New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton estimated he had not said more than eight words to left tackle Tony Hills in the first nine days after he joined the team. By halftime Thursday, only a look in his eyes said everything the coach needed to know.
"He's been here long enough to have maybe one hotel bill," Payton said Friday. "And all of a sudden he's going to start pretty much the whole game because (Andrus Peat's) injury came early."
In a game played four days after the Philadelphia Eagles sacked quarterback Drew Brees five times, Hills played the final 65 snaps on offense as the Atlanta Falcons reached Brees only once for a sack in his 40 drop-backs.