Leggett Faces Game With Mixed Emotions : NFL: Former Fountain Valley lineman now playing for the Saints is son of Raider defensive line coach.

Monday night’s game against the Raiders will be weird and tough for New Orleans Saints lineman Brad Leggett.

His father, Earl, is the Raider defensive line coach, and Brad Leggett could be facing Howie Long, who watched his games at Fountain Valley High and was someone Brad could turn to for inspiration when he was at USC.

The awkward matchup has been in Leggett’s mind all week.

“Playing against UCLA was a little bit difficult because I had a lot of friends there, but this takes on a completely different meaning this week,” Leggett, 25, said in a telephone interview from New Orleans. “It’s really weird in our meetings. We were going over our scouting report. Howie used to watch me play in high school and there (the coaches) were, talking about him in the scouting report. It was really awkward.

“A coach made a comment (about) the Raiders’ defensive line being well coached and everyone looked at me. They joked around and asked if I was going to fax my dad the scouting report.”

Leggett isn’t going that far, but father and son have discussed the game during frequent telephone conversations this week.

“He keeps telling me to make sure to get ready to play and keeps telling me it’s a business,” Brad Leggett said. “That’s something he’s told me since Day 1, that this is a flat-out cold business, that everybody is out to make a buck and take care of themselves.”

Said Earl Leggett: “We’re trying to pump each other and see what the other is going to do. We’ve told a number of lies that neither of us believes.”

There are also strange feelings at the Raiders’ El Segundo training facility.

“Essentially, I’ve seen the kid grow,” Long said. “We followed his college career real closely here because his dad and I are so close and I know the whole family. I remember Brad being a pimple-faced kid walking around here, and now he’s a man and playing in the NFL. It tells you two things: Time has gone by, and I’m pretty old.”

Long, 31, is in his 11th NFL season, all with the Raiders.

Leggett has not played in the past nine games, but with starting guard Chris Port out because of a sprained ankle, he could see action at that position against the Raiders.

It would be the second time this season an injury has given Leggett a chance to play. When center Joel Hilgenberg sprained an ankle in the season opener Sept. 1 against Seattle, Leggett came in and started the next two games, against Kansas City and the Rams.

“Brad’s doing a real fine job for us,” New Orleans offensive line coach Paul Boudreau said. “We’re very happy to have him.

“He’s the kind of guy who’s quiet, and when you’re talking to him, you’re not really sure whether he’s understanding what you’re saying, then all of a sudden you turn on the film and he’s doing it right.”

When Hilgenberg recovered, Leggett returned to the sideline.

“It’s really frustrating,” Leggett said. “You want to be out there playing, but you’re still learning a lot. You look around the league and see other teams and think you could play there.”

But the 6-foot-4, 270-pound center/guard is trying to make certain he is not overwhelmed by the frustration.

“You keep working hard, lifting weights to get stronger, work on technique, call home to get a little sympathy from your mom,” Leggett said.

Leggett is in his second season with the Saints. He joined the team’s practice squad Oct. 1, 1990, and was activated for the final two games, but did not play in either.

The Denver Broncos made Leggett their eighth-round choice in the 1990 draft, but he was released during training camp. His father was a Broncos assistant at the time.

“The night before, my dad called me in and told me what they were going to do,” Leggett said. “He was as much upset about it as I was. At that point, he told me, ‘I’m going to tell you the truth. If I didn’t think you could play, I would tell you, but I think you can play. I know it’s hard on you right now, but just keep fighting and good things will happen.”’

The elder Leggett feels more than the usual pride a father does in seeing a son achieve success.

“You’re a little bit more proud when your son goes into the business you’re in,” said Earl Leggett, who played 12 seasons with the Chicago Bears, Rams and Saints and has been an NFL assistant coach since 1976. “I’m really glad he’s part of an organization like the Saints, and I’m really happy for him. I hope somewhere down the line I had some influence on preparing him to play in the league.”

Leggett said his father never pushed him into playing football, but did offer his assistance when the young player was beginning his senior year at Fountain Valley High in 1984, putting his son through professional-caliber drills.

When Brad was at USC, Earl provided unique moral support when John Matsko became the Trojans’ offensive line coach in 1987.

“When Coach Matsko came to USC, he was a big screamer and yeller,” Leggett said. “That was something I had never been around. My dad’s a yeller, but all fathers are.

“But I told (my dad), ‘Coach Matsko was really honest and yelling at me today.’ My father said, ‘I’ll give you Howie’s number, and I’m sure he’ll have some good stories for you.’ Things like that give you an advantage and make you feel a little bit better.”

Monday’s game has caused a riff in the Leggett household.

“I took my wife, Bobbie, to the airport Friday because she’s going to New Orleans, and we got in four arguments along the way,” said Earl Leggett before a Raider practice. “That ought to tell you something.”

Long quickly jumped into the Leggett family feud.

“Whatever we do in the game Monday night is Earl’s doing,” Long said. “Tell (Brad’s) mother that.”