Drew Brees
Drew Brees set a record in 2011 with 5,476 passing yards. Reuters

The Jacksonville Jaguars hit the road to play the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes Benz Superdome at 8pm EST.

You can watch the game on a free online stream here.

Due to Bounty Gate, New Orleans could be without key defensive starters Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith for 20 regular season games. Everything is tied up in civil court and NFL back channels, which means the Saints will once again have to rely on record-breaking quarterback Drew Brees.

Brees leads New Orleans in its first home game since it mangled the Detroit Lions in the NFC Wild Card round back in January.

The Saints lost their second exhibition of the preseason 7-6 to New England, but every first stringer saw only one series. Look for that to change as the coaches increase reps for the fast approaching regular season.

Brees has most of his main targets from last season, with the exception of receiver Robert Meachem who signed with San Francisco during free agency. Tight end Jimmy Graham, who posted spectacular numbers during his rookie campaign, will play after recovering from a lower back strain. However spark plug running back Darren Sproles will not appear.

Sproles absence opens up reps for running back Travaris Cadet, who many speculate could take veteran Chris Ivory's roster spot. Cadet rushed for 26 yards on nine carries against the Patriots, but made the most noise in the Hall of Fame game against Arizona on Aug. 5 with eight receptions for 80 yards out of the backfield.

Jacksonville also has trouble getting a star player on the field. Maurice Jones-Drew started his defense of the 2011 rushing title with a hold out. He wants to renegotiate his current deal, but so far Jags officials will have nothing of it.

That leaves quarterback Blaine Gabbert in the wind. Gabbert does have several new targets in 2012 first round draft choice Justin Blackmon and recently acquired free agent Laurent Robinson from Dallas.

He did not have a full off season due to the lockout in 2011, so Gabbert now has a training camp with every coach at his disposable 24/7 under his belt. The Jags will expect a major jump in productivity from a player with the lowest QB rating in the NFL last season of 65.4.

Gabbert could improve those numbers by finding receiver Cecil Shorts, who enters his second NFL season out of Mount Union and has proven himself capable of burning pro corners with incendiary speed during training camp.

New Orleans 24 Jacksonville 7

Court Arizona National Football League Arizona