In the NFL, injuries are just part of the game.
Every team will battle the injury bug sometime during the season, but how it copes with the injuries can usually mean the difference between a playoff run or a disappointing season.
Last season, the New Orleans Saints battled their fair share of injuries, especially in the secondary, but the injuries did little to stop the Saints from achieving their ultimate goal of winning Super Bowl XLIV.
Two games into the 2010 season the Saints are already battling the injury bug, and it is a big one. Running back Reggie Bush is sidelined for six weeks with a broken right fibula.
Losing Bush is big for the Saints.
It takes away one of the team's biggest scoring threats. Bush has the ability to score anytime he touches the ball on a running play, pass reception or punt return.
Bush's absence also takes away one of the biggest decoys in the NFL.
Anytime Bush is in the game, opposing defenses keep an eye on him because of his breakaway speed and ability to score from anywhere on the field. When the ball is faked to Bush, it usually opens the field for many of the Saints' other playmakers.
Since coming into the league in 2006, Bush has not exactly set the world on fire — 3,935 combined rushing and receiving yards and 33 total touchdowns — but he gives the Saints some excitement every time he is on the field.
Although he claims he will be back sooner, Bush in all likelihood will be out until the Saints' Nov. 7 game at the Carolina Panthers.
Loosing Bush will hurt the Saints, but it's not the end of the world. The Saints still have to considered one of the favorites to reach Super Bowl XLV.
The Saints will just have to find creative ways to get the ball into the hands of other playmakers. Luckily for the Saints, they have a roster filled with such players.
With Drew Brees at quarterback, the Saints can easily overcome the loss of Bush. He is the type of player that makes everyone around him better.
Since Pierre Thomas is the only experienced running back on the roster, expect Brees to pass the ball in Bush's absence. That will make players such as Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, Lance Moore, Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas much more valuable to the Saints' offense.
That could work to the Saints' advantage because opposing defenses will have to keep an eye on a plethora of other offensive weapons for the Saints.
Bush may be sidelined, but don't expect the Saints offense to become stagnant. The Saints should get back on track during Sunday's NFC South showdown against the Atlanta Falcons.
During his five-year NFL career, Bush has missed 12 games due to injury, but that hasn't stopped the Saints. They were 8-4 in those games.
With Bush sidelined for six more games, let's hope the Saints can continue their winning ways and improve to 14-4 in games that he has missed.
