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White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. - The first great New Orleans Saints defensive lineman was Doug Atkins, a mountain of a man who towered over his teammates and intimidated all who crossed his path.

Ed Staton, who covered the first Saints team for The Times-Picayune, once described Atkins thusly, "You said to yourself, this man wasn't born. The arctic ice cracked, an explosion followed, and this awesome 6-8, 270-pounder came out."

I think of Staton's prose when I watch Saints defensive tackle Akeim Hicks walk onto the practice field. This isn't a man. He's a mammoth.

"I used to call him Baby Monster, but that's a full-grown monster now," fellow defensive lineman Cameron Jordan quipped.

Read more: Unsung Akiem Hicks poised to become household name for New Orleans Saints | Jeff Duncan | NOLA.com

Utah_Saint

I think Hicks is one of the biggest reasons for the Saints defensive turn around last year. I hope his progression as a player continues. It could mean a dominant Saints defense for years to come.

hagan714

prediction

Hicks get in the bakers dozen this year.

12+ sacks

Danno

So far the top players making the biggest splashes in camp are Cooks, Toon and Hicks. Hicks is gonna be a beast in 2014

jnormand

That'd be awesome but I see Junior and Cam getting the sacks again this year. I think Akiem will draw double teams a lot and get about 7. Junior and Cam will reap the benefits of having Hicks playing on the line.

Jack Vegas

Love Hicks. I think jnormand is right and people will start double-teaming him more. That's why I really liked the 4-man rush we did sometimes last year which was:

Hicks - Foster (or Walker) - Jordan - Galette

If you double Hicks, Foster/Walker gets a free run at the center with no help. That's a win. And you have no choice on Jordan, you have to double him, so that means Galette is singled up against a tight end. There's just no way to block everybody, unless you keep a tight end and a running back in to block. But that means you can only get 3 receivers out in the pattern and we can definitely cover 3 receivers with 5 guys. This is why I'm so excited about our defense and the scary thing is those defensive linemen are all still so young and they're going to get even better.

And I'm rambling now but the thing that makes our defense good is the same thing that makes the offense good. You can't just focus on 1 or 2 guys to stop because the other 2 or 3 lesser-known guys can still make you pay for it.

Rugby Saint II

Saints fans already know that he is a beast. It's the national media that is slow on the uptake.

QBREES9

Stay under the radar.

hagan714

See that is were i think defenses will readjust this year. last year the doubled up on Hicks a lot and that did not work so well. Jr and Jordan were the only duo in the NFL to get more than 12 sacks. I think teams will not double up on Hicks as much this year and worry about the other two. open the door for Hicks. Offenses will be forced to max protect more or get really fancy with their play calling.