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NEW ORLEANS — I’ll be hanging out in our Countdown Live chat room during Thursday night’s game, but before and after, you’ll see traditional posting here on the blog.



Along those lines, the Minnesota Vikings announced two lineup changes along with their game day inactive list. Asher Allen will start at right cornerback, ahead of Lito Sheppard, who I presume will play in the nickel. Meanwhile, Husain Abdullah will start at strong safety ahead of Tyrell Johnson.



The Allen decision wasn’t too surprising, considering that Sheppard was playing with the third-team defense during last week’s preseason finale. But if Abdullah saw any time this summer with the Vikings’ first-team defense, I missed it. I’m guessing the decision is based on the matchup against New Orleans’ pass-happy offense, but I’m not sure.



Abdullah likely will shift to cornerback in dime situations because the Vikings have only three true cornerbacks active. Cedric Griffin, who returned to practice this week as he continues recovering from knee surgery, was deactivated. The Vikings did not activate practice squad cornerback Marcus Sherels, as had been discussed.



Other notable deactivations included rookie tailback Toby Gerhart, meaning Adrian Peterson and Albert Young will carry the load Thursday night. Gerhart has been dealing with a knee injury.

NEW ORLEANS — The Saints just announced their starting lineup and their inactives for tonight.



No major surprises. Running back Chris Ivory, defensive back Chris Reis, linebacker Stanley Arnoux, linebacker Danny Clark, offensive lineman Zach Strief, tight end Jimmy Graham, receiver Adrian Arrington and defensive end Junior Galette are not active.



Clark’s appearance on the inactive list further confirms the Saints will start Jo-Lonn Dunbar at linebacker. With Clark and Arnoux inactive, the New Orleans linebacker depth after Dunbar, Jonathan Vilma and Scott Shanle is limited to Marvin Mitchell, Anthony Waters and K.C. Asiodu.

Another wide receiver signed a lucrative contract extension, and once again, it is not San Diego holdout Pro Bowl receiver Vincent Jackson.

Jackson

But expect Jackson and his agents to take notice. Dallas’ Miles Austin, on the benefit of a breakout 2009 season, signed a new deal. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports its worth $57 million over six years.



I’d expect Jackson to ask for a tad more, particularly since he is a more established player than Austin. Jackson’s agents have denied they have asked for Brandon Marshall money, but I don’t think they would accept a long-term deal for less than the five years and $50 million that Marshall received.



Jonathan Feinsod, one of Jackson’s agents, said during the weekend that the team had a one-year contract workout with an unnamed team but San Diego couldn’t come to a draft-pick compensation agreement with the team. I don’t know what the one-year deal was worth, but if talks commence again with Jackson and that team or another, San Diego may give permission and I’d think it’d be for a higher average than Austin is receiving from Dallas.



While there has been no progress in the Jackson stalemate, there is plenty of action elsewhere and it will have an affect on the Jackson situation whenever it is resolved.

Austin

Unlike some teams, the Dallas Cowboys don’t mind signing players to new contracts during the regular season. Owner Jerry Jones waited to see how Tony Romo performed in ’07 before throwing a huge amount of guaranteed money at him. But with Miles Austin coming off a breakout season in ’09, the Cowboys decided to go ahead and take the plunge.



It’s a six-year contract extension worth $57 million, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. When we get the guaranteed amount, we’ll have a better understanding of just how much of a commitment the Cowboys have made. With all the pomp and circumstance surrounding rookie Dez Bryant, I think it was important for Jones to show how much he appreciates Austin, his No. 1 receiver.



And make no mistake. This contract pretty much confirms that Roy Williams won’t be on this roster in 2011. I realize that’s not breaking news, but thought it was worth noting. Austin has done a really nice job of letting his agent deal with the negotiations while he concentrated on football.



He sent a little message by skipping some of the voluntary workouts in the offseason and then he quickly returned to Valley Ranch.



“He’s what we want to build our franchise around,” Jones said of Austin.

NEW ORLEANS — Greetings from the Superdome press box. I wanted to pass along an interesting note from ESPN’s Ed Werder, who interviewed Minnesota Vikings quarterback Brett Favre here in New Orleans.



As you know, Favre has begun a treatment plan of lubricant injections into his surgically-repaired left ankle. Favre told Werder that he has already had two such injections since re-joining the Vikings three weeks ago, and is scheduled to have a third after Thursday night’s game.



Favre, who turns 41 next month, said that his mobility remains limited and that he no longer considers scrambling from the pocket an option. But he believes the surgery and subsequent treatment has left him with enough movement to dodge pass rushers in the pocket. We’ll know soon.

Denver coach Josh McDaniels proclaimed that All-Pro left tackle Ryan Clady will be completely ready for Sunday’s season opener at Jacksonville.



“He’s not even on the injury report. He’s ready to go,” McDaniels said to reporters in Denver when asked about Clady’s status.



That is significant, considering Clady suffered a torn patella tendon in his knee less than five months ago. Clady was injured while playing basketball. He made his preseason debut last week. McDaniels admitted that Clady could be rusty and said he could be rested at times during the game if needed.



“He was here on the few days off running and doing different things to try to improve that. I don’t think you can simulate game conditioning unless you’re in games,” McDaniels said. “That’s why we played him in Minnesota, that’s why we practiced hard the last couple of days in pads and he’s been in there a ton and we’re trying to catch him up as quickly as we can. If there’s a situation where we need to rest him at some point in the game, then we’ll try to be smart about that too so that he can play to his level of play and try to do it for as long as he can.”



Meanwhile, McDaniels said he hasn’t made up his mind whether rookie Tim Tebow or Brady Quinn will be the backup quarterback Sunday. All signs have pointed to Tebow being the backup in his hometown of Jacksonville on Sunday. McDaniels may have given a hint when he said all 45 active players will play. The Broncos have special packages designed for Tebow. Quinn is more of a traditional quarterback, so you’d think Tebow will get the chance to play.