Agreed and while Addai is having a great season and is a stud, I still take Bush as far as pure running talent/speed/moves.
Both of those guys you mentioned are featured backs. Until Deuce went down with injury, Bush got limited carries. I expect Bush to become a 100 yard rusher now that he's the "featured back".
Going back to Dalton Hilliard and Gary James, LSU, it seems, has more often than not had a "tandem at" running back. To a lesser extent, even Kevin Faulk had Cecil Collins and Rondel Mealy. You need more than one back in the SEC. Justin Vincent and Alley Broussard's freshmen seasons were made possible by injuries to Joe Addai and Shyrone Carey. Had Addai not been injured, Vincent and Broussard may not have emerged that year. In his senior year, Joe has 101 carries for 690 yards and caught 26 passes for another 294 yards, thats almost 1,000 yards of offfense. IMHO, he was used very effectively that year especially as a receiver coming out of the backfield.
So was Addai. Did you know that Joe was the first RB EVER in the NFL to rush for more than a 1000 yards in a season without starting a SINGLE game? Addai only got the nod to start in the playoffs. As for this season, Deuce went down early in the season. And how are they both doing this season? Addai played in 6 games, rushed for 592 yards (almost a 100 yds/game) and 7 TDs (leading the league with TDs). Bush played in 7 games rushing for only 362 yards (thats almost 50 yds/game) and 2 TDs. Bush averages 3.8 yards a rush, Addai average 4.8 yds a rush. As for big play abilities, the longest rush Bush has had was 22 yards, Addai 23 yards. As for receiving, Bush averages 5.4 yds a catch with 1 TD, Addai averages 5.3 yds a catch also with 1 TD. But the yard after catch for Addai (4.8) is higher than that for Bush (4.4 yards). Now the most important stat, Bush has 3 fumbles this seson while Addai has NONE (ZERO!).
Addai deserves every bit if praise that he receives. He's as hard worker and I'm glad to see his great attitude and hard work pay off for him at the next level. However, if you think that he would replicate his production on just any team and that his numbers are not somewhat inflated because of the people around him, you're only fooling yourself. Addai is not going to carry an offense and hopefully he's smart enough to realize that and he rides the "Colt's Train" as long as he can much like K. Faulk has in New England. Bill Parcells has stated many times that most players aren't as good as they think they are. The ones who realize that and accept their role will have longer careers.
It's always hard to compare two different backs when they play for two totally different teams behind two totally different O-lines. As much as I enjoy watching Addai succeed, I still say Bush has the better raw talent. Hopefully that begins to translate on the field.
That's exactly what I said. He's one of the best athletes in the NFL, but he's not as good an NFL running back as Addai at this point.:thumb:
