SmashMouth

Friday's game being an exhibition isn't tempering New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Nick Fairley's excitement.

A native of Mobile, Ala., Fairley grew up cheering for the Saints, and the upcoming preseason game against the Pittsburgh Steelers will be his first Superdome experience with the home team.

"Actually, as a kid, growing up I didn't go to any of the games," he said Tuesday. "I came here as a rookie when I was in Detroit, but now, I'm playing, I'm on their sideline and I get the cheers from their fans? I got chills talking about it."



Teams typically use their top players most in the third preseason game, and that means Fairley will have plenty of chances to impress Friday.

But, he doesn't really need to convince the coaches of much. With first-round pick Sheldon Rankins recovering from surgery to repair a broken fibula, Fairley will surely be a starter when the season begins.

"Now that he's down, they told me I was going to have to take on (more) of the load," Fairley said. "So, I'm ready for it. I just got to get into better shape and keep going."

The Saints aren't just handing the veteran a starting job, though. In last week's preseason game against the Texans, Fairley had four tackles, one for loss and one sack in just 19 snaps.

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