Tampa Bay offense vs. New Orleans defense

	BUCCANEERS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	7
	Pass	29
	Tot. Yds.	26
	Scoring	28
	Int's allowed	10
	Sacks allowed	23
	SAINTS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	16
	vs. Pass	10
	Total yds. allowed	11
	# of Ints.	7
	# of Sacks	25
	Turnover differential	-12

Tony Dungy's shift from Trent Dilfer to Eric Zeier reaped little offensively last week and it's becoming clear that there is something inherently wrong with the Bucs' offensive scheme. Offensive coordinator Mike Shula was overly protective of Zeier in last week's loss to Detroit and it's time that Tampa started expecting more out of the quarterback position.

Instead of simply asking Zeier to avoid turnovers and complete dump-offs to RB Warrick Dunn, Shula needs to open up the playbook let his wide receivers make plays. Two things need to happen in order for that to happen. First, Zeier needs to get better protection up front from his line. The Saints' front four should have success collapsing the pocket against struggling players like LOG Jorge Diaz and LOT Paul Gruber. Secondly, Buccaneer receivers must stop giving up on their routes. On film, it is obvious that Tampa's receivers are falling into the trap that many players do when they aren't thrown to on a consistent basis. Dungy must get his troops regrouped in practice this week before these bad habits become routine.

By design, the Bucs will always predominantly be a running team. However, by ignoring the downfield passing game, Shula has done nothing but clog running lanes. Unfortunately for defensive coordinator Zaven Yaralian, the Saints don't have the right personnel to expose the Bucs this week.

Teams that have been successful shutting down Tampa's offense have had a big, run support strong safety, such as Detroit's Ron Rice. The Saints' SS Sammy Knight is more of a cover player and it will be difficult for them to stop FB Mike Alstott when the Bucs hammer the ball inside. Astott wasn't given many opportunities to make a difference last week but he will surely demand more carries this week in order to make up for a costly fumble near Detroit's goal line.

Tampa entered last week's drubbing at Detroit with the top-rated run defense in the league but were subsequently burned for 147 yards by an average Lions running game. DT Warren Sapp is coming off an uncharacteristic performance in which he failed to make a single tackle. Sapp had trouble fending off double-teams last week but even more surprising was the way Detroit's Tony Semple handled him one-on-one after sitting out the past month with an elbow injury.

Ricky Williams' sprained ankle is finally back near 100 percent, which is evident in his improved burst and lateral quickness. Normally a very sound unit, Tampa's tackling was subpar against Detroit, as too many guys were going for knockout blows instead of simply wrapping up. Williams, who runs "behind his pads" better than most RBs in the league, will make the Bucs pay if they continue to be sloppy.

New Orleans' passing game mirrors Tampa's in many ways: unimaginative, conservative, and devoid of a consistent deep threat. The parallels are endless. One dimension that the Saints sorely miss is the ability to utilize Williams out of the backfield. With TE Cam Cleeland unable to contribute like he did a year ago, the Saints need a nickel threat on third downs. Because of his elbow injury, Williams has not been given the opportunity to make plays in the passing game and FB Aaron Craver, despite good effort, just doesn't provide the necessary spark.

Ditka needs a full game out of starter Billy Joe Hobert in order to win. Although he hasn't been overly sharp, Hobert gives this team a chance to win because he, not B.J. Tolliver, has the arm to take advantage of Saints vertical threats Eddie Kennison and Keith Poole.

Tampa applied decent pressure last week but not like Dungy would have liked. With his secondary struggling to close on balls and make tackles -- especially Donnie Abraham -- expect the Bucs to be more aggressive with their linebackers this week. Tampa's starting trio combined for just six tackles last week and it was clear that OLB Derrick Brooks was not on his game. Brooks and FS Damien Robinson are the two guys that must step up and make plays for this defense. If the Saints continue to go with their nickel-and-dime passing game, look for Brooks to come free on some weakside blitzes and Robinson to target newcomer LOG Ackerman on some delayed blitzes inside.