Gameday Graphic for Game on 9/14/2008

The Redskins host the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, Sept. 14 in the regular season home opener at FedExField. Kickoff is 1 p.m. ET.

FedExField is a natural grass surface. The stadium seats 91,704.

The game will be televised on FOX. Dick Stockton handles the play-by-play, with Brian Baldinger and Brian Billick serving as color analysts and Laura Omkin reporting from the sidelines.

On radio, the game will be broadcast locally on ESPN 980. Larry Michael handles the play-by-play with color commentary by Hall of Famers Sonny Jurgensen and Sam Huff. Rick "Doc" Walker will serve as sideline reporter.

The game will also be broadcast on Westwood One radio with Bill Rosinski handling play-by-play and Dan Reeves serving as color analyst.

The Redskins are coming off a 16-7 season-opening loss to the New York Giants on Sept. 4.

The offense struggled against the Super Bowl champions, recording just 209 total yards and 11 first downs. Jason Campbell was 15-of-27 passes for 133 yards and one touchdown. The defense yielded 154 rushing yards.

The Saints defeated the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 24-20 at the Superdome to open their season. Drew Brees completed 23-of-32 passes for 343 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS

SERIES HISTORY

The Saints and Redskins are playing for the 22nd time, with the Redskins leading the series by a 14-7 count. Overall, the Redskins are 6-4 when hosting the Saints at D.C. Stadium, RFK Stadium or FedExField.

The series has been marked by many close games. Nine of the 21 games have been decided by a touchdown or less.

The Redskins won the last meeting 16-10 at the Superdome on Dec. 17, 2006.

The last time the two clubs played at FedExField was in 2002 when the Saints defeated the Redskins 24-20. Quarterback Aaron Brooks scored twice to lead New Orleans to victory.

TALE OF THE TAPE

FAMILIAR FACES ON THE SAINTS

Wide receiver David Patten played with the Redskins from 2005-06. He signed with the Redskins as an unrestricted free agent on March 2005 but was plagued by injuries both seasons in Washington. In 14 games, Patten caught 23 passes for 242 yards with the Redskins.

Backup quarterback Mark Brunell played with the Redskins from 2004-07. He joined the Redskins in March 2004 as part of a trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Brunell was a key participant in one of the most memorable games in franchise history. He threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes to Santana Moss to rally the Redskins to a 14-13 win over the Dallas Cowboys in September 2005. He played in 35 games with the Redskins, completing 59 percent of his passes for 6,033 yards, 38 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

Quarterbacks-passing game coach Pete Carmichael, Jr., served as a quality control coach for the Redskins in 2001.

Practice squad tight end Buck Ortega was with the Redskins in the 2006 preseason. A University of Miami product, Ortega was a close friend and teammate of the late Sean Taylor. Ortega spoke at Taylor's funeral on Dec. 3, 2007.

REDSKINS-SAINTS NEWS & NOTES

-- For Openers

Washington is 44-29-3 all-time in home openers, including 7-4 at FedExField.

This is the first time since 2002 that the Redskins' home opener comes in Week 2. The Redskins have opened the regular season at FedExField each of those years, wining five of the six games.

Last year, the Redskins defeated the Miami Dolphins 16-13 in the Week 1 opener at FedExField.

-- Moss On the Rise

Santana Moss's 12-yard touchdown catch from Jason Campbell in the second quarter against the New York Giants marked the fourth straight game in which he has caught a touchdown.

The mark includes the Redskins' Wild Card playoff game at Seattle last season.

It's the second-longest streak of Moss's career, trailing the seven straight games he caught a touchdown pass in Weeks 5-11 of 2003.

With a touchdown catch against the Saints, Moss would become the first Redskin since Charlie Brown in the first five weeks of 1982 to record a TD grab in five straight games.

-- Cooley's Emergence

Chris Cooley has caught a pass in 57 straight regular season contests, dating back to Week 9 of the 2004 season.

Since 2004, Chris Cooley ranks second with most touchdowns by a tight end. He has 27 touchdowns, second only to San Diego's Antonio Gates, who has 41. Indianapolis's Dallas Clark is third with 24 touchdown grabs and New Orleans' Jeremy Shockey is fifth with 23.

Cooley leads the NFL in yards after the catch (YAC) by tight ends since 2005. He has 1,212 yards after catches. Gates is second with 1,065 yards.

Cooley needs 13 catches to pass Redskins great Don Warren for second place on the Redskins' career receptions list by a tight end. (Jerry Smith is first.)

With seven receptions, Cooley would tie Larry Brown for 10th all-time in Redskins history with 238.

-- Local Ties

Greg Blache is a New Orleans native. He previously served on the coaching staff at Tulane from 1976-80 and later at Southern University in 1986.

LaRon Landry is from Ama, La., a suburb of New Orleans. He played college football at LSU.

Jason Campbell grew up in Taylorsville, Miss., which is roughly 1.5 hours from New Orleans.

Chris Samuels grew up in Mobile, Ala., which is about an hour from New Orleans.

Chris Horton is a New Orleans native. His grandfather was among the casualties from the Hurricane Katrina tragedy in 2005.

Demetric Evans hails from Haynesville, La., which is in the northern part of the state.

-- Quick Hits

Rock Cartwright's 50-yard kickoff return against the Giants was the longest in the NFL in Week 1. Cartwright's 145 kickoff return yards also lead the NFL.

With Chris Wilson's fourth-quarter sack of Eli Manning, he now has four sacks in the Redskins' last three games. He is looking to become the first Redskin to register a sack in four straight games since Phillip Daniels did it in the 2005 season.

Despite a knee injury, Jason Taylor started his 131st consecutive game. That streak is currently the seventh longest in the NFL. Taylor needs 4.5 sacks to tie Clyde Simmons for 13th on the NFL's all-time list.

In four career games against the Saints, Andre Carter has registered five sacks.

Antwaan Randle El has 17 catches in his last two games, including the playoff loss to Seattle last season. He has 25 catches over his last four games.

-- Payton's Place

Saints head coach Sean Payton has served as an assistant coach for three NFC East teams: Philadelphia Eagles (1997-98), New York Giants (1999-2002) and Dallas Cowboys (2003-05).

In two-plus seasons as head coach of the Saints, Payton has compiled a 19-16 record.

-- Legend of Lombardi

New Orleans Saints offensive assistant coach Joe Lombardi is the grandson of Hall of Fame legend Vince Lombardi, who was head coach and executive vice president of the Redskins in 1969. (Vince Lombardi passed away following the 1969 season.)

Joe Lombardi also coached tight ends and tackles at Virginia Military Institite in 1999.

-- Redskins Captains

The Redskins have elected six players as captains for the 2008 season.

On offense, Jason Campbell amd Chris Samuels are the captains.

On defense, Cornelius Griffin and London Fletcher are the captains.

On special teams, Rock Cartwright and Khary Campbell are the captains.

-- FedExField Attendance

FedExField is the largest stadium in the NFL with 91,704 seats. It is more than 11,000 seats ahead of the second biggest stadium, Giants Stadium.

The Redskins set a single-game attendance record--90,910--in the Dec. 30, 2007 game against the Dallas Cowboys.

-- What's Next?

The Redskins stay at FedExField for another week, as they host the Arizona Cardinals on Sept. 21 in Week 3.

It's the second year in a row the Redskins play the Cardinals at FedExField. Last year, the Redskins won 21-19 as Arizona missed a last-second field goal.