Bush Says Defenses Will Make Lions-Jets Game A Dogfight
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - The Detroit Lions will go back on the road Sunday to face the New York Jets, and since both teams boast stingy run defenses, Lions running back Reggie Bush expects a tightly contested game.
"It's going to be a dogfight," Bush told Stoney and Bill of 97.1 The Ticket. "It's going to be one of those games where it's not going to be pretty. We're going to have to go in there and it's going to be a hostile environment, they're coming off of two losses in a row. It's going to be a matter of ... if we want to get to 3-1 more than they want to get to 2-2. That's what it really is going to come down to because we're not going to run anything that's going to trick them. It's not going to be one of those games where we're going to trick them with reverses or stuff like that. It's going to be one of those games where you have to line up and beat that man across from you."
Bush said the Jets defense - second in the NFL to the Lions defense - presents a challenge because the variety of looks it throws at opponents can lead to confusion.
"They give you a lot of different looks, a lot of different blitzes, a lot of exotic fronts, guys walking around all over the place, standing up, and that's what works for them," Bush said. "When teams go into New York and they don't ID the fronts correctly and then they allow the crowd to get loud, and then all of a sudden, here comes a guy free, hits the quarterback on the back side, causes a fumble.
"We have to do a good job at communicating," Bush added. "Communication I think is going to be our biggest emphasis this week, making sure that we go up there, we line up, we communicate, we know everything that's going on so that nobody is confused, everybody's on the same page."
While the Lions encouraged many fans by their showing against the Green Bay Packers in week three, that game led to a couple of significant changes in personnel. Lions linebacker Stephen Tulloch suffered a freak injury, tearing his ACL while celebrating a sack of Aaron Rodgers. With Tulloch lost for the season, Tahir Whitehead will take over at middle linebacker.
The Lions will also have a new face at kicker following the release of rookie Nate Freese, who missed a field goal against Green Bay after missing two the previous week against the Carolina Panthers.
"It's tough to see guys get cut," Bush said. "When I first [saw] it, I think my first two years, I didn't understand it. I was like, 'What? Why is this going on?' And as you grow older [in] this league, you start to understand that it's just a part of the business. It is a show-me league, so you have to always, every week, play with that chip on your shoulder."