NEW ORLEANS -- It was some 30 minutes after the New Orleans Saints defeated the Philadelphia Eagles last Saturday night in an NFC Divisional Playoff game, but Saints fullback Mike Karney still had not taken off his jersey or shoulder pads, relishing the moment as he sat at his locker.

Karney squatted in his chair answering questions, away from the podium treatment running back Deuce McAllister got for his 143-yard night and much different from the swarm of reporters that surrounded Reggie Bush. But this is a fact: Those two can't do what they do without Karney.

Mike Karney takes his job in stride: 'Somebody has to do the nasty stuff.' (Getty Images)

Saturday night, he had the battle scars to prove it.

It was hard not to notice that Karney was covered in red welts as he sat at his locker. His neck looked like a teenage girl gone wild at the hickey contest.

"Oh these," Karney said when asked about the red marks. "That's what you get when you're slamming your pads into somebody else's all night long."

No fullback in the NFL slams into linebackers like Karney. Listed at 260 pounds -- want to bet he's more? -- this fireplug of a man packs quite a pop when he crashes into opposing linebackers, many times resulting in knee-crunching hits.

Are you ready, Brian Urlacher?

Karney's blocking of Urlacher and Lance Briggs and the rest of the Chicago Bears linebackers will be a key to the Saints' chances of winning Sunday in the NFC Championship Game.

Most will focus on McAllister and Bush and Drew Brees on Sunday when the Saints have the ball, but if Karney doesn't get the lead blocks, there won't be room to run. If there's no room to run, the Bears can tee off on Brees in the passing game.

Watching fullbacks block is not something I usually enjoy watching, but Karney takes it to a new level. Or is it leveling?

"Most people have no idea who I am," said Karney, a third-year player from Arizona State. "But that's the life of a fullback."

Playing fullback in the NFL is one of the most thankless jobs there is. For 60 minutes, it's nonstop bone-crushing hits with little fanfare. Fans would be hard-pressed to name six NFL fullbacks. Okay, three.

"It's a demolition derby on every play," Karney said. "Not a lot of guys want to do it."

Karney found that out earlier this season. When he missed a game against the Packers because of a calf injury, the Saints were forced to use tight ends as their lead blockers.

"They all came to me afterward and said I had to get healthy quick," Karney said. "They hated it."

He loves it. No, he really does. Ask him about his collisions with the linebackers and his face lights up. Maybe that's why the Saints' offensive linemen consider him one of their own. That's high praise, cracking that tight-knit group.

Tackle Jonathan Stinchcomb said Karney is a "pulling guard lined up in the backfield."

Wait, he did carry it 11 times this season. That's 11 more times than any of the Saints' guards.

"That's about 10 more than I expected, too," Karney said.

That's what made his game at Dallas in early December so eye-opening. In the Saints' blowout 42-17 victory, Karney carried three times for 14 yards, including a touchdown, and caught five passes for 39 yards and two more touchdowns. The three carries tied his career high and the five catches were a career high.

What made it so noteworthy was that it happened on national television in a Sunday night game. Everyone saw it.

One problem: Karney didn't know how to celebrate the touchdowns. He had never scored before that in an NFL game.

"Who could have expected that?" Karney said.

After the game, Saints coach Sean Payton joked that "it wasn't like we went into the game and said, 'We need to get the ball into Mike Karney's hands.'"

Will they ever? After all, you can't make much of a living handing off to a glorified guard.

But Karney isn't complaining. In fact, he lives for what he does. Despite the fact that each play is a collision equivalent to a car crash, he said he can't wait for the next one and the next one after that. So what if all the glory goes to others?

"I look at it this way," Karney said. "Somebody has to do the nasty stuff."

Karney and the Saints last faced the Bears in 2005 in a game won 20-17 by the Bears. Karney said he and Urlacher had plenty of big collisions that day.

"He got the best on some and I got the best of some," Karney said. "But I'm looking forward to another go-round with him. It's going to be fun."

Classify him as demented if he thinks that's fun. How in the heck can running head-first at full speed into another 250-pound man be classified as fun, especially when few notice?

Here's how: When your name is Mike Karney, the 260-pound load who paves the way for Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush to bask in all their glory.

Let the demolition derby begin.