NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- After going two Billy Joes deep, New Orleans coach Mike Ditka may try a Danny against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

When your team has scored only 107 points in seven games and 21 points has been a high point, you'll try anything. And, after all, Danny Wuerffel became famous for working magic at Florida, so maybe he can do it against a team from there.

With quarterback Billy Joe Hobert injured again, Billy Joe Tolliver should be next in line. But coach Mike Ditka hasn't given his No. 2 signal caller a big vote of confidence.

"I'm leaning toward Billy Joe (Tolliver)," Ditka said. "But I'm going to play Danny in the football game if things don't go the way I want them to go, believe me."

Facing the Buccaneers (3-4) and the top defense in the NFC, No. 4 in the NFL, any quarterback Ditka uses is expected to spend most of the game handing off to Ricky Williams and dodging Warren Sapp, who is tied for the NFL lead in sacks with seven.

"Good running back, nice hard runner, fumbled the ball a couple of times," Sapp said of Williams. "Other than that, he's a great runner, take advantage of it."

In a 21-16 loss to the Cleveland Browns last week, Ditka called the plays and Williams gained 179 yards on 40 carries. The Saints (1-6) controlled the ball for 40:50 minutes in their sixth straight loss, the fifth decided in the fourth quarter.

Tolliver has started twice and played in three other games when Hobert was injured, accounting for 11 of the Saints' 18 turnovers. He was intercepted once and lost a fumble on a pitch to Williams in the loss to the Browns.

Ditka said he doesn't blame Tolliver for the loss and doesn't want to get into playing two quarterbacks. On the other hand, he's always been a Wuerffel fan.

"The other thing I'm going to say is, what do I have Danny for?" Ditka said. "If I believe in him, why can't I put him on the field. And I will."

Ditka might be one of the last to believe in Wuerffel's NFL potential.

Wuerffel has played in one series this season and thrown one pass, but in his two-year career Wuerffel has completed 104 of 210 passes, thrown nine touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Wuerffel has also been a delight for the defense in his inability to avoid sacks. His most fame in the NFL so far has been a picture of him on the floor of the Superdome with his helmet knocked sideways, placing an earhole over his face.

Bucs coach Tony Dungy, who switched from Trent Dilfer to Eric Zeier last week, agrees that sometimes a new quarterback can be the answer. But he also acknowledges a player like Sapp can wreck a lot of game plans.

"I think he's got a great combination of quickness and power," Dungy said. "He's a big man, but he can give a lot of different kinds of blockers problems."

Plus, Dungy said, Sapp is a very smart player, and that's why he's had so much success even when double-teamed.

A win at New Orleans would put Tampa Bay at .500 midway through the scheduled and could be the springboard to salvaging the season, Dungy said. And it would be a lot more satisfying than even a couple of sacks for Sapp.

"Wins just let everything else take care of itself," Sapp said. "I can have no tackles, no sacks, no anything. If we win the game I'll be happy."

TAMPA BAY Season schedule and results

NEW ORLEANS Season schedule and results

September 12 NY Giants L 13-17 September 19 @Philadelphia W 19-5 September 26 Denver W 13-10 October 3 @Minnesota L 14-21 October 10 @Green Bay L 23-26 October 24 Chicago W 6-3 October 31 @Detroit L 3-20 November 7 @New Orleans 4:05pm ET November 14 Kansas City 1:00pm ET November 21 Atlanta 1:00pm ET November 28 @Seattle 4:05pm ET December 6 Minnesota 9:00pm ET December 12 Detroit 1:00pm ET December 19 @Oakland 4:05pm ET December 26 Green Bay 4:15pm ET January 2 @Chicago 1:00pm ET

September 12 Carolina W 19-10 September 19 @San Francisco L 21-28 October 3 @Chicago L 10-14 October 10 Atlanta L 17-20 October 17 Tennessee L 21-24 October 24 @NY Giants L 3-31 October 31 Cleveland L 16-21 November 7 Tampa Bay 4:05pm ET November 14 San Francisco 1:00pm ET November 21 @Jacksonville 8:20pm ET November 28 @St. Louis 1:00pm ET December 5 @Atlanta 1:00pm ET December 12 St. Louis 1:00pm ET December 19 @Baltimore 1:00pm ET December 24 Dallas 3:05pm ET January 2 @Carolina 1:00pm ET

Records source: STATS, Inc.

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