Saints-Bucs: Four Keys to a New Orleans Victory

With their impressive showing on Monday Night Football, the 6-5 Saints and their fans still hold on to slim hopes of a playoff berth. 

Sunday's game against the Buccaneers is crucial to their playoff chances. 

If you believe SI.com's Dom Bonvissuto, the Saints will beat the Bucs and use the victory to propel them to a 10-6 record and a division title—not just a playoff berth.

Thanks for the writer's curse, Dom. 

I may be an optimistic Saints fan, but I do not see a team as inconsistent as the Saints all of a sudden ending the season winning six of the last seven games.

I do think that the Saints have a shot at beating the Bucs on Sunday.  The challenge will be a tough one. New Orleans is 1-4 on the road, while Tampa Bay is a perfect 5-0 at home.

The Saints have already beaten the Buccaneers once this season, and it is tough to sweep a division rival, unless you are in Detroit's division.

Here are some keys to a Saints' victory:

1) Keep the big boys away from Brees

Drew Brees and his receivers are good enough that it doesn't matter what kind of coverage the opposing defense plays. 

Brees does not discriminate. He will dissect man and zone coverages alike. 

The Saints offense, though, has struggled in two games this season. Brees was constantly pressured by the defense's front four each time.

First, against Carolina, Drew Brees was harassed all day by Julius Peppers. Though he was sacked just once in the game, the constant pressure limited Brees to just 231 yards and the Saints' offense to a season-low seven points.

Secondly, the Falcons were able to hold the Saints to just 20 points with constant pressure from John Abraham.

Yes, the Saints piled up over 500 total yards in that game, including over 400 passing, but much of that yardage came in the fourth quarter after the game was well out of hand. 

Abraham's pressure led to a sack and, more importantly, three interceptions.  The first interception came on the first play of the game and set the tone for the whole game.

When Brees has enough time to throw, he is one of the top quarterbacks in the league.  When he gets constant pressure in his face, he's Derek Anderson (2008 version).

2) Saints must own 3rd-and-short

Saints' fans know third and short has killed the team this year and the Saints' lack of assertion in these situations probably has cost them two or three victories. 

While many point out that the Saints have limited Adrian Peterson, Ryan Grant, Michael Turner, and others to less than four yards per carry, New Orleans' inability to make stops on obvious running situations has prolonged opponents' drives, which have led to touchdowns. 

Offensively, the Saints have had problems all year running the ball on short yardage situations.

The Saints lack any kind of consistent power running presence.  Deuce has not a had a significant short yardage conversion since the 2006 playoff game against the Eagles.  Saints' fullback Mike Karney has missed three games this season and is currently injured. 

3) No more trick or treating

Sean Payton, I implore you. Stop the trick plays. Every time I see the Saints run a trick play, I break into a cold sweat, with flashbacks of Dec. 2, 2007.

The Saints were leading 23-20 late in the game even though Tampa Bay had dominated the game. Then the Saints fumbled away a reverse when they could have milked the clock down. Saints lost on the ensuing drive.

On Monday night, the Saints' offense was perfect in every aspect except one: an intercepted wide receiver pass. 

Luckily, that play was inconsequential to the outcome of the game.

The Saints don't need to run trick plays. They have the most explosive offense in the league. There's no reason to try to manufacture offense.

4) Resist the glow of Reggie Bush

Bush is expected to play for the first time in over a month. He is undoubtedly a great a player. No one is better in the open field.

Every team sets their defensive plan around Reggie Bush. He is like sugar on an ant pile when he gets the ball.

A team that thrives on spreading the wealth seems to ignore that concept when it comes to Bush. Sean Payton makes a point to get him the ball 15-20 times per game. 

When you have so many capable playmakers (i.e. Marques Colston, Jeremy Shockey, Lance Moore, Pierre Thomas, Billy Miller, Devery Henderson), you don't need to set a game plan around one guy. 

When the Saints scored seven touchdowns against the Packers, the Saints did not force the ball to any of its play makers. Marques Colston touched the ball once. Shockey didn't see a pass in the second half. 

The Saints are not 3-1 without Reggie because they are better without Reggie.  To me that's nonsense. The Saints' game plan is better without Reggie.

When Reggie is not in uniform, everyone pitches in. 

The Saints need to carry the mindset of everyone pitching in with Bush in the lineup.  The Saints need to view him as just another weapon who can take advantage of single-coverage mismatches on the field.

Final Analysis

While it may not be necessary that the Saints hit on all four of these keys, I think that it is vital that they hit on three of them. Most importantly, Drew Brees has to have a good game. 

While he may not be the league's MVP (at least yet), he is far and away the Saints' MVP. As Brees goes, so do the Saints.