Publicity work? My point is that we should have taken Bush over Mario. Period. I think Bush would have been a perfect fit in this system. A coach who knows how to get his offensive line to open up holes, plus a guy with the burst and speed of Bush to get down into the open field, would have (a) given the Texans a home run hitter, (b) taken pressure off of Carr, and (c) opened up the whole offense.
Now, I agree with you to a certain extent - Nothing is 100 percent guaranteed in the NFL draft. But based on not just performance, but sheer domination in college (guy averaged almost 10 yards a touch, which nobody has approached - not Barry Sanders, not Marcus Allen, nobody), he was the closest to a sure thing that was available. Passing on that reeks of stupidity.
You have the No. 1 overall pick, you make the "safe" and "easy" selection when it's available. This was no Alex Smith draft. There was a clear top dog, and the Texans were the only team that would have passed to take a defensive project who looked good at a combine. Sure, other teams might say they had Mario atop their boards, but when it comes down to it, how many would have actually pulled the trigger? Only one. Maybe that's why they are 18-46 thus far - worst start in NFL expansion history, if I'm not mistaken. (Tampa had the same record to start, but at least made it to a conference title game.)
Go back and look at the defensive linemen taken No. 1 overall - you'll find a lot more Courtney Brown and Aundray Bruce than Bruce Smith (who was great but, like Barry Sanders, never won a Super Bowl).
As for the running backs you mention:
KiJana Carter - blew out his knees. Bad luck.
Lawrence Phillips - you knew that wasn't going to end well, with his extremely problematic criminal attitude problems.
Mario is a project who will also be scrutinized heavily for the rest of his career in comparison to Bush, because it was such a shock that he was taken over Bush. Let's hope the kid from a town of less than a thousand people can handle that pressure.
And - I know everyone says Bush hasn't done anything with New Orleans. Maybe he's been holding back, just like Mario supposedly has been. Maybe he's been finding his spot. Maybe he plays behind a putrid offensive line with no discernable blocking scheme.
Switch the players with the teams. Mario is probably doing with the Saints exactly what he's doing now. Bush, on the other hand, is probably electrifying everyone with highlight runs through the same holes Wali Lundy has benefited from, and would have gained more yards than Lundy has. He wouldn't have to run around end, because he would have holes to run through.
Bush has a long history of success, going back to Pop Warner. Mario? One really good year (at least half a year - weren't all his sacks in like five games?), no first team All American (or all conference) honors, and a great combine performance.
So with that, I'll stop my "rant". (I know, I know - thank God, right?) I think what I think, you guys think what you think, and that's that. At least we have a forum to express our disagreements in a civil manner.