Reggie Bush is the Man in Detroit Lions Opening Win
Sep 8, 2013; Detroit, MI, USA; Detroit Lions running back Reggie Bush (21) runs the ball during the second quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
Reggie! Reggie! Reggie! So that’s what a legitimate running game looks like. It’s been a while since the Detroit Lions could say they had one of those. The first half saw the Lions shoot themselves in the foot every chance they got. After they flubbed the field goal and Adrian Peterson goes yard, you’re thinking “the season is over” in less than a minute. The old Lions would have folded like a cheap tent, and called it a year. Already staring an eight game losing streak in the face, the Lions manned up and just played their game. Once they settled down in the second half, it was only an matter of time before the better team executed its will.
In his very first game as a Detroit Lion, Reggie Bush already has proved to be a perfect free agent signing. There isn’t anything that the dude can’t do. He’s fast, and he cut through the Vikings defense on that 77 yard touchdown pass like a hot knife through butter. He’s tough; his thumb was pointing the wrong way and he didn’t miss a beat. He’s everything we thought he was going to be. I just know defensive coordinators around the league are looking at the Lions combination of Bush and Calvin Johnson and saying “holy crap, how in the hell are we supposed to stop both of them at the same time?”
I stated before the season started that I thought Bush was on a mission to prove to the football world that he is, and always was a full time, load-bearing, franchise carrying feature running back, not just a nice complement. His Marshall Faulk-like numbers (he gained 90 yards on the ground and 101 through the air), are just the beginning. Reggie Bush makes the Lions offense one of the most dangerous in the league and they’re only going to get better.
Of course, Bush wouldn’t have gotten an inch without the newly formed Big Hogs line leading the charge. We fretted all off season about redoing three-fifths of the offensive line and how they would perform. The results are in, and it looks like the O-line has definitely been upgraded. To Reily Rieff’s credit, I hardly noticed that Jared Allen was even on the field. The young fella took care of business in week one. I loved the way rookie Larry Warford opened up holes on the right side alongside Corey Hilliard who replaced an injured Jason Fox. When was the last time the Detroit Lions were able to chew up some clock holding a late lead? I thought the balanced attack the Lions talked about all off season was a very welcome sight for everyone from the fans to the front office.
Not everything was great yesterday. New team captain Ndumakong Suh held a team meeting last week and stressed the need to stop those dumb penalties. So who commits the very first dumb ass penalty and cost his team seven points? Suh. Maybe he just has blackout moments on the field and doesn’t realize what he’s doing, because nobody can explain why he does these things. Can Willie Young please keep his finger to himself? Can somebody tell Brandon Pettigrew to stop wearing butter on his arms? Can Nick Fairley go one game without an offside? Some things never change.
It’s only one game, but the signs are there that the Lions have righted some wrongs from last season. They resemble the 2011 team more than they do last year’s, and that’s a very good thing.