METAIRIE (AP) – Appearing to be in midseason form on the first Friday in August, New Orleans Saints acting coach Joe Vitt declined to publicize how much his starters will play in Sunday night’s Hall of Fame game against the Arizona Cardinals in Canton, Ohio.

But Vitt did provide a clue at the conclusion of the team’s last full workout before leaving Saturday on a six-day road trip that will see them moving from Ohio to Foxborough, Mass., to work against the New England Patriots before their exhibition game Thursday night at Gillette Stadium. Kickoff for the annual Hall of Fame game is at 7 p.m. Sunday.

“We did talk about that in detail but I really don’t want to talk about the snaps,’’ Vitt said. “If you go back and look at our Hall of Fame game in ‘07, you’ll know exactly how we’re going to play the game.’’

In that 20-7 loss to the Steelers, coach Sean Payton pulled starting quarterback Drew Brees after completing one of six passes for 6 yards in two series. The three remaining quarterbacks on the training camp roster finished the game.

Based on that game plan, Brees is expected to open against the Cardinals, break a sweat, then go to the sideline and turn the game over to reserves Chase Daniel, Sean Canfield and Luke McCown.

“In the preseason, there is a purpose,” Brees said. “Especially with the first group, you want to get back in the flow and the rhythm.”