Countdown to Kickoff… Michael Bush Days from the Chicago Bears Season Opener
Sep 23, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Bears running back Michael Bush (29) celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the St. Louis Rams during the second quarter at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports
We decided to do a countdown to the Chicago Bears season opener on September 8th versus the Cincinnati Bengals. Thanks to one of our Twitter followers, we decided to combine the countdown with a roster preview of sorts.
We’re Michael Bush days away from the start of the Bears season. Can you believe it’s finally less than a month away? Let’s take a look at the Bears’ #2 running back and what we could expect from him in 2013.
The Bears picked up Bush as another high-priced free agent running back in 2012. He finishes a trifecta of Chester Taylor and Marian Barber in the Bears’ search for a Yin to Matt Forte’s Yang, the thunder to his lightning. The Bears dropped big bucks on Bush in part because the Franchise Tag was hanging over Matt Forte’s head and they wanted a 1a type of running back in case Forte decided to hold out. Forte ended up finally getting paid and Bush was left to be a high priced backup. Maybe my expectations were too high, but Bush had a disappointing 2012 campaign and I hope he’ll be able to bounce back big time under Marc Trestman in 2013.
Bush appeared in 13 games last season but had the lowest number rushing attempts (114) since his rookie season. He only picked up 411 yards, his lowest season total of his career while only gaining 3.6 yards per carry. Bush did manage to vulture 5 TD’s, but considering his role as the short yardage and goal line back, that’s underwhelming.
Expect a bounceback year from Bush. Only after the season did we find out that Bush was dealing with a pretty serious shoulder injury before a broken rib finally ended his season prematurely. If Bush can stay healthy, he should thrive in Marc Trestman’s offense. Trestman is an offensive mastermind whose schemes should provide opportunities for Bush. The offensive line is re-vamped, which should also help Bush find daylight where he was shut down in ’12.
Other notable 29’s in Bears history include the aforementioned Chester Taylor, the other Adrian Peterson, the ultraback Raymont Harris and of course Dennis “Pinky” Gentry.
We’re 29 days from kickoff. Are you ready???
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