NEW ORLEANS -- Grant Wistrom's mother, Kathy, just published a book of what it was like to raise three All-American athletes -- "Mrs. Wistrom's ABC's to Raising Three All-Americans."

Now Grant was not out to publicize the book, but on ABC-TV, Mr. Wistrom wanted to show the ABC's of attacking the Saints' offense. Wistrom was the defensive star during Monday night's 34-21 victory over the Saints.

The Rams' defensive end had three sacks and five tackles. If that wasn't enough, Wistrom intercepted a screen pass that was intended for halfback Ricky Williams. Clearly, it was his best game in his four-year career, but, as he continues to evolve under the coaching of line assistant Bill Kollar, better days -- possibly in Hawaii -- might be ahead.

"We look at a lot of film every week," Wistrom said of his preparation for games. "We've been working on balance, the pass rush technique and everything. Bill Kollar doesn't miss a thing. He's a great coach."

In games against the Saints, Wistrom had 14 tackles, five sacks, an interception and a forced fumble. For the season, Wistrom had seven sacks, five against the Saints. That didn't draw great praise from Saints coach Jim Haslett.

"He played pretty good against us the first time," Haslett said. "I thought he played well from the naked eye today, but that was four sacks for the whole year (coming into the game). It's not like he's up there with Michael Strahan. He's a good football player. He played hard. I thought he made good plays today."

Kollar makes Wistrom successful by having him run stunts with his fellow defensive linemen. He'll loop to the inside and use his speed and relentlessness to get to the quarterback. Often, he would rush from end to the inside and get inside of a blocker and get to Saints quarterback Aaron Brooks as he was moving around looking for a receiver.

Occasionally, those stunts helped on running plays.

"We run stunts a lot of games, and you run them especially against a guy like Aaron Brooks, who runs draws," Wistrom said. "You want to cover the running lanes for him. It's just what we do. We face a lot of running quarterbacks in the NFC."

One of the stories told in Mrs. Wistrom's book was how her sons never quit. Grant Wistrom is the classic example of a player who never quits on any play. He entered the league light and finished his rookie season weighing around 250 pounds. Now, his weight has settled into the 260s, but his speed makes him valuable on the stunts and rushes.

The return of defensive end Leonard Little also helped the defensive line. He's rushed back from a knee injury and recorded his 10th sack.

"I was in a lot more plays than I thought," Little said.

The Rams recorded five sacks against Brooks, but it's rare for a defensive lineman to get an interception.

"I just develop a feel for those screens," Wistrom said. "I got a good read on it. The tackle tried to cut me but didn't get me. I saw Ricky step up in the hole and look back. I said to myself that is to be a screen."

No doubt Mrs. Wistrom was proud.

John Clayton is a senior NFL writer for ESPN.com.