Miami Dolphins running back Reggie Bush was not 100% fit playing in Week 4 – NFL News
Despite returning rapidly from injury to play the Miami Dolphins Week 4 game on Sunday, September 30, 2012, running back Reggie Bush did not look like his previous self against Arizona Cardinals. Bush has now admitted that he was indeed not at his best.
Talking to Miami Herald on Wednesday, October 03, 2012, Bush revealed that he was not fully fit to produce exciting performance. Bush said:
"I was hurting; I'm not going to lie, I tried to fight through it. I did the best I could. I’m not going to make any excuses. I’ve got to play better. I didn’t play well at all.”
Bush marked his comeback within a week after getting injured in Week 3 game New York Jets.
During the final few moments of the second quarter, Bush injured his knee. Dolphins failed to give good offensive output in the second half of the game due to absence of Bush and lost the game 20-23.
Although Bush carried the ball 17 times for 67 yards against Cardinals, he was not running at the speed that he had maintained in the first three games of the season.
Bush averaged 6.0 yards per carry in the first three games, while he averaged only 3.9 yards per carry against Cardinals.
The injury to Bush greatly affected the performance of Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, who heavily relies on Bush’s for gaining yards.
Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin said before their Week 4 game that he would only play Bush if he was fit enough. Philbin said:
"You just need to trust your eyes, watch the film and see where he's at. Obviously, health and safety of the players is the No. 1 concern. I'm sure if he's healthy enough, he'll play.”
The reason behind playing Bush even if he is not 100% is the below average performances of the Dolphins backup running backs.
In absence of Bush, Tannehill did not have much success with backup running backs Lamar Miller and Daniel Thomas. Their aggregated output was a mere eight carries, making Tannehill depended on his receivers.
Even though Bush remained limited during practice this week, he has indicated that he is fit now and is ready to take on Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday, October 07, 2012.
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