MINNESOTA VIKINGS (0-0) AT NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (0-0) FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 2019 – 7:00 PM (CST) MERCEDES-BENZ SUPERDOME -– NEW ORLEANS, LA. TV: Gray Communications Regional Coverage (WVUE – FOX 8 locally) – Joel Meyers (play-by-play), Jon Stinchcomb and Jonathan Vilma (color ana- lysts) and Meghan Payton (sideline) LOCAL RADIO: WWL (870 AM and 105.3 FM) – Zach Strief (play-by-play), Deuce McAllister (color analyst) and Steve Geller (sideline) THE MATCHUP Kaden Elliss have also had their moments in training camp. The New Orleans Saints will open their 2019 preseason at 7 on Friday night in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome when It is unclear whether some other of the club’s major free they take on the Minnesota Vikings in the first of a four- agent acquisitions – defensive tackle Malcom Brown, tight contest preseason slate. end Jared Cook and running back Latavius Murray, a free agent pickup from the Vikings will play, but in the first three It will be the 12th time that the Saints have faced the Vi- weeks in training camp, it has become clear that this trio kings in the preseason and their first exhibition since a has shown the abilities to help their respective units and 2001 matchup that was played in San Antonio, Texas. make a significant impact. However the regular season and postseason have done enough to keep the juices flowing between New Orleans At quarterback, Drew Brees has typically seen limited ac- and Minnesota the past two years. In 2017, a young Saints tion the past several preseasons, however Payton will club traveled to U.S. Bank Stadium, struggling in a 29-19 have the opportunity in addition to preparing Brees for the loss. A much more mature and experienced squad came regular season to get additional game tape and live play- close to knocking the Vikings off in the NFC Divisional ing experience for on Brees’ two backups Teddy Bridge- Playoff four months later. On October 28, 2018, the water, who played for Minnesota from 2014-17 and Tay- growth of the Saints was evident for all in a 30-20 win at som Hill, who also has the ability to contribute in other Minnesota on Sunday Night Football. phases of the offense as well as on special teams. The Saints are 24-25 in the preseason under Head Coach Bridgewater and Hill both bring unique skillsets to the posi- Sean Payton overall, posting a 3-1 mark in 2018, which tion. Bridgewater has taken advantage of his first full off- served as a springboard towards a 13-3 regular season in season with the Saints in 2019 after spending his first four a campaign that did not end until an overtime loss in the seasons in Minnesota. Hill’s versatility on both offense and NFC Championship game. special teams, has provided him valuable snaps in both phases, while he continues to fully develop as a signal- Friday night’s preseason opener will be the first time Saints caller. Both signal-callers have been sharp in leading the fans can see the team’s five-player draft class in game offense as well as Brees in practices at the Ochsner action, with most of them expected to play on offense, de- Sports Performance Center through the first ten days of fense and special teams. Center Erik McCoy, the club’s training camp. second round draft pick from Texas A&M is currently com- peting with free agent acquisition Nick Easton, a former In addition to the three-way battle at center, there are sev- Viking himself and Cameron Tom for the position in the eral other position battles playing out for the Saints in the middle. Safeties C.J. Gardner-Johnson and Saquan preseason, including the second wide receiver spot (Ted Hampton, fourth and sixth round draft choices, have Ginn Jr. and Tre’Quan Smith) as well as where the shown the ability to contribute in both the secondary and team continues to settle on rotations for the defensive line, on coverage units during training camp. A pair of seventh the linebacker corps and in the secondary’s multiple defen- round draft picks in tight end Alize’ Mack and linebacker sive back packages. Saints vs. Vikings: Preseason Week 1 2 THE COACHES the Cincinnati Bengals from 2008 to 2013. During that span, Bengals defenses ranked in the top-15 in yards al- Saints Head Coach Sean Payton has posted a 126-80 lowed each year and on two occasions ranked in the top- overall record (.612), including an 8-6 postseason mark five. He served briefly as defensive coordinator for Atlanta after the franchise had won only one playoff game prior to in 2007 after having held that position with the Cowboys his arrival. Payton holds both the club’s top win total and from 2000 to 2006. He originally entered the NFL in 1994 winning percentage. He continues to represent the Saints as a defensive assistant with the Cowboys, was promoted as the model of stability not only within the NFC South, as to defensive backs coach in 1995, and was to defensive he is the longest tenured head coach within the division, coordinator in 2000. Zimmer was the defensive coordinator but also among the most accomplished within the NFL. for Washington State between 1989 and 1993. During his Only the New England Patriots’ Bill Belichick (2000) has final season with the Cougars, the team ranked eighth na- been with the his team longer. Payton is also one of just tionwide in total defense and second in rushing defense, seven active coaches to lead a team to a Super Bowl victo- allowing only 298.8 total yards per game and only 86.3 ry. The others are Belichick, the Seattle Seahawks’ Pete rushing yards per game. Before joining Washington State, Carroll, the Oakland Raiders’ Jon Gruden (Tampa Bay in Zimmer was the defensive coordinator for Weber State 2002), the Baltimore Ravens’ John Harbaugh, the Philadel- from 1983 to 1988, prior to which he was an assistant phia Eagles’ Doug Pederson and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ coach there for two seasons. Zimmer began his coaching Mike Tomlin. The 2018 Saints edition posted a 13-3 regular career in 1979 at the University of Missouri as an assistant season record, secured the NFC’s number one seed for coach after graduating from Illinois State. the postseason and advanced to the NFC Championship game. A franchise-record five players were selected to the Associated Press All-Pro team and eight were named to the Pro Bowl. New Orleans’ ten-game winning streak was SERIES HISTORY the second-longest in club history and the longest streak in Minnesota leads the regular season series, having won 19 the NFL in 2019. The streak only sits behind in club record of 30 contests since the teams first met on October 13, books, New Orleans’ 13-0 start under Payton in 2009, the 1968 at Tulane Stadium and three of four postseason season when they captured Super Bowl XLIV. Payton meetings; the Black and Gold won that first matchup 20-17. earned a bachelor’s degree in communications at Eastern The Saints would not beat the Vikings again until Sept. 3, Illinois, where as a quarterback he had 10,665 passing 1978, losing six straight contests in the interim. Though the yards, at the time the third-highest total in NCAA Division I- Vikings have a firm grasp of the overall series record, the AA history. Payton was inducted into the Eastern Illinois Saints have fared much better since the 2006 arrival of Hall of Fame in September of 2000 and had his jersey re- Sean Payton as head coach and the free agent signing tired in a ceremony in September of 2010. He received an of QB Drew Brees. The teams have met on seven occa- honorary doctorate from his alma mater in 2013. Payton sions since then, five times in the regular season and twice was born December 29, 1963 in San Mateo, Calif., and in the postseason and New Orleans has captured four. The raised in Naperville, Ill., Payton has a daughter, Meghan Saints and Vikings have met four times in the playoffs, and a son, Connor. including the Black and Gold’s first ever postseason game in 1987, which the Vikings seized at the Superdome, 44- 10. The third playoff meeting proved to be the charm, how- Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer enters his sixth season ever, as the two clubs met at the Superdome on Jan. 24, at the helm, having put together a 48-34-1 record (regular 2010 for the NFC Championship. Brees completed 17-of- season and postseason) since 2014. After managing a 7-9 31 passes for 197 yards and three touchdown throws with mark in 2014, his first season, Zimmer and QB Teddy RB Pierre Thomas scoring two touchdowns and RB Reggie Bridgewater used their sophomore seasons to roar to an Bush and WR Devery Henderson adding scoring 11-5 record and the Vikings’ first NFC North title since grabs. A late interception of Minnesota QB Brett Favre by 2009, when they advanced to the NFC Championship CB Tracy Porter sent the game to overtime, and the Saints Game but fell to the Saints. The 2015 campaign ended with won, 31-28, off a 40-yard field goal from K Garrett Hartley, a nailbiter, as the club fell to the Seattle Seahawks, 10-9, in sending the Saints to Super Bowl XLIV. the Wild Card round. Following an 8-8 campaign in 2016, in 2017, Zimmer led the Vikings to a 13-3 record, his second In the preseason, the Saints lead the all-time series 7-4 NFC North title as head coach and a first-round playoff with contests having been played in four different locations bye.