blacksaint

Tailback leaves game after taking a hit to the ribs

Monday, October 29, 2007
By Tammy Nunez

SAN FRANCISCO -- To those struck by fear when Saints tailback Reggie Bush hobbled off the field in the third quarter of Sunday's 31-10 victory at San Francisco after being hit in the ribs, feel free to exhale. Bush was only "slightly bruised" and called the hit "a normal part of the wear and tear" of the game.

But that wasn't clear when 49ers cornerback Nate Clements burst into the backfield to smack Bush, who had caught a short pass on the right side with 3:03 remaining in the third quarter.

"He's fine," Saints Coach Sean Payton said. "He had bruised ribs, and it wasn't real significant."

Bush finished with 64 yards rushing on 10 carries and seven catches for 49 yards.

CATCHING ON: The first four games of the Saints' season were riddled with many offensive errors -- including dropped passes. On Sunday, the receiving unit starred.

"Yeah, I thought they were pretty solid," Payton said. "They did a good job of holding onto the football."

The Saints amassed 336 yards passing, and Marques Colston broke through with a season-high three touchdown receptions, one more than he had before the game. He caught eight passes for 85 yards but regretted two potential touchdown catches he could have as well as a fumble that led to San Francisco's first score.

"Had this game been close, those (drops) could have proved costly," Colston said. "It's something I'm going to have to work on, and you know I will. It's a great feeling to get three against such a fine secondary. This was just my day today."

"Colston, in particular, did a great job," quarterback Drew Brees said. "He made some great grabs. We were messing with him afterwards, saying that he could have had five (touchdowns), but you can't take anything away from his performance."

David Patten caught five passes for 109 yards and got the Saints rolling on their first drive with a 43-yard reception that put New Orleans on San Francisco's 30-yard line.

"It's good to be on the other side of the coin," Patten said. "The first couple weeks we struggled."

ACTIVATED: Rookie guard Andy Alleman was activated for the first time. First-round draft pick Robert Meachem was inactive for the seventh consecutive game.

BEER MAN DELIVERS: Michael Lewis, a popular player when he was with his hometown Saints, returned one kickoff for 18 yards and one punt for 23 yards for the 49ers.

"The mind-set stays the same," Lewis said of playing against his former team. "I go out there and do what I have to do, try to put the offense in the best field position possible."

BREESING BY: Brees has thrown five touchdown passes in a game twice in his career. He had four Sunday, the most this season and his second most with New Orleans. Brees connected three times with Colston for scores of 17, 3, and 15 yards. He also threw a 2-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Copper.

"Drew is the same guy," Colston said. "We just went through a spell where things weren't going well."

HELD IN CHECK: When the Saints last played the 49ers (on Dec. 3, 2006), running back Frank Gore rushed for 40 yards. He did better Sunday, but only by 1 yard. The Saints held Gore to 41 yards on 12 carries and no touchdowns.

BANGED UP: Besides Bush, the Saints had two other players leave the game because of injuries. Defensive end Charles Grant sprained his ankle in the first half, but returned and played without further problems. Payton said he wasn't sure how long linebacker Scott Shanle would be out because of an injured hamstring.

Bush's injury isn't considered serious- NOLA.com

saint4life
(504)

saintsrule

I hope the injuried players are okay.