No one would blame Reggie Bush this Sunday if he made a concerted effort to stay away from Sheldon Brown.

It was the divisional round of the 2006 playoffs in New Orleans when Bush went into the flat to receive a pass from Drew Brees and was then met by a lights-out, monster hit from Brown. The hit knocked the ball out of Bush's hands and left Bush on the ground - twice. It was such a huge hit that a photograph of the moment of impact would later grace the cover of Sports Illustrated.

While Bush likely wishes he could forget the play, the hit has taken on mythical status in the Eagles locker room. Those who were fortunate enough to be there to witness it remember it vividly.

The photo that would later grace the cover of Sports Illustrated

"I just saw it coming from a mile away," said linebacker Omar Gaither. "The funny thing about it is, we were working that play all week in practice and everybody was saying if it ever came off that way it would be perfect. That was the perfect play for Sheldon Brown and I don't think anybody will ever forget that."

Brown actually wasn't the only Eagle who had a chance to hit Bush.

"O man, I was dropped in coverage and I thought I was going to be the one to hit him," said defensive end Trent Cole. "Because I was in coverage and me and Sheldon were on the same side. So I'm going right to (Bush), and I see him get the ball and I'm going right to him when all of a sudden I see Sheldon go right by my face - shooo. I was like, Oh my god, I've never seen somebody get hit so hard in my life."

After countless years of playing football, is it really the hardest hit they've ever seen?

"Oh yeah, by far," said Gaither. "Just a straight, clean hit."

"Yeah it was (the hardest hit I've ever seen)," said defensive tackle Mike Patterson. "It was a big hit. It was a momentum changer for us, you know, seeing one of our guys go out there laying someone out."

It was such a big hit that some players were aware of it without even seeing it.

"I didn't see it in live speed but I heard it," said center Jamaal Jackson, who was on the sidelines at the time. "And the last thing I saw was (Bush) getting up and then falling back down. I kind of felt bad for the guy, I mean I'm an offensive player. But hey, it was our team that laid the wood."

Forgive Bush if he's not interested in pulling splinters out of his back this Sunday.

-- Posted by Bo Wulf, 7:30 a.m., September 19