According to Yahoo's Jason Cole, the Saints do not plan to bring back Reggie Bush in 2010. Relegated to a minor role on an undefeated team, Bush has now missed multiple weeks due to lingering knee issues in each of the past three seasons. Citing a "Saints insider," Cole reports that GM Mickey Loomis doesn't want to pay Bush's exorbitant $8 million salary even if 2010 looms as an uncapped season.
Frankly, if play-calling mastermind Sean Payton can't turn Bush into a star in a high-flying offense taking advantage of the fast-track at the Superdome, it's hard envision the former No. 2 overall pick as a success story in another locale. Pierre Thomas has proven to be far superior not only on the ground but also in the passing game, which is supposed to be Bush's specialty. Even if a handful of general managers would salivate at Bush's alleged playmaking skills, his injury proclivities and ineffectiveness as a sideline-to-sideline runner give cause for pause.
Speaking of Thomas, the Saints' feature back is in the final year of his rookie contract, making him a potential restricted free agent if a new CBA can be reached. Despite the persistent presence of Mike Bell, Thomas is clearly Payton's backfield MVP. In line for a significant pay raise, along with No. 1 receiver Marques Colston, the Saints will lock up both nucleus players this offseason.
While fantasy owners deal with the frustration of the recent 50-50 backfield split, it's worth pointing out the difference in usage between Thomas and Bell. Similar to the Titans' situation last year, Thomas is used primarily in the Chris Johnson
"Get the Lead" role while Bell holds down the LenDale White "Keep the Lead" role. Thomas obviously can't sniff Johnson's talent level, but he's currently second to Johnson in yards per carry and has come as close as any back to Johnson's absurd percentage of plays over 10 and 20 yards. As we've seen in Tennessee, the "Get the Lead" back holds a lot more long-term value than the "Keep the Lead" back. Dynasty leaguers should expect Thomas to remain a valuable commodity in New Orleans going forward.
). Did Britt hit honest-to-goodness, "Elvis Dumervil in the 4th quarter" Beast Mode, or was it just garden variety "good game against an overmatched opponent" beast mode? What other news, notes, and tidbits from this week's action should I be aware of?
I can see him with the Patriots in Kevin Faulk's role. Holds value for the team but hardly what most (I included) expected from him.
No apology necessary, I'm a big fan.Your comment about the “Get the Lead” and “Keep the Lead” backs was interesting. Traditionally, it’s seemed like FFers have classified RBBC individuals as “Goal Line” and “Between the 20’s” when assessing each committee back’s value. However, it seems like we’re seeing something of a paradigm shift, both in RL usage patterns and FF value--particularly with the success of players like Johnson, Rice, Thomas, and Slaton (for the first half of the year).
I don't think Kolb is going to be a good starting QB, but I do like him as a backup.
And I absolutely can't stand Addai. However, one thing that I am looking to overcome is a tendency to dismiss guys like Addai (Benson and Ryan Grant fit this same criteria for me) who actually can benefit my team(s) in the short term. Right now I sure wish I had Addai or one of those others I mentioned on a few of my dynasty teams down the stretch here. Granted, I'd ideally like to ride their hot streak whilst I can and immediately look to trade them in the offseason, but one of my greatest fears is that I would get stuck with these guys as I don't know if they are very marketable since many have turned sour on their value in dynasty (maybe Benson has increased his profile amongst the masses recently).
