If the Eagles are to slow down Drew Brees and the vaunted Saints offense this Sunday, one of the keys will be winning the field position battle. And in order to do that, the Eagles special teams will have to corral the explosive punt returner Reggie Bush.

"He's a great athlete," said Joselio Hanson, one of the two gunners on punt coverage, of Bush. "We'll have to get down there and get in his face a little bit. Hopefully not give him a straight path to run."

Last year, Bush had an average of 13.5 yards per punt return (3rd in the league), and took three punts to the house (tied for the best in the league).

"Any time you have a talented guy like Reggie Bush it presents problems," said cornerback Dimitri Patterson, the other gunner. "Especially when you're getting thrown all the way down the field and then you're counted on to make a tackle when you're running full speed."

Patterson is a core member of Ted Daisher's special teams, meaning he plays in all four phases of special teams. But what makes him such a valuable asset as a gunner?

"Resiliency," Patterson said. "Being persistent. Taking cheap shots and doing what you have to do.

"The name of the game out there is, what can you get away with? That's the unspoken rule. There are some things that are going to be done, and it might not all be legal, but you have to do what you have to do, you have to make a play. A good punt coverage team, it starts out with the gunners, and everyone knows that."

If the Eagles are able to keep Reggie Bush in check as a punt returner, it will be because the gunners are firing on all cylinders.

-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 7:09 a.m., September 18