Tampa Bay Buccaneers Zone In on Arizona Cardinals

It's probably safe to say that the Buccaneers need this road game.

They need a nice "W" because next week things will get very, very challenging.

But first things first. Before we whisper about those other guys, er, Atlanta, there's work to do out west.

By now the world has heard Raheem Morris proclaim his team to be the best in the NFC.

If Raheem doesn't believe it, who would? That's the atmosphere he's created at Buc headquarters, and that's a good thing. Young players need to believe in themselves.

Which brings us to these Cardinals, who will be quarterbacked by the also young Max Hall, who got knocked silly in Seattle last week on a helmet-to-helmet hit from defensive end Chris Clemons. Hall is making only his third NFL start. You would think that he won't strike that much fear into Morris, who is also the Bucs' defensive coordinator.

What is of major concern this week is the growing list of bumps, bruises, dings, swelling, bad backs and lousy knees. It's starting to take the appearance of a MASH unit over there at One Buc, but isn't that always the case in the NFL? After all, this is a collision sport, not a contact sport.

Aqib Talib has a sore calf (thank goodness it's not a sore cow), Geno Hayes has a bum knee, of course Jeff Faine is begonzo for at least four more weeks, Jeremy Trueblood has a bum knee (perhaps one of his coaches kicked him there after all his foul-ups last week).

Keydrick (don't you hate him now Mark Dominik) Vincent has back spasms but no doubt is totally healthy enough to pick up his fat paychecks on Mondays. Preston Parker has a bad knee, bad news for a guy who relies on speed and elusiveness and Brian Price has a bad pelvis. How the heck do you get a bad pelvis?

Thank goodness Josh Freeman is a big healthy lad and looking so good after that preseason thumb-scare stuff. And yes, LeGarrette Blount looks big and healthy enough to run someone over if given the chance and Mike Williams' hands are still great.

So saddle up Jeremey Zuttah, Ted Larsen and James Lee, give the ball to Blount, pass to Williams and look at Sammie Stroughter, Arrelious Benn and Cadillac Williams in the flat.

These are the three-up, three-down Cardinals, much improved just like these Bucs.

What the Cardinals do have that the Bucs don't have is that "signature" victory. Beating New Orleans is just that. They thumped the Saints, 30-20, and the Bucs got thumped by the Saints.

These Cards, like the Bucs, won a close one over the Rams in St. Louis and beat the Raiders, 24-23 at home. These birds were crushed by the dirty birds in Atlanta, 41-7 and let San Diego put up 41 on them (41-10).

Like the Bucs, they have scored 98 points in their six games. Unlike the Bucs, the Cards have surrendered 160 while Tampa Bay has yielded 128.

This is an important road game, so much so that the boys are leaving a day early to get settled in, get used to the time change and hopefully get themselves in that "let's steal a road win mode."

The Bucs need this win to get something positive for next week's trip to Atlanta.

Yes, these Cards are improved, but these birds are not as tough as the guys in the NFC South. They are simply birds of a different color and skill level.

That's why the Bucs can and need to come home with a victory.