Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. New Orleans Saints: What's the Game Plan for Tampa Bay?

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are just one game into the 2015 regular season and, already, every breath of hope and fresh air built up over an exciting offseason feels like just another perforated bag of hot air.

In last week’s 42-14 blowout loss at home to the Tennessee Titans, the Bucs were forced to face the crushing reality of how much they still resemble last year’s 2-14 team. The duel of rookie first-time starters at quarterback was won comfortably by Tennessee’s Marcus Mariota, who carved up the Tampa Bay defense to the tune of four first-half touchdown passes.

Things won’t get any easier for head coach Lovie Smith and the Bucs defense this week, as they head to New Orleans to take on Drew Brees and a Saints offense that has handled Tampa Bay for years. Head coach Sean Payton and the Saints are riding a seven-game winning streak against the Bucs, and they’re particular hard to beat at home.

What do the Bucs need to do to come away with a shocking victory in their first division game of the year? Let’s take a look.

Offensive Game Plan

Jameis Winston played like a rookie making his first start under center for a team that finished with the league’s worst record last year. Nobody should have been terribly shocked at his up-and-down performance, but when mirrored with Mariota’s surgical, almost effortless dismantling of the Tampa Bay defense, Winston’s outing was made to look even worse.

But despite his own rookie mistakes (throwing a pick-six on his first pass attempt, followed by another costly pick deep in Bucs territory just before halftime), Winston shouldn’t be blamed for the offense’s struggles last week.

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Tampa Bay’s offensive game plan set Winston up to fail last week. Getting behind by 21 points halfway through the first quarter doesn’t help, but there were far too many long-developing plays and deep-to-intermediate route combinations for Winston to survive behind Tampa Bay’s wet-toilet-tissue offensive line.

This week, the Bucs have to play to the strengths of their personnel and mask their deficiencies up front by getting the ball out of Winston’s hands quickly.

Star receiver Mike Evans hopes to return to the starting lineup this week after missing last week’s game with a hamstring injury, which should help a receiving corps that struggled to create any separation for most of the afternoon against the Titans.

After Austin Seferian-Jenkins' breakout performance (five receptions, 110 yards, two touchdowns) last week, look for him to be a big part of the game plan again this week for the Bucs. If offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter is going to augment his play-calling to get the ball out Winston’s hands quickly, Seferian-Jenkins is likely to be the primary target quite often.

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The promising playmaker at tight end should create mismatches against both linebackers and defensive backs that will allow Tampa Bay to attack all over the field with quick-hitting routes. Seferian-Jenkins should be able to create separation with his athleticism against slower linebackers, while using his gigantic frame to shield smaller defensive backs from getting to the ball.

If the Bucs want to be successful on offense this week, they’ll also have to stay committed to the ground game, regardless of the score. Down four scores in the second half last week, Tampa Bay abandoned the run game for the most part, allowing the Tennessee defense to pin their ears back and come full force after Winston.

The Bucs had some early success on the ground last week, led by Doug Martin’s 52 yards on 11 carries. This week, they need to keep pounding the rock even if they’re facing a substantial deficit, even if only to keep the Saints defense honest and to help out their rookie quarterback when he does go to the air.

Defensive Game Plan

There’s plenty to fix on the defensive side of the ball this week, but it all comes down to preparation and execution. Tampa Bay looked confused and unconfident last week, blowing assignments and getting fooled countless times by play-action fakes. Throw in a nonexistent pass rush and you have a recipe for disaster, which is exactly what happened to the Bucs defense last week.

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This week, Tampa Bay needs to emphasize each player knowing their assignment and focusing on their job. If that doesn’t happen, not much else will matter on that side of the ball.

The Bucs were done in last week by a lack of a consistent pass rush combined with the fact they played too much soft coverage. By playing a healthy amount of Cover 2 “shell,” it gave Mariota and his receivers too many easy quick-hitters, not allowing much time for Tampa Bay’s defensive line to get to the quarterback.

By playing more press coverage this week, the Bucs should be able to disrupt the New Orleans receivers at the line of scrimmage, altering their releases and hoping to buy the defensive line an extra half-second to get to Brees. Every little bit helps when your front four have struggled to get pressure as much as the Bucs have, and if they want any chance of winning this week the Bucs will have to get their hands on Brees early and often.

One obvious way to improve the pass rush is to bring extra rushers, something the Bucs didn’t do nearly enough of last week. They showed plenty of pre-snap blitzes, but often backed off at the snap. Leaving receivers in man coverage against Brees is a risky endeavor, but the Bucs will be better off taking their chances by sending extra rushers than letting Brees sit back in a clean pocket and wait for his receivers to find the soft spots in the zones.

Key Players and Matchups

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Bucs Nickelbacks vs. Saints WR Brandin Cooks

Kendall Wright carved the Bucs up over the middle last week, and you can bet Cooks is salivating over that film. The Bucs will want to deal with Cooks by getting in his face at the line of scrimmage and trying to be more physical with the smaller receiver, but the likes of Sterling Moore and Tim Jennings could have lots of trouble trying to contain his quickness.

If Brees is able to beat the Bucs as consistently with the play action as they were last week by the Titans, it’s going to be another long day for Tampa Bay fans. Cooks would likely be the biggest beneficiary, with the middle of the field being left open for him to rack up plenty yards after the catch. But if the Tampa Bay linebackers can stay disciplined, they should be able to limit the space he has to work with, even if he is able to get his hands on the ball.

Bucs TE Austin Seferian-Jenkins vs. Saints back seven

This is the matchup the Bucs should look to exploit early and often this week. Especially if Evans is back in the lineup, the Saints will have their hands full trying to cover him and Vincent Jackson. This should leave Seferian-Jenkins free to create mismatches against slower linebackers and smaller corners and safeties.

Seferian-Jenkins proved last week that he can make big plays and be a reliable target when healthy, and he’s primed for a breakout season. This week is a perfect opportunity for Winston to take advantage of his huge, athletic tight end.

Prediction

After last week’s deflating performance, it’s hard to have confidence in any facet of Tampa Bay’s game until they prove something on the field. Expectations were high heading into last season and the team fell far short. This year, early returns say they’re headed for a similar fate.

Obviously, it’s only one game, but the Bucs showed many of the same problems last week that sent them to a 2-14 record last year, many of which should have been corrected.

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Tampa Bay can’t seem to beat the Saints lately, squandering a two-score lead twice last season before losing in overtime on the road. New Orleans is also coming off a tough loss to the Arizona Cardinals, and will be looking to get back on track and licking their chops at last week’s Bucs film.

Plain and simple, if the Bucs show up and play anything like they did last week, this game is going to be another laugher for the Pewter Pirates. If Brees is given as much time to throw as Mariota had last week, he should filet the Tampa Bay defense all afternoon.

I expect the Bucs to bounce back in some ways as they attempt to correct some of the issues they saw on film this week, but the Saints are too experienced and will exploit Tampa Bay’s inability to create consistent pressure and get sucked in by the play-action fake.

If Koetter can provide Winston with a more friendly approach as a play-caller this week, he should enjoy a much better afternoon against the Saints’ depleted secondary. The rookie will do his best to hang with Brees in a shootout, but it won’t be enough by a few scores. 

Final Prediction: Saints 41, Bucs 24

Luke Easterling is a featured columnist covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and NFL draft for Bleacher Report. He is also a senior NFL draft analyst for Draft Breakdown. Follow him on Twitter @Luke Easterling.