After two full weeks of facing each other the Bills are ready to face a real opponent and they'll get that chance Saturday night against Washington.
"I'm getting pretty excited," said Trent Edwards. "We're going against the same defense over and over these days, and they're kind of ready to hit someone new, and I think that's the way the rest of the offense feels."
As for playing time the starters on offense and defense are not expected to play very long getting anywhere between 10 and 20 plays, but Edwards is more concerned with the routine of preparing for a game and performing than with how many snaps he gets.
"I'm looking to try to get back in a game situation, putting on a game jersey, and getting back into the flow of things," he said. "I need to face different coverages, I need to face an opposing team, and that's what I'm looking to get out of Saturday. We need to get the ball down the field, convert on third down, get some first downs, keep moving the chains and put some points on the board."
At the same time Buffalo's offense will look a bit different even though the Bills are likely to play things close to the vest in the preseason.
"We'll get through some different looks, just in terms of some different formations and shifts that you didn't see last year," said Edwards. "We might mix in some things that you won't see a lot of. We'll be able to see more on Saturday, once we get it going."
Head coach Dick Jauron won't only be looking at how the starters perform, as he and his staff will also be evaluating the play of a lot of the young players on their roster.
"We'll get to see guys under the big lights that we haven't seen at this level play in an NFL exhibition game which is different than a regular season game," said Jauron. "It's probably as fast as any game they've played, so we'll get to see the young guys in that situation. We'll get to see the whole team work together."
Personnel update
Not playing Saturday night against Washington are Copeland Bryan (hamstring), Angelo Crowell (knee), Josh Reed (lower back) and Donte Whitner (ankle) as none of those players made the trip. They all remained in Buffalo to continue receiving treatment for their injuries.
Tight end Tim Massaquoi (groin) is doubtful while receiver Scott Mayle (hamstring) is questionable.
Quarterback J.P. Losman (thumb) will play and fellow signal caller Matt Baker (groin) is expected to play as well.
Wide receiver James Hardy is expected to play after coming through practice well the past couple of days following a hamstring injury.
Set to start in place of Crowell, Reed and Whitner are Keith Ellison, Roscoe Parrish and Bryan Scott respectively.
Opponent
For the second straight preseason the Bills will play their first preseason contest against a team that already has an exhibition game under their belt. The Redskins played in the Hall of Fame game last weekend beating the Indianapolis Colts 30-16. But Dick Jauron thinks it could make for good competition.
"They're a week ahead of us so it could help that way," said Jauron. "But it's the preseason, we're excited about it and we're getting ready."
Last preseason the Bills faced the Saints in their preseason opener after New Orleans had appeared in the Hall of Fame game with Buffalo posting a 13-10 victory.
Redskins update
Defensive end Jason Taylor is expected to make his Redskins debut Saturday night after he did not play in Washington's preseason opener last week against the Colts.
Running back Clinton Portis, who is not a fan of playing in the preseason after suffering a shoulder injury in 2006, is expected to see some action in the first couple of series.
Jason Campbell will start at quarterback for Washington, but head coach Jim Zorn hinted that he may juggle the order in which the other Redskin's signal callers enter the game.
Not expected to play for the Redskins Saturday are rookie receivers Malcolm Kelly (knee) and Devin Thomas (hamstring). Kelly had a knee scope earlier this week and is expected to miss two weeks of action.
Backup offensive tackles Todd Wade and Stephon Heyer are also not expected to play Saturday.
Questionable to play are CB Carlos Rogers, CB Shawn Springs and RB Rock Cartwright.
Preseason series
This Saturday's game marks the 12th preseason meeting between the Bills and Redskins.
It's the first time in nine seasons that the two teams will face each other in the preseason.
The last time was prior to the 1999 season with Washington winning 20-19. Buffalo has a record of 5-6 against Washington in their 11 prior preseason meetings.
Bills preseason opener in HD
The game will be the first Bills Television Network preseason contest to be broadcast in high definition.
The broadcast will air on the Bills regional family of networks including WKBW-TV in Buffalo, WHAM 13 in Rochester, WVTH in Syracuse, CityTV in Ontario, CA and WSEE in Erie, PA.
