Tampa Bay offense vs. St. Louis defense

	TAMPA BAY OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	15
	Pass	30
	Tot. Yds.	28
	Scoring	27
	Int's allowed	16
	Sacks allowed	42
	ST. LOUIS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	1
	vs. Pass	24
	Total yds. allowed	24
	# of Ints.	29
	# of Sacks	57
	Turnover differential	+5

St. Louis' underrated defense came up huge last week against Minnesota in the third quarter, holding the Vikings to just seven plays and negative two yards while forcing a pair of fumbles. Minnesota had moderate success running the ball (87 yards on 29 carries) but don't expect Tampa to remain loyal to their ball-control approach this week.

Injuries along the offensive line have crippled the Bucs' ground game. In last week's win over Washington, Tampa Bay was held to just 44 yards on 27 carries. FB Mike Alstott rarely had any running room and he's not the type of back that can consistently create things on his own. Under normal circumstances, St. Louis' smallish defensive front seven would be the perfect matchup for the Bucs powerful ground game, but Minnesota's defensive line is too athletic for Tampa's injury-depleted line to attack.

To compensate for their losses up front, expect the Buccaneers to utilize their short passing game as a variation of the handoff. Last week, 10 of King's 15 completions went to either running backs or tight ends -- a statistic that underscores Tampa's inability to throw the ball downfield on the perimeter.

The Bucs had little success moving the ball last week until they became desperate in the fourth quarter. Rookie QB Shaun King (15-of-32, 157 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) is never pretty but he gets the job done when it counts.

St. Louis will play a lot of man coverage on the outside with a short zone underneath to attack Tampa's conservative game plan. Against their conventional pro-style offense, St. Louis will deploy their base defense with play-making MLB London Fletcher on the field for the majority of the game. Minnesota's multiple-receiver looks forced Fletcher to the sidelines last Sunday but he was still able to register a sack.

As they did a week ago, St. Louis will go after the rookie quarterback with plenty of blitzes in order to create turnovers. The Rams like to gamble with safety and corner blitzes, making King's ability to diagnose at the line of scrimmage and audible to maximum protections and his receivers' "hot" routes the key for the Bucs offense.

Against the Rams high-powered offense, look for the Bucs to use SS John Lynch near the line of scrimmage in what is essentially a 44 defense. Tampa's linebacker corps did a tremendous job of playing gap-responsible defense against Davis -- limiting his yards after contact, although Marshall Faulk is an entirely different style of runner. Faulk will force the Bucs to play more under control than they did last Saturday when they simply flew to the football. If Tampa Bay is undisciplined against the run, Faulk will burn them on the cutback, which the Bucs have been susceptible to all season.

Tampa's entire defensive game plan will center on their ability to shut down Faulk early, utilizing eight men in the box. To counter this, St. Louis will spread the Buccaneer defense out with three-and four-receiver sets, using numerous draws and toss sweeps to get Faulk into open space.

When St. Louis goes to the air, Tampa defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin must find a way to pressure QB Kurt Warner without committing men to the blitz, as Warner does an excellent job of hitting receivers in stride across the middle when blitzing linebackers vacate their zones. Owing mainly to the consistent heat put on Washington QB Brad Johnson last week, Tampa held a 27-ppg Redskin offense without an offensive touchdown. It will be the Buccaneer front four's responsibility to limit Warner's ability to set his feet and the deliver the ball in any sort of rhythm.

Three of Tampa Bay's four sacks last week came from a defensive line that holds a definitive quickness advantage up front. One-gap DTs Warren Sapp and Brad Culpepper must get penetration inside because Warner is getting solid protection from his offensive tackles. The Buccaneers would like to use a lot of stunts and twists along the line to complicate blocking schemes but that will be dependent upon Sapp's strained right knee. If the injury limits his ability to change directions, Sapp's impact in the passing game will be minimal.