Pat Swilling: 'He deserves it'

The first thing Swilling notices about Jordan, is his energy.

"I think it's motor," Swilling said. "I think it's that relentlessness. You've got to be relentless, and he's definitely that. He never stops playing, he never stops his feet. And you can watch him – he just has that desire. And I think to be a great pass rusher, you have to have that desire.

"I can always remember Vic Fangio (Saints linebackers coach from 1986-94) telling us, as a pass rusher, you can be rushing and you get knocked down. He said if you didn't get up, then you can't get the quarterback when he comes back to you. My point is, a relentless pass rusher always gets up after he's knocked down.

"Because a lot of times, you think you're knocked down and you're not going to get the quarterback, and the next thing you know, here he is coming right back to you to get the sack. Now, we call it a cheap sack, but the point is if I didn't get up, be relentless about getting to him, I'd have never gotten the sack. (Jordan) is just a guy that plays all out every play, and that's the difference between guys who get the sacks and guys who don't."

Swilling, who finished with 107.5 career sacks and was NFL Defensive Player of the Year with the Saints in '91, said Jordan's variety is problematic for offensive linemen.

"I've watched him many times and I see him come around the corner and sometimes he's a rip guy, I see him beat a guy inside and just knock his hands down and goes by him inside, and then I see him bull guys that he knows that he can bull," Swilling said. "Cam weighs about, I guess, 255, 265 (pounds). He's not a real big guy, but none of us was, but he has a ring of tricks that he has picked up over the years that makes him an elite pass rusher. He has refined his pass rushing every year. He seems to have gotten better every year."

And if Swilling has to slide down the Saints' all-time list, he's fine with the player who's moving ahead.

"Every time he sees me, it's kind of a hug and a respect thing that we both have for each other," Swilling said. "He understands what I did, and I understand what he's doing. I'm very proud of him.

"The funny thing is, I played against his dad so many years. When I see Cam, it's amazing that I played against a guy's dad for all those years when he was in Minnesota, and now to watch his son down here as a Saint, doing great things and an All-Pro player.