Bush Appears Ready To Step Into Spotlight

No one with the San Diego Chargers will feel the death of David Griggs more than Lewis Bush.

Sure, there will be the reminders for everyone. The players will wear stickers on their helmets with Griggs’ number, 92. The cover of the media guide, which commemorates the Chargers’ AFC championship, has a picture of Griggs tucked in the lower right corner.

But it’s Bush who will step out of the anonymity of backing up Junior Seau to take over Griggs’ spot at outside linebacker.

Bush figured that he’d escape Seau’s immense shadow anyway to battle Dennis Gibson for the other starting inside linebacker job. Then he got a call at 5 a.m. on June 20 from the team security director. Griggs had been killed in a car crash in Miami the night before.

“I was just sitting there, numb, for like an hour. It just tripped me out,” Bush said. “You wouldn’t ever think something like that would happen to him.”

One month later, Bush has a new role for the Chargers.

“It’s difficult to even think about, because it was so sudden,” Bush said as training camp began. “He’ll be missed. He’ll be represented well, though. I’m going to give it my best out there.”

Bush is a third-year pro from Washington State who played in all 35 games the previous two seasons, including the Super Bowl loss to San Francisco. He has yet to get his first NFL start. Bush was ready to go. But to nobody’s surprise, Seau started.”It’s no secret when you line up behind 55’s rear end there’s a good chance that you’re not going to see the field,” linebackers coach Dale Lindsey said. “That’s disheartening. In reality, hell, you’ve got one of the best football players in the league and you’re playing behind him, and he looks pretty indestructible most of the time. It gets a little discouraging.”“That’s how I felt after awhile,” Bush said.

As long as he was behind Seau, he’d see either mop-up duty or specials team play. Bush was named the Chargers’ special teams player of the year as a rookie in 1993, but was eager for regular action.

“I got complacent for awhile, and I got kind of bitter, to an extent - ‘I’m sick of this. I’m not going to go anywhere.’ Even when he gets hurt he still goes out there. That’s a tribute to him, but obviously I’m not going to get on the field.”

Now it’ll be Bush who takes on the tight end and tries to bottle up the run.

“That takes an unusual guy who’s willing to go out there and do the grubby work so Dennis Gibson or Junior Seau get to make most of the plays,” linebacker coach Dale Lindsey said. “People see them, they’re highly visible. Probably the only people that really appreciate the (outside) linebacker’s position are the coaches, and the opposing coaches.”

All that matters to Bush is that it’s a physical position, “and I like hitting. It isn’t anything more than what I was doing on special teams, running down there and kicking somebody’s (rear end). That’s all it comes down to. Just get in there, throw your body in the hole.”

Bush said he tends to be overly aggressive. When those times come, he can draw off something he picked up from Griggs.

“I learned a lot from him as far as being a professional,” Bush said. “He taught me a lot - just settle down, man, slow it down, don’t try to eat it up all at once, because you get full.”