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Helping Hand Saints hope new DT takes pressure off Glover
Posted: Saturday April 08, 2000 06:57 PM
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- When Jim Haslett looked at the film from last year he noticed something about the New Orleans Saints -- the defense wasn't very big. The Saints new coach took care of that quickly. Norman Hand will be adding 350 pounds or so to New Orleans' defensive line and, Haslett hopes, a big road block for opposing runners. "We needed a big body in there to stop the run," general manager Randy Mueller said after the Saints outbid the Green Bay Packers and the San Diego Chargers for Hand. "Norman was the No. 1 guy we identified right off the bat. We feel like he gives us the best chance to stop the run right now." Hand, who signed a five-year, $20 million free agent contract with the Saints, is considered one of the NFL's best run stoppers. He led the Chargers defensive linemen last year with 55 tackles. "That's what I have pride in is stopping the run," Hand said Saturday. "You stop the run you make everything else easy for the defensive coordinator and for the defense." Hand is working in the Saints first mini camp at about 350 pounds, Haslett said. "He's a little over weight, but he played at 340 last year," Haslett said. "He's a big body but he moves. For a guy that's that big, he's agile. It's amazing how quick he is and he's in pretty good condition." Even when Hand isn't piling onto an opposing running back, the Saints believe he'll serve another important purpose -- freeing up fellow defensive lineman LaRoi Glover. "LaRoi got doubled every snap last year," Haslett said. "Every single snap that we watched they had two guys on him and you can't double two guys so they're going to have to pick and choose who they're going to double, if they're going to double one of the two. And then the other guy gets singled." Hand was a fifth-round pick out of Mississippi for the Dolphins in 1995. But he couldn't hold onto a job in Miami and was cut two years later. The Chargers picked him up and Hand's career took an upward turn. "I think I was an O.K. player, but not good enough to make the Dolphins," Hand said. "And when reality hits and you don't think you'll have a job the next day, you start working. I realized I needed to get better and I still make an effort to do that." Hand, who was voted the Chargers' lineman of the year in 1998 by his teammates, an honor he shared last season, said he hopes to add a solid pass rush to his act this year. Hand said he's working with Glover to improve his pass rush, but he knows his emphasis will always be on the run. "My coach always told me that if you stop the run you have a 90 percent chance of winning," Hand said. "Pass rushing is like desert. After you stop the run, after you eat all your food then that's a treat. The treat is like thrid-down-and-eight and you get after the passer. But if you can't stop the run that opens things up for the offense and you have a long day out there playing defense."
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