The Detroit Lions started off last season promisingly by going 6-3. After that, though, it was all downhill. Detroit went 1-6 over their final seven games, finished third in the NFC North, and missed the postseason entirely.
In an interview on behalf of Carhartts with “SportsCenter” that aired Wednesday, Bush was asked about the late-season struggles and said the team’s leadership was an issue.
“It’s starts with leadership on the team — our leadership could have been better,” Bush told ESPN. “The veterans on the team, maybe we could have done a better job. In the second half of the season is when you need to be playing your best football, and that’s kind of where we feel apart.
“Chemistry is always important on the team and leadership is important. Those are just some of the things that I thought could be important. That can be as far as the way we practice, the way we approach the games, the way we approach film study. All the different things that factor into being a championship team.”
It’s hard to disagree with Bush’s assessment of the team. It was only his first season with the Lions, so maybe he didn’t quite feel comfortable being a team leader, though that might change after the way things ended. What we do know is that Reggie had a pretty darn good season for the Lions, combining for 1,512 yards and 7 touchdowns. Detroit also fired Jim Schwartz and hired Jim Caldwell, so maybe that will help change the culture around the team. They sure need it.
