Jermon Bushrod was all but done after a few disappointing seasons in New Orleans that saw him in street clothes on the bench as an inactive member of the 53 man roster each week. Last year, many predicted he wouldn’t make it through training camp surviving cuts again. Then something happened. Pro bowl and mainstay left tackle Jammal Brown got injured, and Bushrod was give the starting left tackle job. Since then he hasn’t looked back, starting all but a handful of games (Zach Strief did get a couple of starts over that span), playing reasonably well. This past offseason the Saints traded Jammal Brown to the Redskins, giving Bushrod the clear vote of confidence that they were happy with his progress. If you look back at how he played last year and this year, Bushrod has steadily improved and become a legitimate NFL offensive lineman. No one will argue with the idea that he’s probably the weakest link on the Saints’ offensive line, but Bushrod has held his own. Of particular note are the two games he played against the Minnesota Vikings, both in the NFC Championship and the season opener. Bushrod lined up against star defensive end Jared Allen and played remarkably well in both games, containing Allen and stopping him from making any sort of impact on the game. On the flip side, his game against Dallas last year was a complete debacle, which saw him routinely get abused by an injured DeMarcus Ware. The game tomorrow will afford Bushrod an attempt to bounce back from what was by far the most atrocious performance of his short career. It will also give him and the Saints coaches a chance to gauge how far he’s come and how much he’s improved in a year’s time.
Below is how I graded Bushrod in that game against the Cowboys last year, and the recap on specifics:
“D- (2.54) I long considered giving him my second F of the season. He definitely deserves an F for his play, but I think Bushrod shows effort and he at least threw a beautiful block on Bush’s run. In pass protection, he was a disaster. Dallas finished with 4 sacks, all coming from the left side. One of those was on Pierre Thomas, but the fact that Anthony Spencer went twice to hit Brees untouched was inexcusable. Anytime DeMarcus Ware was in the game, he beat Bushrod like a red headed step child. If it wasn’t for Brees’ pocket awareness, Bushrod would have been responsible for many more atrocious offensive plays. As the NFL Network crew pointed out, his footwork and balance were terrible. Maybe it’s time to give Zach Strief another go. Whether it was using speed, power, or anything at all, Ware made Bushrod look like he was out of high school. Embarassing performance by the left tackle.”
That pretty much sums up how dismal of a performance it was. Jermon will get a chance to go up against the NFL’s best in DeMarcus Ware again, and if the Saints want to win they’re going to need a much better showing from their left tackle.
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