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Reggie Bush and the USC Trojans are attacking each other in the media and it does not seem to be going away anytime soon. The question is will this affect the Saints as they make a run to try and repeat this year?
The Top Ten online sportsbooks have posted the Saints odds to win the Super bowl at 9 to 1 and Bet Mania has a win total over/under set at 10.5. These odds can change along the way if Reggie Bush or the Saints are distracted.
The Super bowl is something that the Saints can come close to achieving but they don’t need distractions along the way.
In the first preseason game of the year, Bush ran for 17 yards on five carries to include scoring a touchdown. From the way he looked in the preseason game, it would be easy to deduct that the off field feud with USC is not bothering Bush or the Saints.
However Bush has already commented on the situation on more than one occasion. One constant theme he keeps repeating is how bad the situation is and how much it bothers him.
In late July after discovering the allegations and the penalties that were being put on the football program at USC, Bush had this to say. “This thing, regarding USC and the NCAA, is the closest thing to death without dying because I have such a great love and respect for the university,” Bush said. “This has been one the toughest things I’ve had to deal with in my life.”
Ten days later, Bush proclaimed that he would focus on football, but was still bothered by the way that USC has separated Bush from the university.
“I think I’d be lying if I said it didn’t,” Bush said. “Obviously, it does, but at the end of the day it is what it is. All I can really do now is focus on the New Orleans Saints and just try to move on. It bothers me and it sucks. The whole situation is terrible and nobody feels worse about it than I do.
Recently Reggie Bush called Southern California athletic director Pat Haden and Haden told USA today that Bush never apologized. “Never did he say I’m sorry or I apologize,” Haden told the L.A. Times. “Never did he say, ‘I lied to the NCAA or I took stuff.’”
This story is not going away and it may be an issue for a long time to come. Regardless of what he has said publicly, it is obvious this affects Reggie Bush. It is not yet obvious if it will affect his game play, but if it does the Saints could suffer as a team.
Other Articles on the Saints and USC
New Orleans Saints 2010 Preview
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Even before taking the head coaching job for the Seattle Seahawks, at a time when his name was being discussed, certain doubters referred to Pete Carroll as an NFL “failure.”
This criticism had a familiar twist. The flip side of this contention surfaced after Carroll’s coaching stints with the New York Jets and New England Patriots respectively.
When USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett appeared interested in Carroll, doubters predicted that the former Heisman Trophy winner would soon be gone based on a three strikes rule.
Garrett had earlier selected John Robinson for a second tour of duty at Troy that proved less than successful as he dropped five games in a row to crosstown-rival UCLA.
After that things got even worse. There was Paul Hackett, who had earlier failed as a head coach at Pittsburgh University.
In his final of three seasons at USC in 2000, Hackett accomplished something that Trojan watchers deemed beyond the realm of possibility. That campaign Troy, with its rich Southern California recruiting base and national outreach, finished dead last in the Pac-10.
So Garrett was lampooned and critics claimed he would soon be gone for making his third unsuccessful football coaching hire in a row. Carroll had, according to critics, failed in the NFL and there was no reason to present him with a whopping contract and one of the high visibility coaching jobs in the country.
A reason cited why Carroll had not succeeded at his previous coaching stop in New England was that he was too much of a “rah rah guy” for the NFL. It was said that New England management did not like the idea of his close association with his players capped by basketball games.
So what happened after Carroll proved his critics wrong and established a dynasty at Troy that included two national championships? It was then said that the same “rah rah” tactics that would not work in the NFL made him a good fit for a major collegiate program.
An analysis of Carroll’s pro coaching record does not reveal failure. The definition of the word failure is lack of success or inability to meet expectations.
Carroll’s first NFL coaching stop at the age of 43 was the New York Jets in 1994. He finished at 6-10. The team finished fifth in the AFC East.
Was one year any kind of real test? Lou Holtz had a brief NFL stop with the same Jets team at the age of 39 in 1976. He resigned with a 3-10 mark. The resignation was one of those management “Here’s your hat and what’s your hurry?” endings.
What did Holtz do? He went to the college ranks beginning with Arkansas in 1977. That team scored one of the biggest upsets in Orange Bowl history over Oklahoma, knocking the Sooners out of a national title.
In 1988 at Notre Dame, Holtz would lead the Irish to an undefeated season and a national championship. Holtz would take six different collegiate teams to bowl games.
Pro grid experts theorize that Holtz was not given sufficient opportunity to mold the Jets into a winner. His collegiate record was so remarkable, beginning at 31 as defensive coordinator under Woody Hayes in 1968 of a national championship team, that given the right opportunity the odds would have been strong that he could have achieved success in the NFL as well.
From 1997 to 1999, Carroll coached New England. His first season, he guided the Patriots to a 10-6 mark and first place in the AFC East, splitting two playoff games. The next two seasons, he achieved marks of 9-7 and 8-8, finishing fourth both seasons.
So Carroll’s overall pro record stood at 33-31 for a .516 win percentage. His New England stats were 27-21 and .563.
Does that constitute failure? If it does then scores of other coaches at around the .500 mark or below were failures. Is it not unfair to plague coaches with that term when, while not securing championships, are far from cellar occupiers? These are not people who have lived in the doldrums.
That being the case, would limbo not be a better term? What if more patience had been exhibited by the New England ownership with Carroll. What about other coaches such as Holtz with the Jets? We have no idea what they might have accomplished.
History records that the Dallas Cowboy management was smart in displaying patience with Tom Landry, who assumed coaching reins in the expansion team’s initial season in 1960.
How was it for Landry at the outset? Landry, one of the NFL’s all-time coaching greats, from 1960 to 1965 had seasonal records of 0-11-1, 4-9-1, 5-8-1, 4-10, 5-8-1 and 7-7.
In 1966, he scored a breakthrough and went 10-3-1 in the regular season, losing the NFL championship game to Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers, 34-27. The team was finally rolling but it took until 1971 until Landry won his first Super Bowl with a 24-3 win over Don Shula’s Miami Dolphins.
How easy it would be to envision impatient management people of certain organizations, given Landry’s beginning years, saying “Get rid of this guy! He’s had long enough. He’s a failure!”
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After a highly anticipated and promising career turned into a train wreck and a failure, it seemed that Mike Williams was done. But after a two year absence from the game, it looks like Williams is back.
For Williams, the story begins at the University of Southern California, where he wasted no time in proving himself to be among the nation’s best.
When he first entered USC, he was an immediate starter. The former high school All-American from Tampa, Florida set Pac 10 freshman records for receptions, yards, and touchdowns, with 81, 1256, and 14 respectively.
For this he was named the Pac-10 Freshman of the year for 2002. He was also a Freshman All-American, 2nd team all Pac-10, and All-American Honorable Mention selection.
Williams continued his success into 2003, catching 95 passes for 1,314 yards and 16 touchdowns, en route to being selected a Consensus All-American and First-Team Pac-10 choice. He was even chosen as the CBS Sportsline.com National Player of the Year.
That same year, Williams played a monumental role in USC’s split National Championship with LSU. USC was denied a spot in the BCS Championship game, but after a solid defeat of the Michigan Wolverines in the Rose Bowl, they were able to take the number one spot in both the AP and Coaches Polls.
If it were not for Williams’ production, they likely would not have been able to pull of such an impressive feat. By this time, Williams had made it clear that he was more than ready to take a crack at the NFL. This is where things start to get complicated.
In 2004, Williams declared himself available for the NFL Draft. After receiving permission from a federal judge, Williams began his NFL training, as well as the Combine and other workout processes.
However, when the NFL brought the case to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the decision was overturned. Williams was now ineligible for the NFL Draft.
Making things worse was the fact that he could not return to college either. Being that he had already started the NFL evaluation process and had hired an agent, as well as having already left college, Williams could no longer return to the Trojans for his junior season.
Instead, he was forced to sit at home for the entirety of 2004, having been barred from even practicing with his former college squad.
After a year of seclusion from the public spotlight, Williams entered the 2005 NFL Draft and was selected tenth overall by the Detroit Lions. This was the beginning of a series of failed attempts at success for the young receiver.
His stay in Detroit only lasted from 2005 to 2006. He only scored two touchdowns during this time span. In addition, he managed just 37 catches and 449 yards.
Following a couple of mediocre seasons with the Lions, Williams was traded to the Oakland Raiders. But his return to Southern California did not bring him any more success than before.
He spent just one season in Oakland, where he only managed seven receptions, 90 yards, and did not see the end zone. He did not even last the whole 2007 season. About halfway through the season, he was released by the Raiders.
Soon after, he was signed by the Tennessee Titans, for whom he played for a mere two games. By then, his weight had skyrocketed to 271, and as a result received little playing time. He lost 30 pounds during the offseason, but was once again released.
Now we fast forward to the present, with Williams suiting up with yet another team. A two-year break has given him the time that he needed to sort out his life and get things back on track.
Williams has been working hard to get back into football form, and was rewarded with a one-year contract to play with the Seattle Seahawks.
By signing a rejuvenated Williams, the Seahawks are getting a boost to a passing game that was already ranked 15th in 2009. With the addition of a receiver with the potential and talent of Mike Williams, Seattle now has the opportunity to become an elite offense.
While there are other burning issues that need to be addressed, signing Mike Williams is a major plus for the Hawks. He is a tremendous athlete with great upside and a superb set of hands.
The Seahawks needed a big-time pass catcher to compliment T.J. Houshmanzadeh. Williams, a massive target standing tall at 6’5,” has the potential to be just that.
However, there is no guarantee with Williams, as he didn’t exactly pan out the first time. Regardless, the fact that he was once such a phenomenal player gives you some reason to believe that he can reach that level once again.
Only time will tell whether or not the Williams-signing was a smart decision or just another move by a struggling team, desperately trying to achieve glory once again.
Some say the odds are stacked against him, but I think that Mike Williams will succeed this time around. He may not accomplish what the Lions expected of him when they drafted him back in 2005, but I feel that he can still be a valuable contributor to a team that is in dire need of a playmaker.
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The AFC West will be a very intriguing division this season.
Any other year the Chargers would dominate, the Broncos would finish mediocre, the Raiders would show signs of hope yet be considerably bad, and the Chiefs would be laughable.
2010, however, is different.
There is a huge power shift in the west.
The Raiders and Chiefs, two teams who have been at the bottom the past few years, have made progress this off-season.
The Broncos have had a very strange off-season. Josh McDaniels has seemingly torn that franchise apart, trading away the best offensive player in Brandon Marshall and making questionable picks in the draft.
The Chargers lost and added key players. Still, there are huge concerns in Southern California.
Two key offensive players, Vincent Jackson and Marcus McNeill, did not sign their contract tenders and are prepared to sit out for the first 10 games this season.
Even when they do return, there is no telling whether or not they’d even play. This would cause a ripple effect, in which Phillip Rivers’ stats would fall considerably.
Enter the Oakland Raiders.
The Raiders are by far the most improved team in the division this year. They had one of the best off-seasons in the league and drafted brilliantly. Oakland also added Jason Campbell, a quarterback with much potential.
The question is whether or not the Raiders can surpass the Chargers and take control of the AFC West.
Well, you have to consider the fact that San Diego downgraded at some positions this year.
Ryan Matthews is a good player, but no L.T. Some Chargers fans will argue, but they’ll see soon enough.
At the wide receiver position is Malcom Floyd instead of Vincent Jackson. Floyd has a lot to prove, but isn’t as good as Jackson.
Tra Thomas isn’t what he used to be as an offensive tackle, and is by far a downgrade from McNeill.
Now to the defensive side of the ball.
Cam Thomas was a huge steal but it may be too much to have him as the starting Nose Tackle in his rookie season.
San Diego also traded away Antonio Cromartie, and I think they could regret getting rid of him.
The Raiders, on the other hand, upgraded at plenty of positions this season.
Both John Henderson and Desmond Bryant are surely better than Gerard Warren at defensive tackle.
Kamerion Wimbley brings stability to a SAM position that has been mediocre for the Raiders over the years.
Rolando McClain is clearly a better run stopper than fan-favorite Kirk Morrison.
On offense, the Raiders did addition by subtraction when they let Cornell Green walk.
Chaz Schilens is healthy, DHB is now looking like a true 7th overall pick, and Louis Murphy has another year under his belt.
The biggest upgrade is Jason Campbell at quarterback instead of JaMarcus Russell.
Campbell is similar to Russell physically but other than that they are the complete opposites.
I think Oakland will definitely give the Chargers a run for their money this season. Oakland is definitely the most improved team and San Diego will be surprisingly worse this season.
However, I just don’t think the Raiders are ready to take the lead this year. It could happen, but I think Oakland finishes second with a Wild Card birth.
Tell me what you think Raider Nation! Can the Raiders win this division? Thanks.
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Collin Keoshian’s YouTube video hasn’t gone viral. But it did find its way to the right people.
Keoshian (pronounced Key-oh-shun) was a star athlete playing eight-man football at tiny Santa Clarita Christian School in Santa Clarita, California.
Playing in such anonymity, Collin and the school’s video specialist decided to put together a highlight reel that Collin planned to send out to colleges to see if he could drum up any interest in his talents.
Before doing so, he decided to post the video online so that Collin’s extended family could view it.
Not long thereafter, Keoshian received a call out of the blue from BYU assistant football coach Barry Lamb. Seems a BYU football fan had seen Keoshian’s film and notified the BYU coaching staff. They were impressed to say the least.
Coach Lamb’s call took Collin by total surprise.
“I was shocked and excited”, says Keoshian. “I couldn’t believe it.”
An even bigger shock was what the BYU coaches told him about what they saw in him on film.
“They just said that they thought I could definitely go to the NFL, and that going to BYU would help me prepare to get there. BYU has sent a lot of linebackers to the NFL.”
Unusual praise from the typically conservative BYU staff, and pretty heady stuff for a kid that played on a team where the entire squad numbered just 29 players.
SCC Head Coach Garrick Moss started the football program at the private Christian school 13 years ago when 14 students came out for the team that first season.
Eight-man football is played on an 80-yard field. In fact, the Cardinals call the field at nearby Canyon High School, the alma mater of current Cougar JJ Di Luigi, their home. The field is modified for SCC home games and are played on Saturdays so as to not interfere with Canyon games on Friday nights.
With Colin as its star player, the usually underdog Cardinals have won the CIF Division II eight-man championship in Southern California each of the last two years, besting 80 other schools in the area. Both times they defeated rival and perennial national eight-man powerhouse Faith Baptist in the championship game to take home the title.
“It’s been amazing,” Keosahian explains. “Our school has been the underdog for years. We’re a pretty small school and have ended up gaining a lot of notoriety.”
Collin is a two-time All-Santa Cruz Valley player and a two time-Horizon League MVP. This past season ended with him being the first eight-man player ever named to play in the Los Angeles Daily News All-Star game, along with another future Cougar Zac Stout.
On the field, Collin intimidated eight-man teams and was coveted by the large local powerhouse programs like Hart and Canyon. In fact, parents at the big schools approached Keoshian’s father Craig several times with the hope of luring away his son to play with theirs.
But Collin says he had attended SCC since he was an elementary-age kid. “Its a Christian school and that was important to me. I wanted to stay loyal to the school and be the first player to go Division I from SCC,” explains Keoshian, who has become a role model and celebrity on campus.
“I knew if I played my hardest I would be found. If God wanted me to play college football, He would allow it to happen.”
“We’re a K-12 school and the little kids here look up to him. He’s the type that will sit down with the kids, he’s not too cool to take time for others,” says Moss. “There are a lot of good strong Christian kids that have gone to school here, but there aren’t any of them that I would put above Collin as a person. He’s unique, he truly puts others first.”
Keoshian says, “It’s pretty cool to see the the kids in the morning when I come to school, all lined up waiving and ready to see me. I remember when I was in their shoes here, looking up to the players.”
What BYU coaches saw when they first viewed Collin’s video was a 6′2″, 225 pound monster than runs a 4.5 forty-yard dash and leaps over human beings in a single bound, literally. In multiple highlights, Keoshian leaps over the top of would-be tacklers with amazing ease.
“He’ll be exciting to watch,” says Coach Moss. “We have a photo here at the school that shows him hurdling over a six-foot tall player. The kid’s form tackle was perfect, but he had his arms full of nothing.
“He’s such a gifted athlete; he could play a number of different positions,” says Moss. ”But he’s set on being a linebacker, He loves hitting and linebacker is the position he thinks gives him the best chance of playing at the next level.”
When Keoshian and his father arrived to scout out BYU, it was love at first sight. Both of them knew that Provo was the place for Collin to play his college football. “I love that it’s a campus with morals,” says Collin, who is a devout Christian.
“He loved the coaches. They couldn’t say enough about the BYU coaching staff,” Moss says.
Possessing such eye-popping athleticism many have expected Keoshian to play outside linebacker in BYU’s 3-4 defense were he can make plays in space. But Collin, who now checks in at 240 pounds, says that the BYU coaches are talking to him about playing inside linebacker, a spot that is thin on the current Cougar team.
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard. They’ve told me that the middle linebacker spot it open, so that’s good news,” says Keoshian. “Hopefully I will see the field, but I’m not expecting to start as a freshman.”
It’s a big adjustment for a high school player to make the jump to Division I college football, but it’s an even bigger jump for someone that has been playing eight-man football in high school. “With eight-man, its just three less players and a smaller field,” says Collin. “I’ve played 11-man as well. There’s just a lot more open field tackling. The biggest difference (at the college football level) will be better athletes.”
“It’s football,” Moss explains. “Offensively (going from eight-man to 11-man) it’s a big jump. Defensively though, it’s not as big of a jump. If your a smart kid and know football you’ll be fine. Collin has as good of instincts as I have ever seen. (College football) is going to be a big adjustment, but he’s up for the task.”
Colin will arrive in Provo in early August. For those of you who have not seen his above-mentioned video, here it is…
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