Lions head coach Jim Schwartz says he did not bench Reggie Bush
By Bryan Rose
If you believe Reggie Bush, he says he was benched. And by the most true of definitions, he was, as Bush found himself riding the pine far more than normal.
Bush blamed himself for the benching, suggesting his fumble resulted in the removal from the game though Detroit Lions head coach Jim Schwartz says he didn’t bench Bush. Rather, he didn’t feel Bush’s running style meshed with the muddy Heinz Field grass and preferred to get the power running game of Joique Bell and Theo Riddick involved as opposed to Bush’s speed game:
"Schwartz: “Reggie in horse racing wouldn’t be called a mudder. He’s an explosively quick guy. He’s better on a fast track.”"
Sounds like a pretty reasonable explanation as Heinz Field (along with the vast majority of fields around the league in Week 11) was an absolute disaster from the wet weather.
Regardless, benching or not, it’s not likely to last as Bush as an intricate part of the Lions’ offense and he’ll be back on the friendly Ford Field turf come Week 12 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.