INDIANAPOLIS - Reggie Bush has done 19 national television commercials since beginning his NFL career with New Orleans in 2006.
In that same span, fellow second-year running back Joseph Addai hasn't had any.
Talk about your false advertising.
Sure, a player whose on-screen persona is almost as dynamic as his rookie season was deserves his share of endorsements. But while Bush was being featured in a series of new spots during Thursday night's NFL regular-season opener, it was Addai who stole the spotlight where it matters most.
Addai rushed 23 times for 118 yards and a touchdown in Indianapolis' 41-10 rout of visiting New Orleans, which received a much more modest effort from Bush and other members of an uncharacteristically mistake-prone offense.
"Joe is the reason I think the Saints eventually had to go to some blitzes and single safeties," said Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who took advantage of those opportunities in a 288-yard, three-touchdown passing performance.
"They were playing double safeties and we were running the ball and all of a sudden getting eight, 10 yards a pop. ... If you don't have that running threat, the defense can just take away one thing (from your offense)."
Addai basically picked up where he left off last season when putting up 143 total yards in the Colts' 29-17 victory over Chicago in Super Bowl XLI. Yet unlike with Bush or Manning, the only place you'll be seeing Addai's face on game days this season is with a helmet over it.
Despite being the NFL's leading rookie rusher last season with 1,081 yards on a championship team, Addai said he wasn't approached with any major commercial offers this off-season. Addai's soft-spoken nature — which he exhibited Thursday night when jokingly asking to blow off interview requests from a media throng gathered around his locker — may be one reason why Subway and shoe companies haven't come calling like with Bush.
Addai, though, said he wouldn't mind all the attention "if there's money involved. That's a different story."
Besides Manning and strong safety Bob Sanders, no player on the Colts roster is as indispensable to the team's success this season as Addai. The Colts allowed 2006 starting running back Dominic Rhodes to sign with Oakland during the off-season and declined to pursue a comparable replacement in free agency or the draft.
Such a risk almost blew up in Colts President Bill Polian's face on the game's first snap, as Addai needed assistance leaving the field after getting popped in the ribs by Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie. But before the Kenton Keith era could truly begin, Addai was back on the field.
It then wasn't long before Addai was gashing a Saints defense that seemed more focused on preventing deep passes with a cover-two scheme than stopping the run. Addai wasn't particularly flashy — his longest rush went for a modest 15 yards — but he had no negative carries and made New Orleans' front-seven pay for poor gap control.
Addai's consistency prevented the Saints from teeing off on Manning, who looked even sharper than when winning Super Bowl XLI Most Valuable Player honors in February. Manning tossed two touchdowns to wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who clearly got the best of his one-on-one matchup with former Colts cornerback Jason David, while completing 18-of-30 passes without a turnover as Indianapolis scored 31 unanswered second-half points.
With the Saints falling further and further behind, Bush had little chance to showcase the physical talents that have helped make him such a hot property. Bush produced 45 yards on 16 touches but his most notable play came when dropping a third-down pass deep inside Colts territory that forced New Orleans to settle for a second-quarter field goal.
That was the only scoring produced by the NFL's top-ranked offense from 2006.
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In that same span, fellow second-year running back Joseph Addai hasn't had any.
Talk about your false advertising.
Sure, a player whose on-screen persona is almost as dynamic as his rookie season was deserves his share of endorsements. But while Bush was being featured in a series of new spots during Thursday night's NFL regular-season opener, it was Addai who stole the spotlight where it matters most.
Addai rushed 23 times for 118 yards and a touchdown in Indianapolis' 41-10 rout of visiting New Orleans, which received a much more modest effort from Bush and other members of an uncharacteristically mistake-prone offense.
"Joe is the reason I think the Saints eventually had to go to some blitzes and single safeties," said Colts quarterback Peyton Manning, who took advantage of those opportunities in a 288-yard, three-touchdown passing performance.
"They were playing double safeties and we were running the ball and all of a sudden getting eight, 10 yards a pop. ... If you don't have that running threat, the defense can just take away one thing (from your offense)."
Addai basically picked up where he left off last season when putting up 143 total yards in the Colts' 29-17 victory over Chicago in Super Bowl XLI. Yet unlike with Bush or Manning, the only place you'll be seeing Addai's face on game days this season is with a helmet over it.
Despite being the NFL's leading rookie rusher last season with 1,081 yards on a championship team, Addai said he wasn't approached with any major commercial offers this off-season. Addai's soft-spoken nature — which he exhibited Thursday night when jokingly asking to blow off interview requests from a media throng gathered around his locker — may be one reason why Subway and shoe companies haven't come calling like with Bush.
Addai, though, said he wouldn't mind all the attention "if there's money involved. That's a different story."
Besides Manning and strong safety Bob Sanders, no player on the Colts roster is as indispensable to the team's success this season as Addai. The Colts allowed 2006 starting running back Dominic Rhodes to sign with Oakland during the off-season and declined to pursue a comparable replacement in free agency or the draft.
Such a risk almost blew up in Colts President Bill Polian's face on the game's first snap, as Addai needed assistance leaving the field after getting popped in the ribs by Saints cornerback Mike McKenzie. But before the Kenton Keith era could truly begin, Addai was back on the field.
It then wasn't long before Addai was gashing a Saints defense that seemed more focused on preventing deep passes with a cover-two scheme than stopping the run. Addai wasn't particularly flashy — his longest rush went for a modest 15 yards — but he had no negative carries and made New Orleans' front-seven pay for poor gap control.
Addai's consistency prevented the Saints from teeing off on Manning, who looked even sharper than when winning Super Bowl XLI Most Valuable Player honors in February. Manning tossed two touchdowns to wide receiver Reggie Wayne, who clearly got the best of his one-on-one matchup with former Colts cornerback Jason David, while completing 18-of-30 passes without a turnover as Indianapolis scored 31 unanswered second-half points.
With the Saints falling further and further behind, Bush had little chance to showcase the physical talents that have helped make him such a hot property. Bush produced 45 yards on 16 touches but his most notable play came when dropping a third-down pass deep inside Colts territory that forced New Orleans to settle for a second-quarter field goal.
That was the only scoring produced by the NFL's top-ranked offense from 2006.
Discuss Add this link to... Bury
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