The Saints face off against the Cincinnati Bengals tonight at 7pm Central, 8pm Eastern for the first preseason game of the season. Saints Nation will be updating it's twitter account: www.twitter.com/GoSaintsNation during the game - so check it out. I'll be tweeting like a madman. As mentioned before, starters for both teams are expected to play approximately a quarter each.Out for the Saints: Lance Moore (shoulder), Courtney Roby (hamstring), Mark Simoneau (triceps), Tracy Porter (hamstring), Reggie Jones (Achilles tendon) and safety Chip Vaughn (knee).
About the Bengals:
The Bengals are coming off a rough season at 4-11-1, though they did win their final 3 contests of the regular season to end strong. Back in the fold is star quarterback Carson Palmer, who is returning from injury, and controversial loud mouthed receiver Chad Johnson (I refuse to call him Ochocinco). The Bengals were the 32nd ranked offense last year and the 12th ranked defense.
other notes:
-- Andrew Whitworth, former LSU Tiger, is their starting left tackle.
-- Former Saint J.T. O'Sullivan is currently #2 on their depth chart and should see extended action.
-- The Bengals traded for Brian Leonhard of the Rams and they also feature Cedric Benson and Kenny Watson as their rushers. Gone is TJ Houshmanzadeh, but they added Lavernues Coles to replace him.
-- Former Saints draftee David Jones is a backup corner, and former Saint Dhani Jones is their incumbent starter at MLB.
-- The Bengals feature many talented promising young defenders including Keith Rivers, Rey Maualuga, Leon Hall, and Chinedum Nduke.
NFL.com was used for research.
