After a sound loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday, the New Orleans Saints will travel to Tampa Bay to face their divisional foes the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Two questions still linger in fans’ minds after a tough loss at home: which team is going to show up on Sunday? And will Reggie Bush be 100% going into this needed game to stay in 1^st place in the NFC South? One thing is for sure, Reggie Bush will play on Sunday stating that his ankle has been injured since week 1 of the season. Which team shows up in Tampa Bay, however, depends on the decision making of Quarterback Drew Brees.

Saints Quarterback vs. Bucs Defense: Drew Brees will definitely have to have a better game than last week. Although his numbers looked great overall, 3 interceptions can taint any stat line. The Bucs’ Defense is a drop-off from the Ravens’ D, mostly because of age difference, but their cover 2 scheme is still enough to make even the best quarterbacks in the league (like Donovan McNabb) look bad. Efficiency on Brees’ part will be key on Sunday. Advantage: Saints

Saints Running Backs vs. Bucs Linebackers: Deuce McAllister ran for over 100 yards in the first game with the Bucs’ Linebackers at full strength. Look for Deuce to go over the century mark again with Tampa Bay’s middle linebacker Shelton Quarles banged up and not able to cover the whole field like he’d want to. Reggie Bush’s carries will more than likely be limited due to the bad ankle, so do not be surprised if Sean Payton uses his superstar sparingly throughout the game. Advantage: Saints

Saints Wide Receivers vs. Bucs Secondary: Marques Colston should be a big factor in this game because Joe Horn will have a red blanket named Ronde Barber covering him all game. Another reason is because Juran Bolden still has a bad hip. Saints’ receivers should look for open spaces deep in the middle of that cover 2 defense to gain huge chunks of yards. With that kind of deep coverage, Drew Brees may have to nickel and dime the offense down the field. Advantage: Bucs

Saints Offensive Line vs. Bucs Defensive Line: The loss of Anthony McFarland really hurts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in games like this; where the feature back likes to run between the tackles. McFarland was the force that stopped inside runners from busting out big gains and disrupting the quarterback with big pushes from the inside on passing downs. With all that being said, Simeon Rice and company will still get Drew Brees a little dirty but they won’t be as effective as John Gruden would like in the game.  Advantage: Saints

Saints Defense vs. Bucs Quarterback: Even though Bruce Gradkowski is a rookie, he threw for 225 yards on 20 of 31 passes with 0 interceptions. That is called efficiency. All you need to do to beat the saints or win any football game in the NFL is have efficiency at the Quarterback position. Steve McNair and Jake Delhomme both had 2 touchdowns and 0 picks and they were the only two to beat New Orleans this year. Bruce Gradkowski is the only exception and that is because of a 65-yard punt return for a TD. That will not happen again in Tampa Bay on Sunday. Advantage: Bucs

Saints Linebackers vs. Bucs Running Backs: Cadillac Williams is averaging 3.7 yards a carry this year but 5.5 yards a carry versus the Saints. The Saints’ linebacking core is starting to gel but that is not going to keep the Cadillac from having another c-note performance. Advantage: Bucs

Saints Secondary vs. Bucs Wide Receivers: Pick a receiver, any receiver; somebody is getting over a hundred yards in receiving on Sunday. This is mainly because of the “big play” that the Saints seem to give up every game. Whether it is a deep pass given up or a missed tackle that leads to big yards after the catch, they do it every week. Pick your poison, Michael Clayton, Ike Hilliard, or Joey Galloway because the Saints do not possess enough quality DBs to combat at a competitive level with the Bucs. Advantage: Bucs

Saints Defensive Line vs. Bucs Offensive Line: Keep a lookout for Hollis Thomas and Charles Grant in this game. Grant had a sack in the last game and he is the leader of this revamped D-Line. He will be ready to make an impact against an average Buccaneer O-Line.  Advantage: Saints

Saints Special Teams vs. Bucs Special Teams: I don’t think that Reggie Bush’s ankle can support another TD in the return game so he’s out. Matt Bryant can’t kick another 62 yard field goal despite saying that “he didn’t really get all of it” against the Eagles. It could be a punt fest on Sunday so get the foot tubs ready after the game. Advantage: Push

X-Factor: Coaching and Clock Management. Last week it may have been bad play calling that got the Saints behind against Baltimore. Trick plays are a big boost when they work but when they don’t, they put the team in a bigger hole. Sean Payton should keep the offense simple like in previous weeks and work the clock like in the Philadelphia game and the Saints will win a close one at the Sunken Ship.

Contact Jody at jlavig4@lsu.edu