Offseason Confidential: Bush ready to roll
By Dave Richard | Senior Fantasy Writer Follow DaveFollow CBS Fantasy Football
If there's one thing Michael Bush wants you to know, it's that the right leg he broke as a senior in 2006 at Louisville is FINE.
"There's no need to ask that question anymore," Bush recently told CBSSports.com. "I could be playing a game of basketball and someone will say 'How's your leg?' and I'm like, 'Man, I'm out here playing ball, what do you think?'"
If not for that broken leg, Bush would have been a first-round pick in the 2007 NFL Draft and surely a popular commodity in Fantasy drafts last summer. But because of that fateful break, Bush wound up going in the fourth round to Oakland, where he spent most of the year on the Physically Unable to Perform list before being transferred to Injured Reserve, wiping out his rookie season.
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| Three prominent skill-position players from the University of Louisville are draft-eligible this April. Fellow Louisville alum Michael Bush gives us his take on their pro prospects. |
| Brian Brohm, QB "I think Brian will do fine at the next level. Ever since we were in high school, he had always been a good quarterback. He has a lot of good poise and posture in the pocket. He knows how to read a defense and makes the right throws. He has a nice arm as well with the deep ball and the touch throw. I look for him to be a late first-, early second-round pick. ... I've got JaMarcus throwing to me, and I wouldn't change that. But I wouldn't mind playing with him again." Mario Urrutia, WR "From what I've been hearing, Mario did good at the combine and his Pro Day. He's got big size. I think he's going to shock a lot of people that pass on him. He had a down year this year, but you can see what he did as a sophomore and as a junior where he led in yards after the catch. He's a big target with breakaway speed. Harry Douglas, WR "Harry has great hands, and even though he's a small guy he's not afraid to go across the middle. He has speed and might be a returner at the next level. I think he can do it all." |
But Bush says he could have played.
"I've been fine since, to me, Game 4 of last season," Bush said. "I think it was a numbers game. I felt like I did fine. They didn't say I looked bad. Since camp last year and all the way up to the season, all I did was stay on the side, conditioning and running, doing drills and catching balls after practice with JaMarcus (Russell). I did everything that a regular football player would do, and they just didn't activate me.
"They sat me down. I had a meeting with coach (Lane) Kiffin and our running backs coach (Tom Rathman) and they just said there weren't any spots open. So if they were to bring me up, they would have had to cut somebody and they didn't want to do that."
While 2007 was a wash for Bush, he's doing all that he can to make up for it in 2008. He's been working out at the Raiders training facility this offseason with the club's new strength and conditioning coach Brad Roll and has also been working out on the practice field with starting quarterback JaMarcus Russell.
As for his role with the club in 2008, Bush said, "I have no idea. All the backs are still here and we haven't had an OTA yet, so I don't know what's going on. I see the coaches every now and then, but I feel like if they need to tell me something or let me know what's going on, they would. Right now, my main thing is to get ready and in shape for the minicamps."
Bush added that running backs Justin Fargas and Dominic Rhodes, as well as fullbacks Justin Griffith and Oren O'Neal, have also been working out with the Raiders, but he hasn't seen LaMont Jordan, which might be further proof that the veteran power back is on the way out of town. That would pave the way for Bush to take his spot as a complement to Fargas, who is expected to see the bulk of the carries.
One Raider who is definitely staying in town is Russell, who did play as a rookie in 2007 but faltered, completing 54.5 percent of his passes for 373 yards with two scores, four interceptions and four fumbles (two lost). Bush felt that Russell's inconsistent play was related to his inexperience to the pro game.
"I'll probably be jittery on my first time, too," Bush said. "Quarterback is a big role, he has to know everything about every position on the field. He was probably just nervous out there, and once the preseason comes around, he'll get more relaxed and more comfortable."
Spending plenty of time with him this offseason, Bush sees the progress Russell is making heading into his second season.
"He looks good," noted Bush. "He's always got that strong arm, and he's learning to put some touch on it with the running backs coming out of the backfield and stuff like that. It seems like his footwork has improved, and his progression ... I mean, he throws a pretty ball whether it's short or deep. I think he's going to be fine."
As for the rest of the Raiders, Bush agreed that Oakland's outlook is much improved after adding safety Gibril Wilson and cornerback DeAngelo Hall this offseason and re-signing DT Tommy Kelly. Sporting what might be the stingiest secondary in the NFL in 2008 with an improved D-line, Oakland's running backs could be in for a lot of work grinding the clock, work that suits a power runner like Bush just fine. Fantasy owners should be on high alert for Bush as a sleeper with a middle- to late-round pick in drafts this summer if the Raiders choose not to draft a running back in the 2008 NFL Draft. Russell can be expected to be off the boards soon thereafter.
And if you have any reservations about Bush's leg ... well, just don't ask him about it.
Do you have a Fantasy Football question for Dave? Send your thoughts to DMFantasyFootball@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Offseason in the subject field. Include your full name, hometown and state.
