Ask Greg or any one of the guys that I live with and they will tell you that I'm a pretty devout football fan. Every weekend in my apartment is spent by me glued to the couch watching any game that I can. The last two weeks, I was rather dedicated to watching Peyton Manning and his Colts stomp through what is arguably the two toughest games they had back-to-back in their regular season (my beloved Broncos and Tom Brady and the Patriots). I have a pretty funny joke about the Manning/Brady matchup, but I don't think it is appropriate for this entry.

Just this past Thursday I spotted a column in the Daily Bruin that really got to me as I read it while ignoring my professor go on about crystallization or something. David Regan wrote in his article that the two marquee players from this years NFL Draft, Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, have become draft busts and the glory that is UCLA football is already shining in the NFL. While I picked up the obvious tongue-in-cheek tone of the article, I still couldn't help but feel bothered by how presumptuous this statement was.

OK let's be nice, it's unfair to slag Leinart when he plays for the frickin' Arizona Cardinals. I guarantee you that if you put the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team in Cardinals jerseys they will be a perpetual sub-0.500 team. They're the magical franchise that somehow has the ability to suck the life force out of talented players (see: Jake Plummer and Edgerrin James) and also lose to the 2006 Oakland Raiders. The Cardinals are who we thought they were.

As for Reggie… well, sure he hasn't exactly lived up to our expectations. I really wanted him to. Having only recently rekindled my love of pro football and bridging it with my newfound fandom of college football, I was thrilled to see the most talented player to emerge from the NCAA to enter the NFL. Allow me to make a few points before I resume watching San Diego/Cincinnati (home to another USC Heisman winner who is already having a great career, Carson Palmer):

- Bush is still adjusting to the NFL. As we saw in his magnificent plays during his high school and USC tenure, Bush didn't pound up the middle a la LaDainian Tomlinson, but instead was fleet-footed and found holes and skirted the edges of the lines to make big plays. Bush isn't playing against Pac-10 defenses anymore, and as he has noted himself, the NFL hits hard. By the way, does it bug anyone else aside from Bill Simmons and I that Tomlinson is using the nickname "LT" now?

– The Superdome uses artificial turf. If you ask any player, they will tell you that artificial turf changes the way the game is played. Bush has yet to fully adjust his steps to the field.

- Related to the points above, Bush is still trying to pull off a big play on each down and it rarely, if ever, pays off. On a team like the Saints where an experienced quarterback, Drew Brees, has dangerous receivers in Joe Horn and rookie Marques Colston, the position of running back is used more for utility purposes than big plays. Reggie needs slow down a bit and the big plays will come to him.

- Bush's presence has opened opportunities for the New Orleans' offense to find explosive plays in other playmakers such as Colston, Horn, and Deuce McAllister, their other running back. He has the same effect that Terrell Owens has for the Cowboys, having more attention and coverage drawn towards them and allowing opportunities to open up for other players.

One day Reggie will become that player we all hoped he would be in the NFL, but until then have patience. After all, John Elway didn't win a Super Bowl until 15 years into his career.

- Carman