Wednesday, August 16, 2006By Jimmy SmithStaff writerJACKSON, MISS. -- Saints left defensive end Charles Grant had an interesting analogy regarding last Saturday's exhibition game against the Tennessee Titans, one he believes lends itself as well to Monday night's matchup against the Dallas Cowboys."You just put your foot in some mud to see how it will come out," said Grant, a former first-round draft choice entering his fifth NFL season. "Basically for me, I was trying to get in shape, see how I feel. There are a lot of new faces on this defense."Everybody's got to adapt to each other. They ran it left, they ran it right. But we've got to get a feel for each other and understand this defense. It's a whole new defense for us."So, Grant was asked, did his foot come out muddy or clean?"I'd say about half and half," he said. "You want to get the wins, but you're looking to see how your team can improve. Then in practice you come out and work on the little things you did in the game. If you got better, even a little bit from the game, you're a step ahead of schedule."Thanks to an offseason dedicated to making himself a better football player, Grant feels he's already a step ahead of last season. Though he was a 14-game starter last year for the Saints, his sacks decreased dramatically from the two previous seasons.After a rookie year with seven sacks in 16 games (six starts), Grant had 10 his second season as he became a regular starter and 10.5 in 2004.Last season he had 75 tackles, the fewest since his rookie season, and a professional-low 2.5 sacks.He traveled to Orlando, Fla., after last season to work with speed coach Tom Shaw four hours daily, five days a week. On the field, it was a regimen of speed, technique and agility drills. Off the field, it was weight training."(Shaw) builds up your conditioning and quickness," Grant said. "You meet a lot of people who help you be successful in the offseason with your body weight, eating right and staying on top of your game."To that end, Grant said he has reported to training camp in better shape and he's quicker off the ball."I think I'm about 90 percent better than I was last year," he said. "That's a real big improvement. Last year I was probably 305 when I put on the pads. I was already hurting myself. I got down to 279, 280. The other night in the game, you could tell. I haven't really cranked that engine up yet. Just wait till Cleveland. You'll see."Saints defensive line coach Marion Hobby doesn't have to wait for the regular-season opener. He can see Grant's commitment after two weeks of training camp."I was impressed with him on film last year even without the big numbers," Hobby said. "He was an obvious player for them."Charles is a guy who takes coaching well. We're still getting to know each other. But expectations are high for him. He understands that. I don't think he was proud of the year he had last year. Now he's in tune."In addition to the work he did with Shaw, Grant spent some time this summer working with former Atlanta Falcons pass-rush specialist Chuck Smith on improving his technique.Grant said working with Smith, and some other NFL defensive linemen such as the Falcons' Patrick Kerney and Rod Coleman, helped boost his confidence and refine his skills through positive reinforcement."We worked on everything," Grant said. "Everything. Coming off the corner, being over-aggressive, not being over-aggressive. Knowing when to be a finesse-type player."When you don't have negative people around you, when you've got people around you who want to see you do good, it's going to always be good for you. There are always a lot of people against you, but as long as you've got the good Lord on your team, and everyone who's close to you really cares for you, you'll have success."That offseason dedication seems to be paying dividends, bringing praise from the coaching staff and a certain comfort level for Grant."Based on what I saw on film last year it's hard to assess," Saints coach Sean Payton said of Grant's improvement thus far. "But I think he's in shape, and he's worked hard. I think he wants to play every down and be a complete player."I think a little bit more in the passing game, probably, he could have critiqued himself after the (Tennessee) game and wanted to rush the passer a little better in some of the passing situations. But I think he's worked hard."
