The Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints will welcome in the new NFL
season this weekend in Canton, Ohio in the Hall of Fame Game. New
Orleans has been hammered all offseason long by suspensions stemming
from the team's now infamous bounty scandal, while Arizona has had a
quiet summer by comparison.
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Both teams will be thrilled to get back on the field, and each
will be looking to get its first preseason win of 2012.Here's a rundown
of everything you need to know before kickoff.Although there's nothing
ever truly at stake during a preseason matchup in the NFL, Sunday
night's matchup in Canton will likely determine the futures of some
borderline roster players on each side.
Undrafted free agents and practice players will need to
showcase themselves nicely in order to prove to their respective
coaching staffs that they can perform during the regular season.Position
battles and roster spots are certainly up for grabs, but if you're
talking wins and losses, we're still a few weeks out until the games
actually count.
A lot of the conversation surrounding Sunday's preseason opener
between the Saints and Cardinals has centered on the officiating. CBS
Sports' Will Brinson reported on Wednesday that the NFL would be using
replacement officials in the 2012 Hall of Fame Game.
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The NFL and its officials are currently disagreeing on what
each side perceives to be fair compensation, and according to Brinson,
the replacements will most likely consist of college referees at this
point. Replacement referees were brought in to officiate an early
regular season Rams-Eagles game back in 2001.
