With both starting units conducting one of their final tuneups for the regular season, the Saints (1-1) will travel to Oakland to face the Raiders (0-2) on Sunday to close out their 2011 preseason road slate. The contest will be played at the O.co Coliseum at 7 p.m CT and will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
The clubs' last preseason meeting occurred when the Saints beat the Raiders 45-7 on Aug. 29, 2009, as New Orleans set an exhibition record for points and margin of victory in a performance that gave confidence for a Super Bowl XLIV Championship campaign.
New Orleans will practice from Monday through Friday in Oxnard, Calif. to prepare for the preseason tilt. The Saints are seeking to clean up mistakes from their 27-14 loss to the Houston Texans on Saturday. The Raiders lost a 17-3 decision at the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday.
With QB Drew Brees at the controls for his team'first three drives on Saturday, he brought New Orleans inside the Houston five-yard line twice. On the final possession the starting offense was on the field, rookie RB Mark Ingram culminated a 12-play, 70-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run, his second scoring rush of the preseason.
The running back trio of Ingram, Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas combined for 16 carries for 82 yards (5.1 avg.) and two TDs.
QB Chase Daniel entered the game in the second quarter in relief of Brees and completed a pass to undrafted rookie wideout Joseph Morgan that was turned into a 56-yard gain into the end zone. In fighting for a roster spot, Morgan has shown a penchant for big plays in the preseason with Saturday's touchdown and a 78yard punt return for a TD in the preseason opener.
GAMEDAY AT A GLANCE
DATE: Sunday, Aug. 28
TIME: 7:00 (CT)
SITE: O.co Coliseum
Worth Noting:
*Sunday evening's game will be the fifth preseason meeting between the Saints and the Raiders.
*The two clubs have never met in New Orleans in the preseason as the first matchup took place at London's Wembley Stadium and the other three in Oakland
*In their last preseason meeting on August 29, 2009, the Saints set exhibition scoring and margin of victory records in their 45-7 win.
*The Saints will face the Raiders after spending the week on the West Coast where they will hold five days of practices in Oxnard, Calif.
TV/RADIO Info:
*Sunday's contest will be nationally televised on NBC (WDSU-6 in the New Orleans ) with Al Michaels handling play-by-play, Cris Collinsworth serving as color analyst and Michele Tafoya on the sidelines.
*The game can be heard throughout the Gulf Coast on the New Orleans Saints Radio Network (870 AM or 105.3 FM serve as the flagship stations locally in the New Orleans area) with Jim Henderson handling play-by-play duties, former Saints FB Hokie Gajan serving as color analyst and Kristian Garic reporting from the Saints sidelines.
*A Spanish broadcast is available on WFNO 830 AM with Victor Quinones handling play-byplay and Marco Garcia serving as color analyst.
