Yes, if it happened, it would be the upset of the NFL season, but it isn’t going happen. The Bucs have been playing better lately, but the Saints and Drew Brees are just too good. The Saints are giving up 11.5 points on Sunday and if it wasn’t for the last three Saints games being closer wins than usually, I’d guess the spread would be much higher.

The Bucs do have two key things going for them this Sunday. The Saints’ next game is on MNF against the New England Patriots. I don’t care what they are saying, because everyone on the Saints knows it’s the most important game in their remaining schedule if they want to go undefeated. They’re probably looking ahead and not preparing for the Bucs as hard as they should be. The second factor going for the Bucs is the Saints’ secondary is hurting. There’s a good chance the Saints will only have 3 cornerbacks available for Sunday’s game. It’s so bad the Saints wen out and signed former Pro Bowl corner Chris McAlister on Wednesday. McAlister may play, but how much he will actually help is unknown. If the game was played today, Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer would miss it. Unfortunately for the Bucs, passing the ball isn’t the focus of their game plan, but there should be some opportunity and favorable match ups during the game. Outside of that there isn’t much in the Bucs favor.

Drew Brees and the Saints are on an offensive tear this season. The Saints have the #1 offense in the NFL this season, which averages 426 yards a game. Drew Brees and a few other QB’s have a chance to break Dan Marino’s single season passing record 5084 yards, which is insane. The Saints have the 4th ranked passing game and the 5th ranked running game in the NFL. Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Jeremy Shockey and Reggie Bush are all capable of making big plays at any moment. Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas can break one off and take it to the house too.

The Bucs defense is making some strides and they have moved up a few notches to the 29th ranked defense, but after this Sunday they will move back down. The Bucs rush defense is atrocious and it’s ranked second to last in the NFL.  The Bucs offense is ranked 28th, which is to be expected with all the QB changes, but it still doesn’t change the fact they struggle to score and move the ball at times. In past seasons the Saints defense has been a joke, but this year it’s respectable and doing enough to support the potent offense.

In the end the Saints will over power the Bucs and score too many points. I’ve been wrong about the Bucs and the spread lately and I’ve come back to reality with a record 5-4 vs Bucs spread. This week the Saints are my slump buster and crush the euphoric Bucs.

Take the Saints – 11.5. Final score: Saints 38 Bucs 17.

Remember it’s about 2010 draft and a boy named Suh.