Bush-Gore rematch hits the Big Easy on Sunday

By Randy  |   Friday, December 01, 2006  |  Comments( 3 )

New Orleans Saints
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In a city where football and politics always seem to intermingle, there will be a Bush-Gore rematch Sunday at the Superdome in New Orleans.

Nah, not George and Al. Instead, Reggie against Frank.

While the Saints' Reggie Bush has the flashier profile and the marquee name, it is the San Francisco 49ers' Frank Gore who is coasting to a landslide victory in the individual statistical battle between these two talented backs entering Week 13. In fact, if it were election night, the pundits would have already declared Gore the winner.

Toiling away in relative obscurity, Gore has quietly emerged as one of the NFL's elite running backs in his second season out of Miami. He's on a hot streak without a doubt - four 100-yard games in his last five starts and second overall in the league in rushing with 1,177 yards.

Think Roger Craig or Wendell Tyler holds the franchise record for rushing yards in a single game? Think again. Gore lit up the defending Seattle Seahawks defense for 212 in Week 11.

Bush has yet to post a single 100-yard effort in his first NFL season but is showing signs of becoming a more decisive back in the past few weeks - he's using more more north-south methods and less east-west. In Sunday's 31-13 win over Atlanta, Bush's fourth-quarter sweep around left end produced a 12-yard gain instead of a TD when the rookie impatiently ran up the backside of his lead blocker.

Experts agree that as Reggie masters the art of the position, euphoric moments will flow forth in abundance. He often seems on the verge of ripping off an 80-yarder, and his head coach Sean Payton admires his high character. In a league chock full of T.O.s and Ocho Cincos, Bush is soft-spoken and modest by contrast.

In a Wednesday morning interview on ESPN Radio, Payton cited Bush as one of hose "high-character guys" a head coach needs when trying to turn around a franchise in the doldrums.

"[Bill] Parcells told me when I took the job, 'you have to find out quickly what the problem is and, then, bring in as many character guys as you can'," said Payton. "New Orleans is a city where there a lot of distractions - drinking, gambling, Bourbon Street; we needed to bring in guys with great character like Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and Marques Colston."

Here's a Payton sampler

On the team's success: "The trick is to put out the fires. We've had to deal with a streak of adversity over the past several weeks. No one has ever been to the playoffs with seven wins. So, we still have plenty of work left to do."

On Drew Brees: "The concern initially was the health of his shoulder. Without the shoulder injury, San Diego would have probably kept him and we would not have had the opportunity to acquire him. It's impressive how quickly he has regained the strength back. He worked extremely hard rehabbing it. After a week or two of training camp, he was throwing full speed. He's accurate, doesn't take a lot of sacks, gets rid of the ball quickly."

The talking heads rarely mention the Saints among the league's upper echelon. As they obsess over Tony Romo's personal life and the antics of Michael Strahan, you can not help but feel Payton relishes the team's anonymity. It allows New Orleans to pursue a playoff berth sans the glare of the national sports spotlight.

Says ESPN analyst Mike Golic, "The Saints are beyond this sympathetic figure now. They are a legitimate contender."

For New Orleans, truer words have never been spoken.

Find Randy Savoie's latest musings on the New Orleans Saints at RealFootball365.com
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CommentsComments: 3  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
fr8ttrain		10:27 AM
12/01/2006
Bush will get his. As you stated he is a rookie, and he is in a tandem set-up with the Deuce, whereas Gore is a second year man,...
No.2
Sue		12:16 PM
12/01/2006
Randy, This is a great article. Bush and Gore both are great players, but I think the outcome of the game will see Bush and his...
No.3
carl		03:55 AM
12/02/2006
i think the saints will win this one and bush and deuce will have 100 yard games and i think theyl goe into new york and dallas...
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