SUNDAY’S RAIDER, RAM OPPONENTS : Good Things in a Small Package : Saints: At only 5-foot-8, New Orleans running back Dalton Hilliard will present an imposing threat to the Rams Sunday.
Atlanta Falcon cornerback Deion Sanders made a prime-time mistake last Sunday when he shoved Dalton Hilliard into a wall beyond the end zone after the New Orleans Saint running back had scored a touchdown.
First of all, it’s bad form to pick on little guys and Hilliard is 5-foot-8. And the late hit seemed to inspire the Saints, who scored 23 second-half points and rallied for a 26-17 victory.
Sanders even managed to anger Hilliard, a soft-spoken, laid-back Louisiana native who isn’t the excitable type.
A short scuffle ensued.
“Just one of those odd plays that takes place in the course of the game where people get hot and lose their tempers . . . but there wasn’t anything to it,” Hilliard said.
That’s not the way the rest of the guys in gold and black viewed it.
“Our players have a great deal of respect for Dalton,” Saint Coach Jim Mora said. “We were down 10-3, then he scored and Deion hit him late, his second personal foul, so it got us more excited.
“Dalton’s very quiet and unselfish. He doesn’t have any characteristics of a hot dog or a showboat, but he’s a tough, competitive guy.
“(The fight) is a little bit out of character for him, but he’s not going to back down from anyone. He felt he got cheap-shotted and he responded. I’ve never seen him do that before, but it didn’t surprise me.” Hilliard carried on eight of nine plays, picking up 71 yards on the 75-yard scoring drive that got New Orleans back in the game at Atlanta. And he finished the game with a career-high 158 yards in 29 carries . . . with a little push from Sanders.
“He just gave me a shove,” Hilliard said. “It was slippery and I kind of went into the wall. I just felt as though he should have realized it was the point where it wasn’t necessary.”
Sanders’ fit of frustration is somewhat understandable. Hilliard had carried eight consecutive times--gaining four or more yards on each, including two 11-yard bursts--and then had a one-down breather before going 22 yards for the game-tying touchdown.
Then there is Hilliard’s size. If Eric Dickerson calls the Rams’ Greg Bell a dwarf, what must he think of Hilliard? Heck, Bell’s a huge 5-foot-11, 210-pounder.
“Dalton’s strong and compact,” Mora said. “He has very, very strong legs and a strong upper body. I think his size helps him. He’s built compactly and that helps him take it.”
His teammates call him Little Rock because of his physique, but he’s also the foundation upon which the Saints have built their offense.
“I guess they call me that because I’m able to take the punishment and keep coming back each week,” Hilliard said. “I’ve been in this position all my life, being underestimated. I’ve just been striving on trying to prove people wrong each year by year.”
Lately, the Saints have been giving him ample opportunity to do so. He has carried 57 times in the last two games.
“It’s a special position to be in,” Hilliard said. “Any back in the league likes to carry the ball as much as possible. It’s more chances to get yardage.”
Hilliard succeeds with a cutback style that infuriates defenses. One second, you’ve got him cut off at the line of scrimmage, the next he’s slanting back the other way for a big gain.
“It’s kind of his forte,” Mora said. “He doesn’t have great speed, but he’s got good quickness in his change of direction and he’s a good instinctive runner.”
So, although Hilliard may not stand above the crowd during the national anthem, he has been an impact player for the Saints.
He’s also making his mark on the NFL’s offensive statistics. He is the second-leading rusher in the NFC with 880 yards, is second in the NFL in total yards from scrimmage with 1,231, and is tied with San Francisco’s Jerry Rice for the lead in touchdowns with 14.
“Dalton’s having an outstanding year,” Mora said. “He’s carrying our offense, basically, at this point, as both a ballcarrier and a receiver. We’re just loading him up every game, giving him the ball a lot of times. We ask him to do a lot of things and he’s done them all.”
Saint guard Steve Tapilo told the New Orleans Times-Picayune: “I never get tired of talking about the guy who feeds us. Dalton gets the yards when we make our blocks and he gets yards when we don’t. He’s amazing. He does it game after game, and you never hear a peep from him.”
And tackle Stan Brock said: “Awesome. I don’t get to see much from my position. All I know is whenever Dalton gets the ball, we huddle eight yards up the field.”
Only a couple of years ago, Hilliard was wondering if he would ever get the ball.
In 1986, Hilliard was the Saints No. 2 draft choice. He was the third-leading rusher in Southeastern Conference history--behind Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson--after four years at Louisiana State.
By the fifth game of the season, however, he was the Saints’ No. 2 tailback, playing behind another rookie, Rueben Mayes, New Orleans’ third pick in ’86.
Mayes had 1,353 yards that season although he didn’t start until the fifth game. In 1987, Mayes again led the Saints in rushing and was voted to his second consecutive Pro Bowl team, but Hilliard had begun to carry a share of the load. Hilliard ended the season with a better yards-per-carry average than Mayes, 4.1 to 3.8.
Mayes stayed out of camp last year because of a contract dispute, and Hilliard passed him on the depth chart. Hilliard was bothered during much of the 1988 season by a nagging case of turf toe, but still was the Saints’ top rusher.
This year, Mayes has spent the entire season on injured reserve because of an Achilles’ tendon injury, so there is no tailback controversy in New Orleans.
“We’ve had to give him the ball; he’s had to be our guy,” Mora said. “The first two years, Rueben was the guy, although we knew we had a good back in Dalton. But Rueben was the guy making all the yards.
“Last year, when Rueben missed a couple of weeks of camp, Dalton got the opportunity to be the main guy and he responded very well.”
But what happens when Mayes returns? Hilliard isn’t worried.
“I think you need two backs to carry the load throughout a whole year,” he said. “I don’t think it’ll be a problem. Actually, it should prolong both our careers in the NFL. And we can try to keep each other honest.”
Given Hilliard’s performance so far, New Orleans very well could be boasting about a dual Pro Bowl running back attack next year.
“The Pro Bowl is the goal of all running backs in the NFL,” he said. “I think that will come along with the success that we’re having.”
Much of the Saints’ success--and also that of the Rams, for that matter--hinges on Sunday’s game in the Superdome. Both the 7-4 Rams and the 6-5 Saints are battling for at least wild-card spots in the playoffs.
“It’s a very, very big game,” Hilliard said. “The playoffs usually go down to the wire, and wins within the conference is one of the deciders. The playoffs make this a big game.”
Hilliard thinks the Saints have improved since they beat the Rams, 40-21, on Oct. 22. Hilliard gained 87 yards in 24 carries and scored three touchdowns.
“We have managed to put some real consistency into the running game,” Hilliard says.
With a big part of the credit going to one small player.
Deion Sanders probably won’t be the last guy to try to get a piece of the Little Rock. In fact, they all figure to be chipping away for some time to come.