Saints vs. Buccaneers: 4 Reasons New Orleans Will Win Big

The top two teams in the NFC South go head-to-head in Week 6, when the New Orleans Saints take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Saints will show the gap between first and second is larger than you think.

The Saints are 4-1 and the Bucs are 3-2 going into the divisional matchup, and New Orleans is catching their stride.

Defensive coordinator Greg Williams and the defense have improved each week, and Drew Brees and the offense are still lighting up the scoreboard.

The Saints are second in the league in passing, with 336.6 yards per game and 14th in rushing averaging 115.4 yards per game. With the Saints on a four-game winning streak, the Bucs are coming off of a 48-3 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in Week 5.

With the Bucs reeling and the Saints' momentum building, this NFC South matchup Sunday won't even be close.

These are the reasons why.

Payton and Brees as Methodical as Ever

The duo of Sean Payton and Drew Brees is thriving in 2011, just like it has over the past six years.

It seems like both of these guys are always on the same page, and the stats prove it.

So far this season, Brees has thrown for 1,769 yards and completed 69.4 percent of his passes, with 12 of them resulting in scores.

Brees is hitting Robert Meachem and Devery Henderson deep, winning matchups with Jimmy Graham and getting plays out of Darren Sproles that the Saints always dreamed Reggie Bush would produce.

To make matters worse for the Bucs, their defense is 23rd in the league when it comes to stopping the run and giving up 254.6 yards in the air per game. Not a good stat to have when Brees comes to town.

With all the weapons Payton has on offense and the creativity Sproles adds, Brees and company are poised to post 30-plus points on this defense.

Tampa Bay Lost Swagger in Week 5 Loss

Before Tampa Bay played San Francisco last week, the Bucs were on a three-game winning streak and looked to be the second best team in the NFC South.

That was before they played the 49ers.

The Bucs got the wind knocked out of them when the 49ers dismantled them 48-3.

To make matters worse for the Bucs, they will most likely be without LeGarrette Blount when they play the Saints, as Blount was sidelined for most of the second half against the 49ers after he suffered a leg injury sustained while getting hit by Dashon Goldson.

While Josh Freeman is the leader of the offense, Blount has been looked at as the guy.

Blount's amazing broken tackles and heart-pounding runs fuel this team and really gives them their swag.

With Blount out, the responsibilities of the offense fell into Freeman's hands, and he had two interceptions in the blowout.

Heading into Week 6 against an explosive offense like the Saints, the possibility of not having Blount will be catastrophic for the Bucs.

Graham and Sproles Just Too Good

How good have Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles been this year?

Well, Graham is leading the team in receptions with 32 and receiving yards with 496 and is tied for the most receiving touchdowns on the team with three.

As for Sproles, he's managed to average 7.1 yards per carry, post 264 yards receiving and find the end zone three times, including a punt return for a touchdown.

Plain and simple, these two are a nightmare for any defensive coordinator.

Defensive coaches can't afford to leave a linebacker on Graham because he will scorch him for a long passing play, and shutting down Sproles is not an easy task for any defensive player.

With the way these two have been playing, it's looking more and more like defenses will have to pick their poison.

Do you want Graham to take advantage of the middle of the field or have Sproles juking his way down the sideline?

Defense and Patrick Robinson Settling In

Saints fans, Patrick Robinson has finally arrived.

It's taken him a while, but Robinson looks like he's finally getting the hang of covering wide receivers in the NFL. 

Two weeks ago, Robinson grabbed his first interception of his NFL career against the Jaguars and recorded his second last week when he picked off Carolina Panthers' Cam Newton.

The Saints defense went under a lot of scrutiny all preseason and after the loss suffered at the hands of the Green Bay Packers.

Now, the defense is looking better and better each week as they're starting to get pressure up front and better play from the secondary.

With Blount being questionable for the game Sunday, there's no sign of this defense slowing down anytime soon.