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Advocate staff photo by PATRICK DENNIS
New Orleans defensive end Will Smith pressures San Francisco's Ken Dorsey. Smith has six sacks, second-most among rookies in the NFL.

Defensive end 'blossoming into a heck of a football player'
By LES EAST
Special to The Advocate

METAIRIE -- The New Orleans Saints do have a No. 1 draft choice living up to expectations on the defensive line.
While the ongoing disappointments of defensive tackle Johnathan Sullivan, a first-round draft choice in 2003, have been well-documented, end Will Smith, this year's No. 1, has quietly had a productive rookie season.

Smith has six sacks, second-most among rookies in the NFL (Kansas City's Jared Allen has eight), and has become one of the Saints most consistent defenders lately. He has had a sack in the last three games and four of the last five and forced a fumble in the victory at Dallas last week.

"Will Smith is really blossoming into a heck of a football player," coach Jim Haslett said, "in the last couple of weeks he's really come on both in the run game and in the pass game."

Smith, the 18th player drafted, was impressive in the preseason, struggled a bit early in the season, then started to come on around midseason.

"I'm getting accustomed and feeling more comfortable," Smith said. "I'm not worried about making mistakes and I'm just going out and playing. It's always been natural, but I'm more comfortable with the rest of the guys and with the coaching staff.

"When you come in as the rookie you don't want to make a whole lot of mistakes or they won't put you out there. You're always worried about that. Now that the season's winding down they know what I can do and that I'm not going to make too many mistakes so I can gamble a little bit and make more plays."

Defensive line coach John Pease said he sees a difference in Smith now compared to the start of the season.

"He's not feeling his way as much," Pease said. "He understands what we're trying to get done. It's like playing chess, where you learn all the moves, then there are guys who learn to play the game of chess.

"I think as guys get older they learn it's not just X and O. You don't move just here. This is why you do this. There are reasons for it. I think it makes you a better player. He's very, very smart, and when we took him we knew he was a bright, big guy and could learn a lot, and that's been a big help for us."

Smith's development has given the Saints a formidable rotation at end. Charles Grant has 8‰ sacks, and Darren Howard has 7‰, giving the trio of ends 22 sacks.

"All three of us can line up anywhere and get pressure on the quarterback, so we change around during the game and confuse a lot of offensive linemen," Smith said. "I've learned a lot. I've learned more from Charles because he's a power rusher and Darren is more of a finesse rusher. I've learned different styles from different types of players."

Grant, a No. 1 pick two years ago, has given advice to Smith, who was a three-year starter at Ohio State.

"I told Will not to get caught up in all the tossing and turning," Grant said. "He's going to be a great player in this business. I think the most important thing is he stays consistent. He plays with a motor."

Pease said the Saints have taken advantage of the speed of the three ends, as well as swingman Tony Bryant, in the last two weeks.

"I think we've got a three-player rotation at defensive end that's kind of fun and then we go to what we call our fast-nickel, when Will and Tony Bryant go in with Darren and Charlie," Pease said. "That gives us four pretty quick guys. We've just got to get them into third-and-long. That's the secret.

"We've been playing the run better the last couple of games, so we're able to get those guys on the field and that's what you want to do. It's like getting a racecar on the straightaway. You want to get on that straightaway so you can open it up. The nice thing is you don't have to blitz to get heat. Even though they may max-protect you get guys that are athletic enough that they'll beat two blockers."

The Saints have played from behind and had the worst run defense in the NFL most of the year, providing minimal opportunities to rush the passer in obvious passing situations. They did a better job last week against the Cowboys.

"The thing that hurts that group is we haven't been ahead except for last week," Haslett said. "It's hard to have a quantity of sacks when you don't have a lead. So the amount of sacks they have is really kind of phenomenal considering the situations we've been in. They're as good as anyone around but I think they can improve.

"I think Will Smith has a chance to be better and better, and I think Charles Grant has a chance to keep improving. Darren Howard is really the veteran with five years and he's productive. Every time he's on the field he makes plays. All three of them are very functional in what they do."