Eagles Concerned About Reggie Bush Matchup

The hoopla is all about rookie Reggie Bush, the New Orleans Saints running back out of Southern California who owns a Heisman Trophy and two national championship rings, and leads the NFL in receptions.

"All you have to do is watch the tape to see how good he is," Eagles special-teams coach John Harbaugh said.

What the Eagles saw on tape earlier this week was Reggie Bush returning a punt 65 yards for his first NFL touchdown, a late fourth-quarter play that allowed the 4-1 Saints to rally for a 24-21 victory against Tampa Bay on Sunday.

They also saw the running back's 11 catches for 63 yards against the Bucs, proving that Reggie Bush presents multiple problems as defensive coordinator Jim Johnson prepares the Eagles to face the Saints on Sunday at the Superdome.

"The biggest problem with Reggie is a matchup problem and making sure we don't have any mismatches," Johnson said. "The guy is such a special athlete. He's a lot like Brian Westbrook."

Reggie Bush is a lot like Westbrook, the Eagles' veteran running back who doesn't have a Heisman Trophy or a national championship ring. Westbrook, despite being the best double threat in the NFL right now, has not received as much national attention in his five seasons as Reggie Bush has in his first five weeks in the league.

"I think if people really look at the stats and the things that I've done since I've been in the league, they'll see the truth," said Westbrook, who was a third-round pick out of Villanova. "Like I said, I think Reggie is a very exciting player, but a lot of hype comes with a guy who is the second overall pick and the Heisman winner who went to USC.

"I didn't do any of those things in my college career, but in the NFL, I think we do a lot of similar things and if people take the time to look at the stats, they'll see that."

Actually the stats reveal that, at least right now, Westbrook does those things better. The Eagles will need him to be the most dangerous weapon on the field if they're going to beat the resurgent Saints.

Reggie Bush does lead the NFL in receptions (34), something no running back has accomplished over a full season since San Francisco's Roger Craig in 1985. But Reggie Bush is averaging 7.4 yards per catch, which is more than 3 yards fewer than Westbrook's 10.9 average this season. Westbrook has a career average of 9.8 yards per catch and has 16 career receiving touchdowns.

As far as being a running back, Reggie Bush isn't even the best one on his own team. That distinction belongs to Deuce McAllister, who is coming off his first 100-yard rushing performance of the season in the Saints' win over the Bucs. McAllister, a two-time Pro Bowler who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards three times in his career, gets the bulk of the carries for the Saints and is averaging 4.8 yards per rush this season.

Reggie Bush, on the other hand, has not run the ball all that effectively this season. He is averaging just 3.1 yards per carry and has been held under 3 yards per carry in three of his five games.

Though the Eagles don't run much, Westbrook almost always has run effectively in his career, as evidenced by his 4.6-yard per carry average. This season, Westbrook is averaging 5.3 yards per carry.

That said, Reggie Bush has added another dimension to the Saints' offense, and quarterback Drew Brees believes the Saints' thunder-and-lightning combination is making it difficult for opposing defenses.

"You see both of those guys in a game and you don't know who we are going to give it to," Brees said. "You spread them out, put them in motion, shift them around, and I think defenses have to have a plan for when those guys are in the game. We have other weapons, too."

That's true.

The Saints are loaded on offense.

Wide receiver Joe Horn is a four-time Pro Bowler, but Marques Colston, a rookie seventh-round draft choice from Hofstra, leads the Saints and all NFL rookies with 374 receiving yards.

"Colston was a good find, no question about it," Johnson said. "He's a big guy (6-foot-4, 231 pounds), and he's going to be a little bit of a problem with matchups. He's almost like a tight end playing out there as a split end."

Johnson also loves Brees.

"I think he's such a great competitor and leader," Johnson said. "He's managing the game and they're finding a way to win close ball games. He's not turning the ball over. As long as he was healthy, we knew he was the real deal."

All the hoopla might be focused on Reggie Bush, but Johnson and the Eagles' defense know they have a lot more to worry about than just the rookie getting most of the national attention.

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