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New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is more than just a little amped about playing tonight's preseason game at the Superdome.

Michael DeMocker/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees, behind the protection of guard Jahri Evans, throws a pass against the Houston Texans at the Superdome on Aug. 21.
The opponent is the San Diego Chargers, the franchise that five years ago was less than enthused about trying to keep Brees on its roster and eventually let him walk in free agency to the Saints.

Brees has never forgotten about his departure from San Diego and his arrival in New Orleans.
But the excitement for Brees, the reigning Super Bowl MVP, has nothing to do with getting an opportunity to rub it in to the Chargers. Instead, it stems from this being the third and perhaps most important of the Saints' four preseason games.
Brees and the other Saints starters are expected to get their most extensive playing time of the preseason, with Brees playing through at least most of the second quarter and some other starters playing into the third.
So there's no apparent revenge on the mind of Brees, who will be going up against Philip Rivers - the Pro Bowl quarterback, who along with Brees' 2005 shoulder injury, made Brees expendable in San Diego.
"It has been a long time, " Brees said. "This is my fifth year in New Orleans, so I am far removed from there, but then again, I still know a lot of those guys, and it makes it fun."
The big task, however, will be executing the Saints' offense.
After a slow start in the 27-24 exhibition opening loss to the New England Patriots, the first-team offense was a bit more efficient in last week's 38-20 win against the Houston Texans. The unit scored touchdowns on two of the three possessions Brees played against the Texans.
With many of the starters expected to take a back seat to the reserves in the final preseason games, it's important for the first-team offense to be effective tonight, Brees said.

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