Buccaneers at Saints: wk. 1 preview

The storm has passed, the dome is in good shape, and they are ready for football in New Orleans.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers uncertainties of the preseason may continue today. Jeff Garcia tossing two interceptions after returning from injury leaves us wondering if he is fully recovered. Fortunate for Garcia is that Joey Galloway should return with some playing time today, to help him out with his passing misfortunes. Coach Jon Gruden should watch Garcia's progress closely, and make a temporary change at QB if necessary. The Buccaneer defense should play well, but if the offense takes too long to put points on the board, the game will be out of reach.

The New Orleans Saints spent most of the week wondering if and where they would be playing today's game. They spent the week preparing in Indianapolis, and did not fly home till Friday night. Drew Brees will try and get his offense up and running quickly, to get some points on the board and the crowd into the game. The saints did this in front of 68,000 fans the first game back after hurricane Katrina, before going on to compete in their first NFC title game. The key for them today is if they can do this again, and not let the inconveniences of the past week affect them.

The Saints are favored by 3 in this game, but I am going to give the edge to the Buccaneers. The first reason being the play of their defense, and secondly is that I don't think Jon Gruden will hesitate make a QB change if necessary.

My pick: Buccaneers by 2