The preseason schedule begins in earnest tonight, with six games on tap. It is still week 1, so don’t expect most established starters to play more than 1 series, 2 at the most. If you want to dissect Peyton Manning’s form in coming back from neck surgery, you will have just a few throws to do it. Denver plays Chicago at 8:30 eastern.

Here is the rest of the schedule tonight:

Washington at Buffalo (7 pm): Robert Griffin III makes his first appearance in live action for the Redskins. The more intriguing thing here is the running back rotation. How early does Evan Royster come in? How many snaps does expected starter Roy Helu see? With a Shanahan backfield, and what should be an improved offense, it’s something to monitor early.

Baltimore at Atlanta (7:30): Two established veteran teams with very few new starters, so this is all about depth evaluation and seeing who might step in on defense in a few key spots (for Terrell Suggs in Baltimore and in the linebacking group without Curtis Lofton for Atlanta).

New Orleans at New England (7:30): Man, this would be a fantastic matchup . . . in October. Instead, we can only get teased here, and Chase Daniel versus Ryan Mallett is likely to be featured heavily.

Pittsburgh at Philadelphia (7:30): The story here is Andy Reid, who is expected to be on the sidelines less than a week after his son Garrett died unexpectedly. These games have little meaning anyway, but this one might feel a little empty.

Green Bay at San Diego (8:00, ESPN): This one is nationally televised. Focus on the Packers first round pick Nick Perry to see if he gets any pass rush against a line that is in transit in San Diego. For San Diego, Rivers will get early work with Robert Meachem. On the other side, the youngsters, including last year’s pick Corey Liuget and Melvin Ingram, this year’s first round pick, will be ones to watch.

[photo via US Presswire]