Bush Can Help The Bears Bounce Back

Okay, enough Cutler talk from me, for a while at least. The other big Bears story is the injury suffered by Matt Forte during last week's loss to the Packers. Whilst first reported as a high ankle sprain, that now seems to have been reduced to just a run of the mill ankle sprain. Either way, it remains unlikely that Forte will play this week against the St. Louis Rams. But fear not. Don't forget that Chicago are blessed with a very good running back called Michael Bush. There's no reason why losing Forte for a couple of games should really dent the Bears chance of winning.

I have said it before but it's worth saying again: Michael Bush could be a starting running back on some teams in the NFL. The Bears are fortunate to have Forte as their main man, and equally blessed to have Michael Bush backing him up.

The Bears signed Bush to a four-year deal worth up to $14 million. That goes to show you what the organization thinks of him.

He is a big, powerful back at 6'1 and 245 lbs. During his four years with the Oakland Raiders, he has had some excellent moments, though perhaps not playing as consistently as he would have liked. He possesses good explosiveness, and has quick feet for a big man. Was it during a preseason game where Bush made a defender totally go the other way with some nifty footwork? He's certainly got some moves.

Now, I'm not for one moment suggesting that Bush is as good as Forte, otherwise he would be starting, right? Forte is a legitimate dual threat and is one of the league's running backs in terms of catching the ball as well as running it.

But Bush is no slouch; he can catch some dump-off passes and gain some positive yardage on them as well as running hard between the tackles. He rarely fumbles the football and is a durable player, suiting up for nearly every time whilst at Oakland.

I don't predict Bush getting the entire workload if he starts against the Rams this Sunday. The Bears have the nimble Armando Allen ready to take some plays and also re-signed the recently cut Kahlil Bell, who I think still has a future in this league.

The Rams allowed 176 yards rushing last week against Washington, so the Bears shouldn't find their run defense too impenetrable.

Of course, it's not just a good performance from Bush that is needed for the Bears to get back on track. The whole offense needs to step it up and play the way they did against the Colts in week one. But perhaps a good showing from Bush can be the inspiration that gets the Bears back to winning ways.