New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs

The Brady Croyle era is upon us. As Ryan Stetson noted in today's starter reporter, Croyle will start and play into the second half. The second-year quarterback hasn't won the No. 1 job outright, but with top competitor Damon Huard likely unable to play Thursday due to injury, the announcement isn't far away.

Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson is signed and in camp, but he won't play today. It'll be up to Michael Bennett and rookie Kolby Smith to run the football. Both have been unimpressive in the preseason so far.

Smith - who's looked great in practice - has rushed for zero yards on 10 carries while the speedy Bennett had only seven yards on eight carries against the Fish. Croyle will need better production from the backfield to be successful.

Thank goodness it's Thursday

The irregularities of training camp and preseason no longer seem to be an issue for New Orleans . The Saints closed shop at Millsaps College in Jackson , Miss. , and returned home to their training facility to prepare for the upcoming campaign.

Head coach Sean Payton feels blessed by the scheduling gods.

"We all look forward to getting into a routine, and one positive is that we play a Thursday game, and then we play another Thursday game, and then we open the season on Thursday," Payton told reporters.

Receivers Marques Colston (knee) and Devery Henderson (hamstring) will not play against the Chiefs. This gives rookie wideout Robert Meachem a chance to strut his stuff. The first-round pick has gotten limited touches in the Saints' first three preseason matches but there's no questioning his talent.

Hollis Thomas has lost his starting defensive tackle job to Kendrick Clancy.

Thomas struggled keeping his weight down throughout training camp and was the only Saints player on the heavy side at the last team weigh-in.

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