The Saints are scheduled to play their starters for a half against the Raiders tomorrow night in Oakland and perhaps a bit more than that, but Carl Nicks, Roman Harper and Lance Moore will each sit out with injuries. Nicks is still recovering from a strained knee that was a big scare earlier this week, Lance Moore is nursing a groin, and Roman Harper has broken a finger on one of his hands that will require him to wear a splint (as if he could be any worse at catching a football!). None of them are expected to be too serious but the Saints are holding them out and not taking any risks. None of the three are supposed to be in jeopardy of missing week 1 against the Packers at this point.
Mark Ingram and Tracy Porter, both also banged up, are expected to play but will be “limited” in what they do to minimize the risk of aggravating the injuries they have. Porter is still recovering from offseason knee surgery and Ingram has a bit of swelling in his knee that he considers a non factor.
About the game, Saints @ Raiders:
Tomorrow the Saints will aim to bounce back from that atrocious performance last weekend in Houston. More than anything, I’d like to see the Saints more physical and more sound in their tackling. This week in practice was extremely physical as the coaches emphasized live tackling. My hope is that it will carry over into the game and the Saints will make us all feel better and quickly forget that disappointment. As far as the offense, the timing still isn’t there, but hopefully a full half will be enough time for Brees and the troops to get in a rhythm where they can gain yards and score points. The Raiders aren’t expected to be much again this year but they do showcase three veteran quarterbacks in Jason Campbell, Trent Edwards and Kyle Boller. Recent supplemental draft pick Terrelle Pryor is not expected to play. So far after 2 preseason games the Raiders are 25th on offense and 32nd on defense, particularly getting gashed repeatedly against the run. This should be a game where the Saints can beat up on a weaker opponent and bounce back from a slow start thus far in the season.
The game will be aired live nationally on Sunday at 8pm Eastern, 7pm Central on NBC.
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