Explanation/Introduction for "Breaking Down The Tape"
Highlight Video
Break Down the Tape:
1st Run - 00:00 - TD
Nice speed on the pitch, although he doesn't really need to turn the corner since he's already so wide; simple, quick headfake at 00:03 freezes the defender just enough to make him miss on the dive; Nice turn up the sideline without having to gear down much to take it in for the TD
2nd Run/Catch - 00:11
Nice hands; reads blockers pretty well, but running too upright; taken down with a foot tackle at 00:19, doesn't show great balance there
3rd Run - 00:21
Cuts outside pretty well to avoid a defender; arm tackles will not work on him; cuts back but takes too many steps to do it; again a low leg/foot tackle at 00:25 that he jumps to avoid but can't keep balance after landing
4th Run - 00:28
Quick cut left after the handoff without a lot of gear down, still running too high; some speed to get to the corner; high neck tackle at 00:32 knocks him out although he does a good job trying to hold the ball forward for more yardage
5th Run/Catch - 00:33
Good catch and nice job waiting for the pulling blocker; very nice breakdown move at 00:39, but again shows questionable balance by falling down after the defender went by
6th Run - 00:41
Good job turning the corner, but holding the ball out away from his body too much; makes a defender miss with a move inside, but again loses his balance with a tackle at his feet
7th Run/Catch - 00:48
Hauls in the swing pass OK, but looks like he lands a little awkwardly; takes some time to get up to speed, nice cutback at 00:53, but needs to gear down too much there; takes a shot right after the move, but keeps going forward; losing balance near the goaline and then runs into his own guy
8th Run - 00:56 - TD
Nice bounce outside, turns the corner pretty well; takes another high arm tackle that slows him down, but he does manage to keep his balance and get both feet into the endzone, good run but could have used a stiff arm to avoid the arm tackle
9th Run - 01:03
Running through a lot of traffic here; takes lots of short choppy steps; doesn't seem to try to put his shoulder into anyone; gets hit around the ankles and falls down
10th Run - 01:10 - TD
Nice run right up the middle, gets through the hole quickly; finally some running in tight space, takes a hit and runs through it and then lowers his shoulder at 01:13 and gets into the endzone
11th Pass - 01:19 - TD
As has been written, he was a HS Quarterback and he throws a fantastic pass here for a TD, selling a sweep and then really setting his feet well, something most RBs throwing the halfback option don't do
12th Run - 01:28
Runs into a crowd at the line; does a nice job keeping his feet moving and runs well in a tight space to bounce off the pile to the left; nice quick headfake at 01:33 to slow down the defender; good speed to turn the corner and shrug off a high arm tackle attempt; cuts back in at 01:36 but gears down too much to do it and allows other defenders to converge
Michael Bush Summary:
Short video that wasn't the greatest quality, but I saw enough to be a little bit disappointed in Bush. He does have very good speed for his size and moves laterally better than most bigger guys, but he still doesn't have very good quickness. He runs with a high pad level, doesn't lower his shoulder very much to make himself tougher to tackle and seems to hold the ball further away from his body than he should. Finally, I think the biggest problem is his balance. He seems to lose it rather easily on leg and ankle tackles and at the next level, most defenders will be going for his legs. It seemed like he generally needed alot of space to run and didn't look like the bruiser that his size would indicate. I didn't see that much wiggle either. I don't think his broken leg should affect his future skills like a knee injury would, but he still did miss a year of learning to get better at running in tight spaces, keeping his balance, using a stiff arm, etc. He does catch the ball nicely and certainly has excellent arm, but I think most people are too high on him as an NFL prospect based on measureables and "dreams" of what a guy with those measureables can do without really looking at the tape. When you break down the tape, at least this short tape, he doesn't live up to his billing.
