WATERCOOLER CHAT: BUSH RETURNING HEISMAN, GRANT OUT FOR SEASON, MARONEY ERA OVER
FOOTBALL
In the NFL and college football, it’s official: Reggie Bush is officially returning his Heisman Trophy. Bush has been under investigation of receiving major gifts from USC and has decided that it is time to finally put the past behind him. By handing over the Heisman Trophy, Bush hopes that the media will leave him, his family, and his friends alone and let him re-focus on winning games for the New Orleans Saints. USC meanwhile is doing everything it can to separate themselves from Bush. It’s almost as if the Bush/Leinart era didn’t exist. However, some people believe that even though Bush may have participated in illegal recruiting activity, it shouldn’t disregard his remarkable achievements on the field. Either way, Reggie Bush is now Heisman-less.
Elsewhere in the NFL, the Green Bay Packers got a piece of very bad news yesterday. They have lost their star running back, Ryan Grant, for the remainder of the season. This puts the Packers in a quandary. They have one of the most explosive passing attacks in the NFL, but without a solid running game that doesn’t mean as much. Having a good running playbook is paramount to passing success because you can lure the defense closer to the line of scrimmage, and thus get your receivers open down field. Now, back-up running-back Brandon Jackson finally gets a chance to start after several years with the Packers. It’s his time to shine.
And, the Laurence Maroney era is over in New England. Maroney was drafted to be the Patriots star-running back for a number of years. He was highly touted coming out of the University of Minnesota and Bill Bellichick thought he was the solution to replace their hold at RB. Well, over the years, Maroney has been plagued by injuries, and definitely hasn’t made the most of his carries when he gets a chance. So… the Patriots shipped him to the ailing Denver Broncos in exchange for a 4th round draft pick next year. This means that Fred Taylor and BenJarvis Green-Ellis, and Sammy Morris will be taking the hand-offs on the Pats this season.
