Game Preview - Week 2: New Orleans Saints at Tampa Bay Buccaneers

New Orleans: Look for the Saints to get back on track this week. The NFL schedule maker didn't do them any favors having them open the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champs. Deuce McAllister should follow in Shaun Alexander's footsteps and have a good day running the ball with Brees keeping the secondary off-balance just enough to coast to an easy victory. TE Eric Johnson led the team in receptions last week with eight and would be a nice pickup if available in your league.

Start: QB Drew Brees, RB Deuce McAllister, RB Reggie Bush, WR Marques Colston, TE Eric Johnson
Consider: WR Devery Henderson, K Olindo Mare
Sit:TE Mark Campbell

Tampa Bay: The Bucs got banged around last week by the Seahawks leaving RB Cadillac Williams (ribs) questionable for this week's game. Williams has not yet been ruled out but expect Michael Pittman and Earnest Graham to see an increased role. Joey Galloway once again seems to be the only threat in the Bucs passing game. WR David Boston was a pregame scratch after injuring his foot in warm-ups then subsequently released later in the week after testing positive for GHB during his recent arrest for DUI. Ike Hilliard (4 catches 49 yds) started last week's game as the No. 2 receiver and Maurice Stovall was held without a catch.

Start: WR Joey Galloway
Consider: QB Jeff Garcia, RB Michael Pittman, RB Cadillac Williams (inj), TE Alex Smith
Sit:WR Ike Hilliard, TE Jerramy Steves

Krueger's Rankings/Projections

New Orleans Saints
Rank	Player	Projections
QB 4	Drew Brees	Pass: 270, 2 Rush: 5, 0
RB 20	Deuce McAllister	Rush: 90, 1 Rec: 0-0, 0
RB 29	Reggie Bush	Rush: 35, 0 Rec: 6-45, 0
WR 18	Marques Colston	Rec: 6-85, 1
WR 31	Devery Henderson	Rec: 4-65, 1
WR 74	David Patten	Rec: 3-30, 0
TE 11	Eric Johnson	Rec: 3-30, 0

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Rank	Player	Projections
QB 17	Jeff Garcia	Pass: 265, 1 Rush: 15, 0
RB 31	Michael Pittman	Rush: 60, 0 Rec: 3-25, 0
RB 48	Carnell "Cadillac" Williams	Rush: 10, 0 Rec: 0-0, 0
WR 13	Joey Galloway	Rec: 7-105, 1
WR 65	Ike Hilliard	Rec: 4-45, 0
WR 76	Maurice Stovall	Rec: 2-30, 0
TE 23	Alex Smith	Rec: 3-25, 0

View all Week 2 Rankings or Projections

Past Results and Remaining Schedule

New Orleans Saints
Week	Date	Opp	H/A	Score	Dif
1	2007-09-06	IND	A	L 10-41	-31
2	2007-09-16	TB	A	L 14-31	-17
3	2007-09-24	TEN	H
4		Bye
5	2007-10-07	CAR	H
6	2007-10-14	SEA	A
7	2007-10-21	ATL	H
8	2007-10-28	SF	A
9	2007-11-04	JAC	H
10	2007-11-11	STL	H
11	2007-11-18	HOU	A
12	2007-11-25	CAR	A
13	2007-12-02	TB	H
14	2007-12-10	ATL	A
15	2007-12-16	ARI	H
16	2007-12-23	PHI	H
17	2007-12-30	CHI	A

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Week	Date	Opp	H/A	Score	Dif
1	2007-09-09	SEA	A	L 6-20	-14
2	2007-09-16	NO	H	W 31-14	+17
3	2007-09-23	STL	H
4	2007-09-30	CAR	A
5	2007-10-07	IND	A
6	2007-10-14	TEN	H
7	2007-10-21	DET	A
8	2007-10-28	JAC	H
9	2007-11-04	ARI	H
10		Bye
11	2007-11-18	ATL	A
12	2007-11-25	WAS	H
13	2007-12-02	NO	A
14	2007-12-09	HOU	A
15	2007-12-16	ATL	H
16	2007-12-23	SF	A
17	2007-12-30	CAR	H

Offense Stats Comparison

	NO Offense	TB Offense	NFL Average
Points for	10.0	6.0	19.0
Rushing yards	106.0	90.0	115.8
Rushing yards per attempt	4.08	3.91	4.18
Completion %	68.3%	64.5%	61.7%
Passing yards	187.0	194.0	194.9
Passing yards per completion	6.68	9.70	10.14
Passing yards per attempt	4.56	6.26	6.26
Interceptions	2.0	0.0	0.9
Fumbles lost	1.0	2.0	1.1
Sacked	1.0	5.0	2.1

Note: Team statistics are the results from Week 1 of the 2007 season. Once more weeks are played, these stats will tabulate the last 6 week results and deduct the best and worst value from the data set.

Defense Stats Comparison

	NO Defense	TB Defense	NFL Average
Points against	41.0	20.0	19.0
Rushing yards	164.0	139.0	115.8
Rushing yards per attempt	5.66	4.09	4.18
Completion %	60.0%	70.8%	61.7%
Passing yards	288.0	204.0	194.9
Passing yards per completion	16.00	12.00	10.14
Passing yards per attempt	9.60	8.50	6.26
INT return	0.0	0.0	0.9
Fumble recoveries	1.0	1.0	1.1
Sacks	0.0	2.0	2.1

Weather

Check the current weather forecast for Tampa Bay from Weather.com.

Team vs. Team History

New Orleans Saints vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Season	Week	Date	Vis	Home	Score	Winner
2001	15	2001-12-23	NO	TB	21-48	TB
2002	1	2002-09-08	NO	TB	26-20	NO
2002	13	2002-12-01	TB	NO	20-23	NO
2003	9	2003-11-02	NO	TB	17-14	NO
2003	14	2003-12-07	TB	NO	14-7	TB
2004	5	2004-10-10	TB	NO	20-17	TB
2004	15	2004-12-18	NO	TB	21-17	NO
2005	13	2005-12-04	TB	NO	10-3	TB
2005	17	2006-01-01	NO	TB	13-27	TB
2006	5	2006-10-08	TB	NO	21-24	NO
2006	9	2006-11-05	NO	TB	31-14	NO

Note: Only playoff games from the 2004 and 2005 seasons are included in the team vs. team history. Playoff games from seasons prior to 2004 are not currently included in the database.

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