Week 2: New Orleans Saints (1-0) @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (0-1)

[Watson]

3:00 on FOX.

Last year this game was "fun".



The Saints are coming off of a nail-biting win vs. hated rival Falcons at home with Payton back, and the Buccaneers...yeah, lost to the Jets. Knowing Greg Schiano, Tampa is going to come out pissed off.

I'm going Saints in this one, 28-17. I think Freeman will find moderate success coordinating with the run game on a few drives, but ultimately not enough to keep up with Saints and the Brees/Meachem/Graham combo.

As far as the Saints go, I'd like to see a little more of Lance Moore and little less of Mark Ingram...actually, a lot less. Defensively I'd like to see Vaccaro do a little more on the coverage side of things.

[Chrisksaint]

Curious to see how Rob Ryan attacks TB, against ATL he seemed to be content with a 3 or 4 man rush a majority of the time which was smart tho cause guys like Akiem Hicks, Cameron Jordan, and Parys Haralson were destroying the Falcons OTs and it seemed to limit the huge passing plays that killed us before with the stupid 4 man rush and then playing zone.

I expect the Saints offense to be a little more crisp this week in both the passing and running game, would like to see Graham as the focal point of the offense though. However at the same time it's good as last year Brees felt like when in doubt he could throw it to him in triple coverage instead of dumping it off to Sproles or throwing it away.

[Feared]

I think the Saints will be forced to pass the ball 40+ times this game, as their Running game / blocking against Atlanta was a big cause for concern. Plus Tampa has a really stout run defense Foster, Watson, and David make up a great Linebacking corps. Aside from David's penalty at the game, he played fantastic and I think he redeems himself in this game.

This is where I think adding Revis and Goldson to their back end will pay off dividends for the Bucs. Saints will get their yards and some points but I think the Bucs will force their share of turnovers as well.

I see the Bucs taking this 27-24 with LaVonte David intercepting a Brees pass intended for Jimmy Graham on the final play of the game to redeem himself for the mistake at the end of the Jets game.

[jmood88]

The Saints will win after Drew Brees' touchdown throw to Jed Collins with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter puts them ahead for good, a throw made possible by a crushing block by Jahri Evans, following a beautiful long snap from Brian De La Puente, who found the motivation to play so hard after watching Friday Night Lights the previous evening. Jed Collins will initially tip the ball with his left hand, then secure it with his right, then wrap it up with both hands while simultaneously stumbling to the goal line. He will raise his arms and yell in a triumphant manner, a lifetime of toiling in the trenches leading to this moment, in the second week of the twenty-thirteen National Football League season. Jedidiah Collins will later say that this was just one step on the path towards greatness before walking to the team bus, a glint in his eye as he realizes that he, and only he, was able to step up for Breesus Christ in his moment of need.

[kcharles520]

i can't believe the spread on this game is -3.5 saints....if any of you bet on sports GET UP ON THAT!!!

i know i did....saints will crush the bucs easily. only way tampa can even remotely hang in this one is if they can get doug martin going...but even he's not enough to outduel drew brees and company with sean payton running this show again.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Quote: Originally Posted by kcharles520

i can't believe the spread on this game is -3.5 saints....if any of you bet on sports GET UP ON THAT!!! i know i did....saints will crush the bucs easily. only way tampa can even remotely hang in this one is if they can get doug martin going...but even he's not enough to outduel drew brees and company with sean payton running this show again.

To be fair, I think Tampa's beaten New Orleans at least once in like 4 of the past 5 seasons or something like that, and this years team is much better on paper than anything Tampa's had in those years.

[ABR173rd]

Quote: Originally Posted by Watson

3:00 on FOX. Last year this game was "fun". The Saints are coming off of a nail-biting win vs. hated rival Falcons at home with Payton back, and the Buccaneers...yeah, lost to the Jets. Knowing Greg Schiano, Tampa is going to come out pissed off. I'm going Saints in this one, 28-17. I think Freeman will find moderate success coordinating with the run game on a few drives, but ultimately not enough to keep up with Saints and the Brees/Meachem/Graham combo. As far as the Saints go, I'd like to see a little more of Lance Moore and little less of Mark Ingram...actually, a lot less. Defensively I'd like to see Vaccaro do a little more on the coverage side of things.

I'm assuming you mean Colston? Yeah, I don't see the Buc's winning this one. Would be nice to start the season 2-0.

[Watson]

Quote: Originally Posted by ABR173rd

I'm assuming you mean Colston? Yeah, I don't see the Buc's winning this one. Would be nice to start the season 2-0.

yeah, quick brain fart