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Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (FOX), Raymond James Stadium


War Room scouts break down every NFL game. Here is a excerpt of their Saints-Buccaneers matchup:

Saints Keys For Success

1. Get the ball into Reggie Bush's hands. Bush is a big-play threat whether he gets the ball after being lined up as a feature back or a slot receiver. His versatility in the open field creates havoc for any secondary. Bush is especially dangerous when he emerges from behind a group of blockers, which is why the Saints continue to look for him on screens. With solid line play from center Jeff Faine and guards Jamar Nesbit and Jahri Evans, a middle screen will be tough for Bucs middle linebacker Barrett Ruud to handle. Once in the secondary, Bucs safeties Jermaine Phillips and Will Allen cannot run with Bush.

2. Force the Bucs out of their base secondary coverage. With a strong running game from Bush and Deuce McAllister and the receiving abilities of Bush and wide receivers Marques Colston and Devery Henderson, the Saints will try to make the Bucs go away from their cover-2 zone and into some man-to-man coverage. By doing so, the Saints can either take advantage of the 6-4 Colston working on smallish Bucs cornerbacks Ronde Barber and Brian Kelly (if Kelly isn't sidelined by a groin injury) or the speedy Bush working on a linebacker or a safety.

3. Keep Jeff Garcia in the pocket. New Orleans will bank on strong defensive end play from Charles Grant and Will Smith as it attacks the Bucs with its outside pass rush. Garcia likes to move around looking for a breakdown in pass coverage. He uses his pass/run option to his advantage, making the Bucs' dink-and-dunk offense that much more effective. Grant and Smith will look to shrink the pocket against offensive tackles Luke Petitgout and Jeremy Trueblood and prevent Garcia from breaking outside contain.


Buccaneers Keys For Success

1. Establish an inside running game. Whether it's Cadillac Williams, Michael Pittman or Earnest Graham, the Bucs will look to run behind blocks from Davin Joseph and Arron Sears. The two young guards need to work in combination with Trueblood and Petitgout to push defensive tackles Kendrick Clancy and Brian Young at the point of attack. Williams, if he plays, will look to take the ball outside, while Pittman and Graham are more likely to take it inside. By running the ball effectively, the Bucs will keep the Saints' linebackers from just dropping into their passing lanes.

2. Challenge the Saints deep with Joey Galloway. After viewing film from the Saints-Colts game, the Bucs should see that cornerback Jason David is having major problems adjusting to the Saints' deep coverage responsibilities. The Bucs will be able to take advantage of the downfield speed of Galloway, especially after the Bucs give the Saints big doses of their short passing game that features crossing routes from Pittman as well as complementary wide receivers Maurice Stovall, Michael Clayton and Ike Hilliard.

3. Slow down the Saints' running game. No team has a better backfield combination than McAllister and Bush, and the Bucs need to contain them to have any chance of winning the game. Bucs outside linebackers Cato June and Derrick Brooks need to play disciplined as they come up to fill and cannot overreact to the offensive flow. Rather, they must scrape and pursue while avoiding the attempts of Saints offensive tackles Jammal Brown and Jon Stinchcomb to seal off their pursuit lanes. Barber and Kelly need to come up quickly to prevent either McAllister or Bush from turning the corner.

SportingNews.com - NFL - Week 2 Matchup: Saints vs. Buccaneers

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