blacksaint

Doug Miller, NewOrleansSaints.com
Friday, August 10, 2007


The New Orleans Saints play host the Buffalo Bills (0-0) tonight in the Louisiana Superdome to open their home preseason slate. The contest which will be broadcasted nationally by CBS Sports, marks the first preseason football game to be played in the Superdome since 2005 as the facility was undergoing repairs last summer.

The two clubs haven’t met in the preseason since 1990 at the Louisiana Superdome. The Saints have captured the last two regular season meetings against Buffalo and the all-time series is tied at 4-4.

New Orleans is looking to rebound from Sunday’s loss to the Bills, while Buffalo opens their preseason slate. While the Saints struggled against Pittsburgh, the game was marked by solid individual play. QB Jason Fife completed five-of-eight passes for 47 yards with one touchdown pass to first-year FB Kevin Dudley. The running game was paced by solid performances by rookie running backs

Antonio Pittman and Pierre Thomas, who both received the bulk of the action. Pittman carried seven times for 20 yards, while Thomas rushed four times for 17 yards and also caught two screen passes for 35 yards. WR Terrance Copper played a key role in the passing game, making three receptions for 39 yards. DE Will Smith led the Saints defense, tying for the team lead with four tackles and a sack. LB Mark Simoneau and DE Josh Cooper also recorded sacks.

RADIO/TELEVISION: Friday’s contest will be nationally televised on CBS (WWL-TV) in the New Orleans area). Gus Johnson will handle play-by-play and Solomon Wilcots will provide the color commentary. WWL(870 AM and 105.3 FM), the flagship of the Saints Radio Network, provides play-by-play action of every game across the gulf coast. Jim Henderson will call the play-by-play and Hokie Gajan handles the color commentary.

A Spanish language broadcast will be available on WFNO (830 AM). Hector Pineda will handle play-by-play and Marco Garcia will provide color commentary.

KICKOFF TIME: 7 p.m. CT

SERIES RECORD: The Saints are 3-3 in the pre- season against the Bills. In the regular season, the series is tied 4-4.

COACHING RECORDS: New Orleans Coach Sean Payton enters his second year with the Saints and as an NFL head coach. He has compiled a 10-6 record in the regular season and is 1-1 in the postseason. Buffalo Coach Dick Jauron is entering second season with the Bills and eighth NFL head coach. He has compiled a 35-45 regular season record and is 0-1 in the postseason.


SAINTS-BILLS FACTS: The last preseason meeting between the two clubs was in New Orleans on August 25, 1990, a 8-23 win for New Orleans … In the regular season, the Saints recorded their first shutout in franchise history when they defeated the Bills 13-0 at Tulane Stadium on November 4, 1973. After losing the next two contests between the two teams, the Saints evened the series with their first win in Buffalo in 1989. The Saints lost the next two match-ups, before capturing the next two, including a 19-7 win in 2005 to even the series...The Saints have never defeated the Bills at the Superdome, having won their two home match-ups against the club at Tulane Stadium and at San Antonio’s Alamodome ... Three regular- season games between the two teams have been decided by a touchdown or less ... This contest will mark Sean Payton’s first preseason contest to be played in the Louisiana Superdome as head coach. The Saints were forced to play their two exhibitions in 2006 in Shreveport and Jackson, Miss. due to ongoing stadium repairs.

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