Oh yes, it’s that time of year again. Possibly one of the best rivalries to have sprung up from the past year and a half will showcase another installment this upcoming Sunday. Yes, I am talking about the Saints coming, as well as marching in, to Raymond James Stadium to take on our beloved Bucs. The two teams have met once already this year, and as we all remember that ended in a Saints win. This time around, what can the Buccaneers do differently in order to come away with the win?
Firstly, Tom Brady has to break his curse against the Saints. The numbers don’t lie, Tom Brady is horrible against the Saints. During his Buccaneers tenure, he is 0-3 against the Louisiana-based team. He has also thrown 2+ INT’s every time he has faced them. Let’s not forget this is the same team that whooped the Bucs last year 30-3.
Part of the reason the Saints are able to stifle Brady is because of their strong pass defense. Brady is not a mobile quarterback, so he relies heavily on his aerial game; there’s nothing wrong with that, he became the G.O.A.T by doing that. However, when it comes to the Saints, they have Tom Brady’s number, and he will need to figure out how to fix that. Maybe he opts for shorter, slant routes? This way some of the pressure will be taken off of him and put onto the receivers to make a play. I don’t know what he will think of, but I’m sure he and Bruce Arians will figure something out.
Some of you may be saying, “Well, just have Leonard Fournette rush the ball”. That is a valid point, but Leonard Fournette would also be going up against the number one ranked rush defense in the NFL. Fournette has been inconsistent this season, but for the games, he’s been on, he’s been absolutely stellar. In order for the Bucs to control most of this game, we are going to need another superb performance out of him.
Last week, our rush defense was exposed, specifically by Josh Allen, who is a naturally mobile quarterback. This week we are facing the human Swiss Army knife himself; Taysum Hill. The Saints newly named starting QB is one of, if not the, best rushing “QB” in the game right now. His agility and his ability to bounce off defenders make it extremely difficult for opposing teams to stop him from gaining the first down.
The defense has been a big issue this season, and if we didn’t have the offense we did, we probably would lose a lot more games because of it. In order for us to even have a chance at beating the Saints, our defense will need to significantly improve and tighten up.
Lastly, the Saints may downright want to win this game more than the Bucs do. Now I am not saying that the Bucs don’t want to win. What I’m saying is that the Saints need to win this game in order to stay alive for the playoffs. Desperation can lead you to places you never thought of. Willing to do whatever it takes to gain an end goal can make you do crazy things; like sweeping the season series against the Buccaneers.
Whatever happens Sunday night, I know we will all be in for a real treat of a game. What do you predict the score to be? Let me know in the comments below!