Jarrett Bush

[Patler]

The guy deserves his own thread.
The emergence of Masthay has been paralleled by the re-emergence of Jarrett Bush as a force in punt coverage. How many times have we seen him down field, waiting for the punt to land so he can down it? You know the Bears had to be doubling him at least some of the time, yet he got down field quickly time and time again to play the ball or force the runner. He made two nice plays right at the goal line, even if one was ruled a touchback. Not just yesterday, but for the last half-season he has played well.

[pbmax]

I think the two go hand it hand. When its a decent punt with hang time and it goes where its intended, its a lot easier for the gunner to get there.

[mmmdk]

About hangtime: We need hangtime on kickoffs too, not bullit kick offs inside the 5, too hard to cover. Crosby has taken a step back in this department.

[wootah]

I absolutely agree, Patler. He has played great. He has been the whipping boy for a lot of the fans, mainly due to his large number of penalties, but he seems to have that cleared out now.

It's hard not to root for the guy if you see his interview on packers.com. He is clearly uncomfortable talking to the media, and has trouble finding his words. But he makes it clear how he cherishes his role and the impact he can have on the outcome of the game. The past troubles with the fan support were also adressed and this is what he had to say:


It's unfortunate what they thought of me. But what I thought of them didn't change. I thought they were still the greatest fans in the world and that it was up to me to change their perception of me.

What a fantastic attitude. Sure he isn't the best DB on the team, but I tip my hat to that guy, he has done an outstanding job this year.

[Joemailman]

He's been fantastic lately. His performance against the Bears on Jan. 2 was as good a game as I've seen a gunner have. A lot of people thought TT had taken leave of his senses when he matched an offer Bush received from another team a couple of years ago. Seems TT was right again.

[Freak Out]

In typical FOX fashion you never get to see what is going on with the gunners but I was amazed how often he was at the goaline waiting for the ball.

[RashanGary]

Bush has been great.

[SMBASS]

Long time lurker on PackerRats. This is my favoite Packer board and one of only two that I spend any time on. Kind of funny that I finally decided to jump into the fray on a thread about Jarrett Bush!

I decided to re-post some excerpts from a "discussion" that I was involved in regarding Jarrett prior to the start of the season. He's been a favorite whipping boy for a lot of fans and quite a lightning rod for criticism. (Some justifiably deserved!) I'm not sure that his ceiling as a DB is terribly high although I did think he was playing better during the preseason. He just doesn't seem to be able to find and adjust to the ball as quickly as someone like Sam Shields does when it's in the air. Anyway...

(Quote)
"If I remember correctly I think it was sometime during the season last year when that asswipe Bedard (Who I absolutely can't stand.)asked Jarrett something along the lines of, "What's it like to possibly be the most hated player on the team?" I thought, "Are you kidding me? Did he really just ask him that!" Man what a dick! You could tell that Jarrett was honestly shocked and hurt to hear that. As I said before, he seems like a good kid and he's obviously trying as hard as he can to get better so I don't blame him for being hurt by that statement. I guess it just makes me really root for the kid to somehow get it together and start making some positive plays.

I was always a pretty good athlete growing up but I wish in my "yute" I would have had even 1/2 of the athletic ability of someone like Bush. You simply do not last 5 years on an NFL roster without having some fairly serious football and athletic skills."

(End Quote)
I'm really happy to see Jarrett step up his game and make some great contributions on our Special Teams this year. He has been playing really well over the past month and he's made some huge plays at critical times. He was taking so much crap from so many fans that I decided to adopt him as my "underdog" player to hopefully have a breakout year. He seems like a really good kid, has a great attitude, and by all accounts is a very hard worker. How can you not root for someone like that!

Great job Jarrett and keep it up! One more game to go!!!

[pbmax]

Welcome smbass and put your feet up for a while.

And yes, Bedard and Wilde love those kinds of questions. The ironic thing is that both of them, when interviewed, seem somewhat prickly and guarded about criticism. I think if a fan wrote them an email with a similarly loaded question, they would be upset. Yet that does not stop them from asking others the same kind of question.

It speaks well of Bush that he still wanted to perform for the fans he was told hate him. He must have a reasonably strong sense of self to not believe every proposition brought to him by the likes of Bedard.

[RashanGary]

Great first post, smbass. A guy in the stands at practice was yelling, "oh god, there's Jarrett Bush, how is he still on the team?" Everyone, including Bush had to of heard him. He was that 40 something bloated liver prick that you tend to see wearing Favre jerseys and screaming to TT that he needs to be fired, but this big mouth was a Bush hater. These people are sad.

And I agree.I listen to all of the interviews and Jarrett Bush is one of the most likable Packers of the last 5 years. Treating him the way people do is ridiculous.

[gbgary]

yup...welcome.

[Smeefers]

He's been fantastic lately. His performance against the Bears on Jan. 2 was as good a game as I've seen a gunner have. A lot of people thought TT had taken leave of his senses when he matched an offer Bush received from another team a couple of years ago. Seems TT was right again.

I'm still not sold on Bush. I'll admit TT was right when I see more out of the kid. If this is as good as he gets, we got robbed.

As for Bush himself, I've never liked him. Everyone knows the reasons why, but I am willing to admit that he has improved. His penalties are way down this year and he seems to be making a much larger impact on special teams. That being said, I wouldn't be suprised if he was still the most penalized player on ST this year. He started off getting a penalty a game if I remember correctly. I suppose he just has a lot more to prove to me than a good stretch. I'd much rather him prove me wrong than prove me right though.

Heck, same goes for Slocum. The ST's have seriously improved over the last 6 or 8 weeks and the penalties are way down. The only problem I really have left with ST is Kicking the ball off and always ending up defending from the 35. Once again though, I'm going to have to see a heck of a lot more from him before I'm happy with him. At most he's bought himself another year. If he keeps it up though, I'll gladly eat crow.

[SMBASS]

Long time lurker on PackerRats. This is my favoite Packer board and one of only two that I spend any time on. Kind of funny that I finally decided to jump into the fray on a thread about Jarrett Bush!

I decided to re-post some excerpts from a "discussion" that I was involved in regarding Jarrett prior to the start of the season. He's been a favorite whipping boy for a lot of fans and quite a lightning rod for criticism. (Some justifiably deserved!) I'm not sure that his ceiling as a DB is terribly high although I did think he was playing better during the preseason. He just doesn't seem to be able to find and adjust to the ball as quickly as someone like Sam Shields does when it's in the air. Anyway...

(Quote)
"If I remember correctly I think it was sometime during the season last year when that asswipe Bedard (Who I absolutely can't stand.)asked Jarrett something along the lines of, "What's it like to possibly be the most hated player on the team?" I thought, "Are you kidding me? Did he really just ask him that!" Man what a dick! You could tell that Jarrett was honestly shocked and hurt to hear that. As I said before, he seems like a good kid and he's obviously trying as hard as he can to get better so I don't blame him for being hurt by that statement. I guess it just makes me really root for the kid to somehow get it together and start making some positive plays.

I was always a pretty good athlete growing up but I wish in my "yute" I would have had even 1/2 of the athletic ability of someone like Bush. You simply do not last 5 years on an NFL roster without having some fairly serious football and athletic skills."

(End Quote)
I'm really happy to see Jarrett step up his game and make some great contributions on our Special Teams this year. He has been playing really well over the past month and he's made some huge plays at critical times. He was taking so much crap from so many fans that I decided to adopt him as my "underdog" player to hopefully have a breakout year. He seems like a really good kid, has a great attitude, and by all accounts is a very hard worker. How can you not root for someone like that!

Great job Jarrett and keep it up! One more game to go!!!


I am simply estatic for Jarrett this morning! Did he play perfect.... absolutely not....but he was thrust into an incredibly tough situation and he didn't flinch one bit! He kept fighting and scrapping and in the end made a couple of huge positive plays that definitely impacted the game! The pick, the blitz hit on Roth that forced him to hurry a throw, and being in good position to try to make a play on the last 4th down pass just to name a few.

I don't even fault him much for the Ward TD since Big Ben had all day to throw, extended the play with his feet and then made a perfect pitch and catch with Ward. It's tough for even a damn good C.B. to hold coverage on a receiver as experienced and good as Ward for that long. There are going to be liabilities when any team is forced to play their 4th or 5th C.B.

Thanks for believing in yourself and not letting all of the nay-sayers bring you down to their level Jarrett! You're a good guy with a great "team" attitude and if there's such thing as karma you were paid back in spades today! Congratulations! You've earned it young man!

[bobblehead]

Bush has been great.

Bush is a playmaker.

[Lurker64]

Bush is a playmaker.

As a fifth or sixth CB? He's a red-chipper at least.

[Freak Out]

I promised some people at the game that I would never badmouth Bush again after he made the int.....he made it tough though. :)

[PA Pack Fan]

I especially enjoyed seeing Hines ward score after running right by Bush and making a move my grandma could followed.

[bobblehead]

I especially enjoyed seeing Hines ward score after running right by Bush and making a move my grandma could followed.

You mean the one where ward made 3 direction changes and ben had 7 seconds to find him?

[RashanGary]

You mean the one where ward made 3 direction changes and ben had 7 seconds to find him?

That was a sweet route and they had great chemistry on that pass but I still think Bush should have had it. I play ulimate football with my inlaws when we're together. My brother inlaw and I use that move all of the time. He knows when there is open field to the right that I am going to work in, get whoevers defending me turned and then turn out. The ball is in the air before I even break and it's indefensible. Ultimate football is more of a fact paced game so you have to be on the same page to do that type of thing. It's not a call, but a chemistry thing and it works every time.

Bush is an NFL player though. I guarantee he was supposed to maintain outside leverage on that play and he sucked in on a good route and then a throw that was thrown before the route was even done. Bush had no chance once he sucked in but he never should have.

Bush is blah on defense, not horrible but blah. He's great on ST's.

[PA Pack Fan]

How bout Wallace running right by Bush for 14 yards, followed 2 plays later by Bush blowing coverage on Hines again for a 25 yard gain.

I agree Bush was better than he usually is, but that aint sayn much.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d81e2ece9/Super-Bowl-XLV-highlights

7:00-7:06

[SMBASS]

I can't wait to see all you guys competing for the 5th or 6th C.B. spot on G.B.'s roster next year. I guess it's no big deal to play in the NFL and Bush obviously isn't good enough to even make a High School team so none of you should have any problem taking Jarrett's spot next year. Shoot, you can play video games, fantasy football, and you even have the incredible ability to make every perfect call and play after the fact. Wow....I can't wait to see you take 2 or 3 picks to the house in next years Super Bowl since it's obviously so frickin easy!

Man...sometimes no matter what you do it's just never good enough for some people. Sad......

[Joemailman]

I especially enjoyed seeing Hines ward score after running right by Bush and making a move my grandma could followed.

Really. You're the only person I know claiming to be a Packer fan who enjoyed seeing Hines Ward score.

[PA Pack Fan]

Really. You're the only person I know claiming to be a Packer fan who enjoyed seeing Hines Ward score.
It's called sarcasm you douche.

[denverYooper]

Um.

[Joemailman]

You call that sarcasm? Are you high on crack?

[swede]

Crack is a bad drug. How dare you accuse people of using drugs!

[PA Pack Fan]

You call that sarcasm? Are you high on crack?



Yes!!

[Fritz]

I was definitely screaming for Bush's ass to be cut after last year's follies.

But I was wrong. Okay, he's not your starting cornerback, but he's an excellent special teams guy now. And that's what he gets paid to do. He really has been downfield waiting for the punt to drop many times this year.

I was wrong. The guy is worth having as a special teams ace.

[Joemailman]

Yep. The Packers just need to bet to a point where Bush is your #5 or #6 CB, not your #4. He made some big plays yesterday, but he's still not the guy you want to be bringing in if one of your CB's go down. He's been great on ST teams this year though.

[SkinBasket]

Looks like Bush is the new Bigby. Guy makes one good play and suddenly he's indispensable. Too bad no one's here to make a bad photoshop of Jesus with Bush's face.

[vince]

Yep. The Packers just need to bet to a point where Bush is your #5 or #6 CB, not your #4. He made some big plays yesterday, but he's still not the guy you want to be bringing in if one of your CB's go down. He's been great on ST teams this year though.
I think this is right. He's a try-hard guy. The Packers need another CB. Lee held up pretty well filling in for Shields on the perimeter. He remains a bit of a mystery.

[Guiness]

Looks like Bush is the new Bigby. Guy makes one good play and suddenly he's indispensable. Too bad no one's here to make a bad photoshop of Jesus with Bush's face.

not just one good play. As Fritz pointed out, there have been a few times when he's downfield before the punt, waiting for it to drop. He was responsible to pinning teams inside their own 5 a few times this year.

[red]

bush didn't really have a great game yesterday. he had the one huge int, but once again he made a lot of mistakes. it sucked we lost 2 cb's and had to rely on him on defense

and BTW, special teams really sucked yesterday. mashtay once again punted well but the coverage teams were pathetic

[bobblehead]

Looks like Bush is the new Bigby. Guy makes one good play and suddenly he's indispensable. Too bad no one's here to make a bad photoshop of Jesus with Bush's face.

No, bush sucks in coverage, bigby is a good player. but I get annoyed at some jackass accusing people of being on crack because Bush couldn't maintain coverage for 7 seconds. That particular play was partly on the pass rush.

I cringe when I see JB on defense, I like him on ST. I am not so stupid as to make over the top statements about a guy that is only on the field because Wood and Shields both went down with injury. I also think if Lee and Underwood can't beat out bush for the dime they need to be cut as they are no JB on ST.

[PA Pack Fan]

Bush is a playmaker.
That's right, he made a play. End of story. Our special teams suck as bad as ever so singing the praises of Bush on ST is a load. You can just be glad he only played a half yesterday.
Sheesh. Sounds like the Harris love thats still perpetuating. Notice we won a bowl...without him.

[Guiness]

No, bush sucks in coverage, bigby is a good player. but I get annoyed at some jackass accusing people of being on crack because Bush couldn't maintain coverage for 7 seconds. That particular play was partly on the pass rush.

I cringe when I see JB on defense, I like him on ST. I am not so stupid as to make over the top statements about a guy that is only on the field because Wood and Shields both went down with injury. I also think if Lee and Underwood can't beat out bush for the dime they need to be cut as they are no JB on ST.

That about sums it up - especially the part about Lee and Underwood.

Bush, our #4 CB was on Ward, Pitt's #1 WR. The Steelers got the mismatch, and took advantage of it.

[Joemailman]

The packers have 69 players under contract right now between the roster and IR. Add in draft picks and maybe a couple of UDFA's, and there will likely be at least 25 players receiving a Super Bowl ring who won't be with he team next September. Hard to imagine Underwood will make it. Lee has a chance if he can ever stay healthy. As Vince said, he's a bit of a mystery. He's running out of chances though.

[Patler]

Do some of you really expect the 4th or 5th CB to be as solid in coverage as the guys he replaced? Bush had some very nice blitzes, an interception, and some effective coverages. He held up in spite of giving up a few plays, and probably did so better than most 4th, 5th or 6th corners would. If you expect more than that from him you are unreasonable.

[Joemailman]

Do some of you really expect the 4th or 5th CB to be as solid in coverage as the guys he replaced? Bush had some very nice blitzes, an interception, and some effective coverages. He held up in spite of giving up a few plays, and probably did so better than most 4th, 5th or 6th corners would. If you expect more than that from him you are unreasonable.

Bush did hold up well yesterday. However, his career has been marked by inconsistency. Is he a better, more consistent player than he was before this year? Maybe, but I'd have to be forced to count on him if one of the top 3 CB's misses significant time with an injury.

[Fritz]

Lookit Patler, tearin' em a new bung hole. He's Patlerizin', he's Patlinatin', he's pattin' em down, Pattin' em with the fist of logic.

Go Patler!

[Joemailman]

Relying on logic is so unimaginative.

[packerbacker1234]

We could do worse.

He's a special teams ace that is vital to that unit (big reason he has that C on his chest). He's not the worst option to come in when two guys ahead of him go down in a game - he has experience with this team and now two years in the system. Do you want him to be the nickle/2nd guy on a game by game basis? No, but we could do A LOT worse for a guy having to come in as an emergency guy. He definitely has "some ability" to play CB, even if overall it's just not good enough a tthe NFL level. It's still good enough fro spot duty, and we saw that last night.

[3irty1]

The fanbase's general opinion on Jarrett Bush is mostly going on reputation at this point. Bush is clearly a special teams ace and is nearly unblockable as a gunner but he has legitimate value on defense as well.

Packer fans have been blessed with way way way above average cornerback play for the this entire decade but more importantly had to suffer through the miserable vanilla man-to-man schemes of Bob Sanders and Jim Bates. Even in Sanders' scheme in 2007 Bush was nearly invisible as a nickelback for stretches as long as 6 games. My take? He was already a gifted special teamer playing as a gunner and the guy who blocks the gunner on the punt units. Those are the positions where press coverage cornerbacks come from. In the new scheme that doesn't man up nearly as often he is evolving into more of a downhill player who can cover the slot and supposedly play safety although I don't think I've ever seen him do it. He's much better in this role. His major weakness has always been that he is absolutely terrible at playing the ball. Sam Shields could be thrown straight into the fire since he had incredible athleticism and excellent ball skills from his days as a WR. The threat to take away the ball is huge and on its own can prevent a team from picking on a corner with ball skills. Bush has very little of such skills and even though he is usually playing in good position with good leverage he can't make plays on the ball. If you throw at Jarrett Bush the worst thing that happens is an incomplete pass. Still, the ability to mirror a receiver is worth something. I'd bet he'll be back next year, possibly with an expanded role on defense with more and more dime being played.

[swede]

Rat1: What'd he call me?
Rat2: Unreasonable.
Rat1: Yeah well he's...a...uh...a moran!

[Fritz]

Rat1: What'd he call me?
Rat2: Unreasonable.
Rat1: Yeah well he's...a...uh...a moran!


Or, as Bugs Bunny would say, "What a maroon."

[Cheesehead Craig]

When Bush made his INT I yelled "We love Bush". This prompted my buddy to laugh and my 10 yr old son starting singing "We love Bush" which made my buddy nearly spit the beer he was drinking out of his nose. I love it when kids don't know the full meaning of what they are saying.

[PA Pack Fan]

Bush is clearly a special teams ace and is nearly unblockable as a gunner but he has legitimate value on defense as well.
.

Seriously? The Packers have a special teams ace? lol.


Note to 31: a special teams ace does not just down the ball inside the 10 on 35 yard punts, but will also know how to contain and tackle the returner when the kick or punt is returnable.

[3irty1]

Seriously? The Packers have a special teams ace? lol.


Note to 31: a special teams ace does not just down the ball inside the 10 on 35 yard punts, but will also know how to contain and tackle the returner when the kick or punt is returnable.

He's certainly a special teams ace, only one we've really had since Tracy White although you could start making an argument for Hall and Martin. Obviously you're not serious when you say that he can't tackle the returner which makes me wonder what you are talking about. If there's one knock on Bush its the dumb penalties we've seen from him such as stepping out of bounds before touching the ball and stuff.

[BobDobbs]

Seriously? The Packers have a special teams ace? lol.


Note to 31: a special teams ace does not just down the ball inside the 10 on 35 yard punts, but will also know how to contain and tackle the returner when the kick or punt is returnable.

They may or may not. But Packer Rats definitely has a troll....

[wootah]

Man...sometimes no matter what you do it's just never good enough for some people. Sad......

This. It has come to a point where people just stop looking at the actual plays, but just wait to see if something bad happens for which they can blame Bush. I'm genuinly glad for the guy.

BTW, it can't be that I was the only one that had to laugh while reading that ultimate football post of JH.

[vince]

Do some of you really expect the 4th or 5th CB to be as solid in coverage as the guys he replaced? Bush had some very nice blitzes, an interception, and some effective coverages. He held up in spite of giving up a few plays, and probably did so better than most 4th, 5th or 6th corners would. If you expect more than that from him you are unreasonable.
With this team, it's not unreasonable to think that Thompson can find a CB that can cover better than Bush and push him down the depth chart another notch. He did it this year with an undrafted rookie. I think he can do it again. Given Thompson's acumen and Bush's coverage abilities, I'd say that's a perfectly reasonable expectation. The best case scenario IMO would be for Bush to be the 5th safety/6th CB and special teams gunner.

[vince]

If you throw at Jarrett Bush the worst thing that happens is an incomplete pass. Still, the ability to mirror a receiver is worth something.
Love your posts 3irty1, but I don't get this at all. Bush is a serious liability at CB. The Packers try their damndest to hide him inside these days, and actually pull it off to some extent, but that's scheme, not Bush. He made a great effort play on the ball in the SB, but that was a serious anomaly. He was beat and/or went the wrong way leaving a guy wide open in his zone on a number of ocassions in the SB. He flat out can't cover with any consistency. He's great as long as he doesn't have to play defense. Very few people are Charles Woodson, but when Jarrett Bush came into the game, the Steelers started moving the ball and made the game extremely exciting. If you go back and watch the plays they made, and who they made them on, you'll see that wasn't a coincidence.

[RashanGary]

We could do worse.

He's a special teams ace that is vital to that unit (big reason he has that C on his chest). He's not the worst option to come in when two guys ahead of him go down in a game - he has experience with this team and now two years in the system. Do you want him to be the nickle/2nd guy on a game by game basis? No, but we could do A LOT worse for a guy having to come in as an emergency guy. He definitely has "some ability" to play CB, even if overall it's just not good enough a tthe NFL level. It's still good enough fro spot duty, and we saw that last night.


If there was a true NFL dictionary where you could look up current players and read about what type of player they are, this is what it would say about Jarrett Bush.

I can't really add much to what you said, but 25 our of the 32 NFL teams would have a spot for him if we released him tomorrow. Great STer and better than a guy like Blackmon or even Underwood on defense.

[bobblehead]

That's right, he made a play. End of story. Our special teams suck as bad as ever so singing the praises of Bush on ST is a load. You can just be glad he only played a half yesterday.
Sheesh. Sounds like the Harris love thats still perpetuating. Notice we won a bowl...without him.

To quote you....its called sarcasm douchebag. If you actually read things other people write instead of coming here to flame and inflame you would have caught on to the joke.

[Bossman641]

I'm happy for Bush. He has really stepped up his play this year on ST. Do I get nervous when I see him enter the game as a DB? Hell yes, but overall he held up OK on Sunday. That pick of his was either great instincts or a complete screwup because he completely came off Heath Miller to make the play.

[bobblehead]

Love your posts 3irty1, but I don't get this at all. Bush is a serious liability at CB. The Packers try their damndest to hide him inside these days, and actually pull it off to some extent, but that's scheme, not Bush. He made a great effort play on the ball in the SB, but that was a serious anomaly. He was beat and/or went the wrong way leaving a guy wide open in his zone on a number of ocassions in the SB. He flat out can't cover with any consistency. He's great as long as he doesn't have to play defense. Very few people are Charles Woodson, but when Jarrett Bush came into the game, the Steelers started moving the ball and made the game extremely exciting. If you go back and watch the plays they made, and who they made them on, you'll see that wasn't a coincidence.

Yea, what vince said. I have come to like Jarret Bush on the team....as long as he is on ST and not in coverage. He did make ONE play finally on the biggest stage and god bless him for it.

As a matter of fact I thank him for making my point that not everything that a team does well is done by one of the 3-4 "playmakers" on the roster, but that when there is enough talent on the field damn near anyone and everyone starts to look better and make plays. In NFL football, the sum is greater than the parts when you have talent, and the sum is less than the parts when you do not.

[Patler]

With this team, it's not unreasonable to think that Thompson can find a CB that can cover better than Bush and push him down the depth chart another notch. He did it this year with an undrafted rookie. I think he can do it again. Given Thompson's acumen and Bush's coverage abilities, I'd say that's a perfectly reasonable expectation. The best case scenario IMO would be for Bush to be the 5th safety/6th CB and special teams gunner.

Finding corners isn't that easy. In six years, TT has found two good ones, Williams and Shields. It's not for a lack of trying (Blackmon, Lee, Underwood, Hawkins, Bell, Dendy, Walker, Porter, Ford, Gordy etc.) He has tried high draft picks, low draft picks, undrafted rookies and other teams' cast-offs.

Besides, under normal circumstances, I'm not sure that Bush isn't already the #5 or #6 corner on the team. The problem is that he will be active for every game because of STs, and one of the 4th or 5th corner might very well be inactive. When injuries hit during a game, the 6th corner ends up playing while the 4th or 5th corner stands on the sidelines in street clothes. If the Packers had a week of practice to prepare back ups to play in the top 3 corner positions, I suspect both Lee and Underwood may have gotten the nod ahead of Bush this year, if they were healthy.

[bobblehead]

You said he has tried high draft picks...no, he has tried high draft PICK...singular. also Lee has been active most games and Bush was still the dime which tells me Lee fucking blows.

[Patler]

You said he has tried high draft picks...no, he has tried high draft PICK...singular. also Lee has been active most games and Bush was still the dime which tells me Lee fucking blows.

No its "picks", because I was basically dividing the draft in two, high picks and low picks. There are 250- 260 drafted each year. Lee was #60; Blackmon was #115; making both "high draft picks" if you divide the draft in half.


The problem this year was that both Lee and Underwood have been injured at times. Lee was out due to injury a couple games in the second half of the season. He was also dinged up early. Underwood has been injured at times as well. Both missed practice time even when they dressed. I think Bush worked into the rotation not because he was necessarily better than both Lee and Underwood, but he was healthy and they knew he would be active. He got the practice time, they did not.

[3irty1]

Love your posts 3irty1, but I don't get this at all. Bush is a serious liability at CB. The Packers try their damndest to hide him inside these days, and actually pull it off to some extent, but that's scheme, not Bush. He made a great effort play on the ball in the SB, but that was a serious anomaly. He was beat and/or went the wrong way leaving a guy wide open in his zone on a number of ocassions in the SB. He flat out can't cover with any consistency. He's great as long as he doesn't have to play defense. Very few people are Charles Woodson, but when Jarrett Bush came into the game, the Steelers started moving the ball and made the game extremely exciting. If you go back and watch the plays they made, and who they made them on, you'll see that wasn't a coincidence.

When I said, "If you throw at Jarrett Bush the worst thing that happens is an incomplete pass. Still, the ability to mirror a receiver is worth something." I meant it from the point of view of an opposing QB. In other words, he'll never intercept or even locate the ball, so there really is no downside to going right after him time after time even if he's actually in position. The downgrade from Woodson to Bush is obviously insane but as far as dimebacks go I'm pleased with him. Remember that when he's in, he's covering the slot meaning he doesn't have any sideline to help him. This is a tough spot on a roster to fill! The Packers stay in the nickel so much because we have two corners who excel on the perimeter (Williams and Shields) and Woodson who is dominant in the slot. In order to use our dime package we need another corner to play in the slot. Bush has been that corner for us. He's half as good around the LOS as Wood, and 1/50th as good when the ball is in the air, but he can at least provide a green jersey that appears to be covering someone.

Personally I'm hoping that Pat Lee finally takes that last step forward and can provide us with another capable perimeter guy so that Tramon can move into the slot and give us that much more of a play-making presence near the LOS.

[vince]

When I said, "If you throw at Jarrett Bush the worst thing that happens is an incomplete pass. Still, the ability to mirror a receiver is worth something." I meant it from the point of view of an opposing QB. In other words, he'll never intercept or even locate the ball, so there really is no downside to going right after him time after time even if he's actually in position. The downgrade from Woodson to Bush is obviously insane but as far as dimebacks go I'm pleased with him. Remember that when he's in, he's covering the slot meaning he doesn't have any sideline to help him. This is a tough spot on a roster to fill! The Packers stay in the nickel so much because we have two corners who excel on the perimeter (Williams and Shields) and Woodson who is dominant in the slot. In order to use our dime package we need another corner to play in the slot. Bush has been that corner for us. He's half as good around the LOS as Wood, and 1/50th as good when the ball is in the air, but he can at least provide a green jersey that appears to be covering someone.

Personally I'm hoping that Pat Lee finally takes that last step forward and can provide us with another capable perimeter guy so that Tramon can move into the slot and give us that much more of a play-making presence near the LOS.
OK. I misinterpreted that obviously. Thanks for the clarification. Bush is a liability on the field on D. Liabilities get exposed, and that's how teams get beat. Keep him off the field on defense and I'm happy.

[vince]

Finding corners isn't that easy. In six years, TT has found two good ones, Williams and Shields. It's not for a lack of trying (Blackmon, Lee, Underwood, Hawkins, Bell, Dendy, Walker, Porter, Ford, Gordy etc.) He has tried high draft picks, low draft picks, undrafted rookies and other teams' cast-offs.

Besides, under normal circumstances, I'm not sure that Bush isn't already the #5 or #6 corner on the team. The problem is that he will be active for every game because of STs, and one of the 4th or 5th corner might very well be inactive. When injuries hit during a game, the 6th corner ends up playing while the 4th or 5th corner stands on the sidelines in street clothes. If the Packers had a week of practice to prepare back ups to play in the top 3 corner positions, I suspect both Lee and Underwood may have gotten the nod ahead of Bush this year, if they were healthy.
Good points Patler. Bush wouldn't be tough to replace as a DB, but unfortunately it's not that simple as you indicate. If the roster sizes increase, maybe we can all be happy with Bush because he won't have to play defense.

[SMBASS]

I think Patler, Vince, Joe, and some of you guys have hit the nail right on the head regarding Bush. Nobody is calling him the second coming or "annointing" him as anything. The reason I wanted to throw a few kudo's Jarrett's direction is because of the way he responded after being thrust into an incredibly tough situation during the biggest game of the year. I've seen many other reserve DB's who are supposedly a hell of a lot better than Jarrett get completely torched when thrown into regular season games that weren't nearly as pressure packed as this one. He didn't flinch, he didn't back down, and he fought through some mistakes to put himself into position to make some positive plays and contribute to the Super Bowl victory! What in the heck more can you ask for from you're 4th, 5th, or 6th DB?? As Patler said, "To expect anything more is completely unreasonable."

Losing Shields and the veteran leadership and playmaking ability of Woodson made the situation even more difficult. All of a sudden it was Lee and Bush on the field at the same time instead of Shields and Woodson and the difference is huge. It's almost impossible to "hide" or cover for one lesser DB on the field let alone two at the same time. The situation also forced Dom to make adjustments and change the original gameplan. He had to alter the blitz packages and he also resorted to playing zone for the majority of the 2nd half. I don't know if it was Whitt or Collins or whoever, but someone was doing an excellent job of communicating and making sure the guys were where they were supposed to be the majority of the time. There was some confusion at first but they eventually got it together enough to get the job accomplished and that's all that counts.

If a month ago I would have told anyone that the game would come down to Pitt. having the ball with 2 minutes to go and we were only ahead by 6 with Bush and Lee on the field instead of Shields and Woodson we would have all thought that we were screwed....myself included. To be honest, I was actually surprised that we were ahead in the first place given that Bush and Lee had already been on the field for the majority of the 2nd half. Would you rather have had Underwood out there instead of Bush???

Jarrett has endured a ton of shit from the fans and media over the past few years and it was capped off when that asshole Bedard asked him about being "The most hated player on the team". He's a great kid with an excellent attitude and he's continued to work his ass off and get better. I agree with Joe that the biggest difference I've seen in Bush this year is that he really raised the level of consistency in his game. His ratio of good plays to bone-headed or average plays increased dramatically and he continued to play better and better as the year went on. He also significantly decreased his number of penalties this year. I also agree with Joe that he doesn't have the ball skills to ever be trusted as your 2nd or 3rd CB but tell me one team who has a 5th or 6th CB who can!

I'm just saying let's give the kid some props for not wilting under the pressure and for probably playing about as well as he's capable of under some extremely difficult circumstances. It was the frickin Super Bowl for goodness sakes and he played well enough to get the job done! I simply don't understand the blind hatred that some people have for Bush. I also don't get why it's so hard for some people to let his past mistakes go and show him a little love when he's obviously earned it!

[gbgary]

Or, as Bugs Bunny would say, "What a maroon."


or even worse, "what an ultra maroon."