Pete Carroll is Smarter than the New Orleans Saints Organization

A couple of years ago, before Reggie Bush won the Heisman Trophy that everyone in America now knows didn't belong to him, we had to watch ESPN talk about how great he was for an entire season. Don't get me wrong, Reggie Bush did some amazing things in college football.

Remember all of that Gayle Sayers stuff? How Bush was going to step in and redefine the game of football with his speed and explosiveness along with his evasive maneuvering?

We all bought into it, including the New Orleans Saints who thought it was by the grace of God that Reggie Bush fell to them at #2, after the Houston Texans selected Mario Williams with the #1 pick in the 2006 NFL Draft.

Bush, who is in the second year of a contract that could end up being worth $62 million over six years is noticeably struggling in the NFL. He caught and unheard of 88 balls last year as a rookie. His average yard per catch was a mere 8.4, but that stat, I guess, isn't too bad for a running back. Last year he averaged a mere 3.6 yards a carry. Keep in mind that he did all this, which most would call, Kevin Faulkesque, maybe even Dave Meggettesque, in his rookie year. Respectable. Keep in mind, all of this was done with Deuce McCallister healthy.

This year, the tides have turned in New Orleans. No pun intended. Through his first four games, Bush is averaging a thundering 2.9 yards per carry. Astounding numbers by the second coming of Gayle Sayers. Oh, he's averaging 4.9 yards per catch.

Deuce, a more powerful back who was also the first Heisman candidate to have his own website (thedeuceisloose.com) is now out for the season, leaving Bush as the centerpiece of the running game; a role that Bush hasn't played since high school.

Bush seems to have gotten himself into quite the predicament. Remember when I talked about Percy Harvin and how he wasn't going to translate into anything in the NFL? What is Reggie Bush doing? He is a guy with more talent than anyone knows what to do with, literally, but he doesn't have a skill set. He's an X-factor, with no position.

In high school, Bush was faster than all of his peers. In college, he was still a step or two faster but had a dynamic ability to make full speed cuts that left DB's gasping for air. He also had a line that got him to level two every time Leinart handed the ball to him.

I don't know if you have seen Bush's recruit profile from Rivals.com: http://footballrecruiting.rivals.com/viewprospect.asp?pr_key=8514&sport=1
They say he's put on 20 pounds since high school, but in that picture, I'm not sure about that. Now that he's not much, if any bigger, than he was in high school, and not much faster and playing in the NFL, could it be possible that Reggie Bush has in fact peaked? Is it possible that Reggie Bush is never going to get any better at playing football? We see the reverse of Bush's situation all the time...I mean look at his teammate Colston. Why would someone like him go to Hofstra? He probably spurted in college and became the player he could be in college but didn't have the size to get recruited to a big time college in high school. Look at all of the guys in the NFL who have been successful but didn't get recruited to go to big schools. In my opinion, that's because they hadn't physically matured yet meaning that they hadn't biologically been able to get bigger, faster or stronger. Even Tiger Woods has said that he couldn't get bigger until his late mid/late 20's.

The point is...Reggie Bush was that kid in high school who was in fact as a player and as a presence, a man among boys. Everyone is still getting bigger, faster, and better, and Bush seems to be stagnant. I don't think it has to do with his team, but someone with the talent level that we have been hearing about for so long, one would think by his second season in the NFL, and seeing what those drafted behind him last year have done, Bush should be starting to find his stride. There's a reason that LenDale White and Bush split time; Pete Carroll knew that Bush wasn't an every down back. Right now, he's a $62 million third down specialist. In my opinion, Reggie Bush could go down as the biggest bust in NFL history.

In case you were wondering, in Gayle Sayers' second season in the NFL, he led the league in rushing.