What to Watch for in Saturday's Games That Don't Count

It's Saturday in August.

It's time for football. Instead of coeds and keggers though, today's football players will be getting paid. That is as long as they can stay on the roster.

There are six NFL preseason games on the docket for Saturday, and a lot of questions to answer and position battles to watch over.

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Atlanta at Detroit, 4PM ET
Atlanta

Everyone is anxious to see Matt Ryan's new weapon, Tony Gonzalez, and how he opens up the offense for the Falcons. While it's been pretty watching the two get to know each other in training camp, most questions needing to be answered on Saturday happen away from the offensive side of the ball. Coach Mike Smith is really taking a look at the punt returners on Saturday. Brent Grimes, Eric Weems and Chandler Williams will all see action. You should also keep a close eye on the cornerbacks and defensive line. The defensive line will be rotated more than any other position on the field for the Falcons this season and guys like Chris Owens, Chevis Jackson and William Middleton want to prove they deserve cornerback consideration.

Detroit

Lions fans will get to see last season's Offensive Rookie of the Year Matt Ryan up close and personal on Saturday. They'll be asking whether or not their new rookie quarterback and first overall pick in the draft, Matthew Stafford, can duplicate the success Ryan had in changing the fortune of a troubled franchise. Stafford isn't going to get the chance to give any clue as to the answer of that question until, at least, the second quarter. Daunte Culpepper will start for the Lions while Stafford and Drew Stanton will see equal time afterwards. The new lean and trim version of Kevin Smith will be introduced Saturday as well. The running back worked hard in the off-season to shed almost ten pounds that he said slowed him down in 2008.

Chicago at Buffalo, 7PM

Chicago

Those hoping to see what Jay Cutler really brings to the table in Chicago had better look quickly on Saturday. The new Bears quarterback will only see about 15 snaps in their first exhibition game. That's ok as everyone knows they'll see a lot of Cutler this season. Cutler isn't the only new face in town. It seems that the entire offensive line is new. Orlando Pace and Frank Omiyale to name a few will keep Cutler on his feet and open bigger holes for Matt Forte. At least that's the plan. Going against an Bills offensive line that's been called porous, the defensive line for the Bears will also get a chance to shine for new position coach Rod Marinelli.

Buffalo

The T.O. Show is going to be a no-show on Saturday. He'll be on the sideline with turf toe which means that you should be tuned in to your twitter stream for something crazy to happen. When you can pry your eyes away from twitter, watch Fred Jackson, the Bills backup running back. He's been very impressive in camp up to this point and he'll be "the guy" for the first three weeks of the season as Marshawn Lynch serves a three-game suspension. If Jackson shows moments of spectacularity, his role could expand when Lynch puts the pads on Jackson is forced back to his number two role.

Houston at Kansas City, 8PM

Houston

I seem to be repeating myself, but the Texans are another team that has most of the offensive questions answered, at least from a player personnel standpoint. The team has struggled in the past against a 3-4 defense, which they'll be up against tonight. Saturday night is all about looking at the defense. One of the bigger shocks is that Texans' rookie sixth round pick Brice McCain will be starting at cornerback on Saturday. McCain has been the most impressive corner in camp and could be the fastest man on the team. Watch to see how he reacts to being picked on early. One ore story will be Amobi Okoye's limited action on Saturday night. He's had a great camp and could really use the momentum if he's going to bounce back from a disappointing 2008 season.

Kansas City

Now that enough tickets have been sold to avoid a local blackout of the Chiefs game all eyes will be squarely focused on new quarterback Matt Cassell on Saturday night. He's been both good and bad in camp and looking at a real opposing defense will be the first test to see if Cassell can build upon the success he showed in New England last season. You know there just isn't enough talk about long snappers. The Chiefs cut their long snapper two days ago and brought in Tanner Purdum, who performed the duties for the Chiefs last season. Here's hoping that long snapping is like riding a bike.

Cleveland at Green Bay, 8PM

Cleveland

Is this Groundhog Day or are we settling in for another Brady Quinn versus Derek Anderson position battle? The Browns have not announced who will start the first exhibition game, but they have said whoever starts games one will swap out with the other for game two. The front seven on the defense will be another area of concern Saturday. The Browns only mustered 17 sacks last season. While most teams don't execute advanced blitz packages in early exhibition games, watch to see if the Browns can get any pressure at all on Green Bay's quarterbacks. Braylon Edwards expects to play on Saturday, which is good news. Mohamed Massaquoi, Brian Robiskie, David Patten and Mike Furrey will all compete to see who lines up on the other side of Edwards. Saturday night is the first time for any of these guys to really shine.

Green Bay

Saturday night will be the first time anyone gets to see Aaron Kampman at left outside linebacker. He'll be making the move from defensive end this season and you'd better believe that if he has trouble tackling in the open field or dropping into coverage, offenses will eat him up. The Browns like to run the hurry-up. If they bring that out Saturday night, it will be an interesting first game at linebacker for Kampman. Ryan Grant, now that he's healthy, will begin working on getting that explosive first step back. If he can regain that big yardage move that allowed him to average 5.1 yards per carry in 2007, Grant will exceed his 2008 numbers easily.

Tampa Bay at Tennessee, 8PM

Tampa Bay

Talk about pressure; defensive end Gaines Adams has been told he needs to record double-digit sacks in 2009 to avoid the "bust" tag. He's going to see lots of action Saturday evening and had better hit the ground running. Another pressure filled situation is the quarterback battle in Tampa. Luke McCown will start the game and Byron Leftwich will come in directly after. Josh Freeman will get his shot in the second half. You won't be able to watch Cadillac Williams on Saturday. He's being held out on a "coaches decision". Head Coach Raheem Morris says all is fine with Williams' surgically-repaired knee, but we won't see the back running the ball until the third game of the preseason-season.

Tennessee

It'll be hard to miss the behemoth tight end who weighs in at well above the 262 pounds he's listed at, but Alge Crumpler, extra pounds and all, might be lighter on his feet this season. He's used dancing lessons in the off-season to help mobility and agility. Saturday night will be the first test to see if it helps him bridge the gap towards Bo Scaife on the depth chart or at least hold off rookie Jared Cook. Nate Washington is proving to be even better then expected, but I'm excited to see rookie wide receiver Kenny Britt on Saturday. He needs to come out big in this first exhibition game if he wants to be targeted frequently this season.

Seattle at San Diego, 10:00 P.M. Eastern

Seattle

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck will see action on Saturday night, but only for a series, maybe two. So, we're only going to get a few chances to see if Hasselbeck can turn things around make T.J. Houshmandzadeh, Nate Burleson and Deion Branch a receiving corps to fear among the AFC West in 2009. Seneca Wallace will see considerable time at quarterback which may be a good thing. The mobility of Wallace might be needed to countermand the Chargers blistering defense who should get after Wallace a lot.

San Diego

The Chargers spent time this past week working from the Wildcat formation. Head CoachNorv Turner says that it's more his defense to be able to see it in practice and hasn't said if he'll being using it on offense. I'll be watching to see if the Chargers bring it out against Seattle Saturday night. I'm also interested in watching LaDainian Tomlinson and how he finds holes. Finding holes through the offensive line is great but it would be nice if Tomlinson could rely on the fullbacks more this season. Eric Weddle is another game changer. At least that's what the Chargers were hoping for when they paid a kings ransom to move up the 2007 draft to get him. He showed us he could tackle last season, now it's time for the safety to become the field general.