TAMPA, Fla. — Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers unfolded in
much the same fashion as the previous 15 from Raiders running back
Michael Bush's perspective.
That is, take his place on the sideline and wait for the call from coach
Tom Cable or special teams coach Brian Schneider.
By game's end, Bush was so tired the Raiders had to call timeout just so
he could catch his breath. That's what 27 carries and 177 yards rushing
will do to a player accustomed to watching others do what he dreams of
doing.
"It has been a long year for me," said Bush, who recorded 129 of his
yards in the fourth quarter — the third-highest total in the NFL since 1991.
It would have been an even longer offseason for Bush were it not for
injuries to starting running back Justin Fargas and primary backup
Darren McFadden early in Sunday's game.
The Raiders played their first two offensive series with every intent of
using Fargas and McFadden as much as possible. But circumstances
dictated Cable turn over the reins to Bush on the third offensive series.
Perhaps there is something to the adage that good things come to those
who wait.
Bush spent his rookie season rehabilitating the broken leg he sustained
in the first game of his final season at Louisville and waiting for a
promotion to the 53-man roster that never materialized.
Bush thought his seemingly interminable wait ended when he received
extensive playing time in Oakland's second game this season and
responded with a 90-yard effort against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Bush ran the ball 14 times in each of the two games that followed but
only 24 times in the past 11 games. Five times during that span he went
without a carry.
The biggest blow came when Cable shifted Bush to fullback soon after he
replaced fired coach Lane Kiffin.
"Hopefully I made a statement (Sunday)," Bush said, "running the ball 27
times, not fumbling it and picking up the slack when the other guys went
down. "... I got drafted as a fullback "... excuse me, as a running back
and, hopefully, I'll stay that."
Cable said he was impressed by Bush's performance Sunday, especially a
67-yard run that turned a 24-21 deficit into a 28-24 lead late in the game.
"He turned his shoulders downhill to the defense, and he really went
after it," Cable said. "He ran so violently and that's what you need."
Bush also executed a halfback-option pass that resulted in a 43-yard
pass interference penalty on the Buccaneers and set up a Raiders touchdown.
Cable said he knows what's coming next, that Bush will restate his case
for remaining a running back.
"It's just a matter of we have a lot of talent at that spot," Cable
said. "So, that's always something that you're going to wrestle with as
a coach. We'll make it work."
