METAIRIE, La. (AP) -Jermon Bushrod has the physical stature to protect the blind side of one of the NFL's most prolific quarterbacks. The 6-foot-4, 325-pound left tackle only needs to prove he can do it in a game when it counts.
Bushrod is expected to get that chance as early as Sunday.
With starting left tackle Jammal Brown likely to be sidelined by a sports hernia, Bushrod could start in his place, as he has in the past couple preseason games, head coach Sean Payton said this week.
Bushrod has yet to play a single regular season offensive snap in his young career, but quarterback Drew Brees joked that he wouldn't worry about that too much as long as the young lineman hollers when the defensive end he's trying to block gets loose.
``I just told him give me that lookout call if I need to move a little bit,'' Brees said with a smile.
In fact, Brees said he's been impressed by Bushrod's recent performances in the preseason.
``He's been awesome. I have all the confidence in the world in Bushrod,'' Brees said. ``This is that defining moment in regards to getting that first opportunity to start in the NFL. I think he's made great strides from his rookie year until now. ... He's talented, but he works hard and has a great group around him. I think that's a big thing. What I've told him is, 'Play your butt off. You're going to get beat time to time. It's my job to get rid of it.'''
Bushrod said protecting a quarterback like Brees is a lot of responsibility, but also has its advantages.
``Drew gets rid of that ball so it's easier in some ways,'' Bushrod said. ``In some ways it's not. It's more pressure, but you can't think about that when you're out there.''
Bushrod attended Towson, then an Atlantic 10 Conference team in the NCAA's Football Championship Subdivision. He said few scouts came to see him play in high school in the small town of King George, Va., and that Towson was one of the few choices he had for college.
He thrived there and was named All-Atlantic 10 in 2006. The Saints used a fourth-round draft choice on him in 2007. It was second year in a row New Orleans had drafted a lineman from a relatively small college program. Jahri Evans came out of Division II Bloomsburg and immediately became a starter at guard.
``We've had a few small college linemen that have gone on and had success,'' Payton said. ``Our scouts did a great job of locating a guy like they did with Jahri a few years ago. When you look at (Bushrod's) development, each year it has gotten incrementally better. A guy like him can kind of go unnoticed when everyone is healthy and then all of a sudden he's playing and you begin to see him against Mario Williams or better competition and he has handled that transition pretty well.''
Bushrod's first preseason start came at Houston, against Williams. He did not allow a sack, though Brees was under pressure on a couple plays.
Bushrod said he doesn't see why he can perform as effectively in Sunday's regular season opener in Detroit.
``I don't think it's going to be too much of a difference,'' he said. ``Just go out there and play ball. That's all everybody does. You don't think about if it's preseason or Game 1 or playoffs. It's all a game. You prepare for each one the same.''
Bushrod was inactive for 14 games as a rookie and for 12 games last season, when he appeared in only two games on special teams.
He has long been a competitive athlete, also playing baseball and basketball in high school. He weighed about 280 pounds back then and said he could play any position in baseball but shortstop. In basketball, he was a power forward or center.
Although he has little game experience in the NFL, he said his past two-plus years of training have been building to the chance he expects to get on Sunday.
``It's a good feeling to go in here and contribute this year until everything gets ironed out with Jammal and everything,'' Bushrod said. ``I want to prove to myself that I can play in this league.''
NOTES: RB Pierre Thomas (sprained right knee) sat out practice on Wednesday. He said he hopes to practice on Thursday and added he'd probably have to in order to be ready to play on Sunday. Thomas said he also had to have stitches in the same leg after cutting himself on the edge of a fence while chasing his dog, which had gotten loose and gone into a neighbor's yard. ... Saints defensive ends Will Smith and Charles Grant both practiced Wednesday and are expected to start on Sunday. Both could be suspended for four games at some point this season because of positive tests last year for a banned diuretic. Their case is on appeal in federal court. ``We'll just have to play it by ear and hope for the best,'' Smith said. ``We're going forward as if we're going to be playing in every single game. ... But as far as being mad or being stressed out, I don't think me and Charles are losing any sleep over it. It's been going on for a year or so, so we're prepared for whatever.''Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
