weeks.

I'm sorry, in my opinion you don't let your 8 million dollar a year running back, return punts. I said this last year. MY OPINION, before someone yells at me..... He's too important to the offense to be doing that.

Agree !!! Let Roby do it.

Yeah it's kinda tricky. It seems almost every time Bush has gotten hurt it was on a punt return. He hurt himself last time returning a punt. The sad thing is that he wouldn't have gotten hurt if he had fielded the ball cleanly. I know the terrible Candlestick wind didn't help, but they did say Lance Moore was better at fielding punts.

All the more reason to get someone else in there.

Thank goodness none of you coach football teams.
Hmm. Perhaps ya'll should apply with the Falcons for coaching jobs, on second thought...

:/

Players get hurt. It isn't if, it is when.

The reason they do is they're willing to gladly do the dangerous stuff.
They WANT to. They aren't like you folks.

Those differences are why the Saints have a ring.

Thanks, Coaches P&W. Keep making the decisions that many don't agree with. Nice start at 2-0, btw.

I understand your concern, but my ""greatest fear" would be if they started letting Drew return punts...:)

Lets not play him at all in case he gets hurt??? Poor argument.

He is a football player, you play him in the best situations to win games.

I think maybe we sit Brees until the playoffs in case he gets hurt...

Freak injury... I have no issues with having our most electrifying punt returner, return punts. Now if he were our number 1 tail back getting all the reps back there, I'd have a different opinion on the matter... but he's not and while he'll be missed, we'll survive. It's not like he's been the most healthy guy over the years... our offensive production will not suffer.

sorry but I dont think we will miss Bush's 6 carries for 15 yards and 3 catches for 25 yards too much. He is really just one less weapon he was a big part of our offense but at the same time he wasn't...

I think the loss of Bush hurts you more than you might think. Do you have someone that can take the place of Bush and get the same amount of production?...........No. So therefore your O is less productive. Its got to be. Now is it a big drop off?.....No. But to say that there will be no down side is just silly.

You mean I can go over there and humiliate you? lol!

I think one of Paytons fears was realized. He looked very upset when Reggie got hurt. Of course he looked concerned first. He just wanted Reggie in the game to make something happen.

Payton was concerned for the player and the man, but he is the ultimate persona guy and the leader in the war on body language. He was already into plan B mode. He's not going to allow the temporary loss of Reggie to become a head hanger, it will become an opportunity for more Shockey, Thomas, and Moore...double the PT and hedge some Betts. No one can swing a defense like Reggie, but Oh well! His skills will have to rest for awhile and someone else is going to have to step it up because thats what Champions do.

In games missed by Bush the last 3 years combined(12 total), we've averaged 33.3 points per game. That isn't a small sample size. There should be little if any drop off in offensive production with Bush injured. When one guy goes down, we've done an excellent job over the years getting production from some where else.

Then you should cut him it you don't need him........................Right? lol!

I am also concerned about the muffs - Lets face it... IF Reggie had not muffed the punt there would not have been a dog pile & he probably doesn't get hurt.

You are asking the wrong Guy. Ask your buddy who said that you guys are the same with Bush as without him! LOL.

I didn't say any where we didn't need him. He adds an extra dynamic to our offense... which is quite valuable. However, we have zero issues with putting up points with him out for extended amounts of time... which is a fact.

Once again, you're pulling words out your backside. We aren't the same without Bush... obviously our offense changes without him in there as certain plays won't be called anymore. With that said, we have zero issues of replacing his production else where on the roster as we've done with stars on our team in the past. When Colston went down, Lance Moore stepped up. When Bush goes down, Mike Bell and Pierre Thomas brought their game to a different level. When Jamal Brown got hurt, Bushrod stepped in and we won a Superbowl.

We're a talented team with a great system. When one player goes down, we tinker a couple of things and we're still a well oiled offensive machine. FACT. While Bush will be missed as DC's always had to account for him, we've shown in the past on numerous occasions that we can more than survive a month and whatever without him.

Please don't let all this overwhelm you.

33 points a game without him and a 8-4 record. thats all we need to know. besides what kind of fracture his injury is. thats where paytons going to play bluff the opponents what game he will be back. there's so many different degree's of damage. 4-12 weeks depending.

Your situation was different. The Tibia is the weight bearing bone. That is why you were off for so long. The Fibula is a non-weight bearing bone.

Rest easy. Unless there are complications 4-6 weeks is the norm for recovery.
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