Both of these teams have been winning with smoke and mirrors this year.  The Buccaneers are 4-2 despite being outscored by 30 points this year.  The Cardinals are 3-3 on the year despite being outscored by 62 points.  The Cardinals also have the worst offense in the NFL right now as they are only averaging 237.8 yards per game.  The Buccaneers are 2-0 on the road as they have outscored their opponents 44-28.  The Cardinals are 2-0 at home and they have outscored the opposition 54-43.  Something has to give tomorrow and here’s a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Cardinals are equally bad against both the run (141.3 yards per game) and the pass (227.3 yards per game) so Raheem Morris will likely get to pick and choose what to do on offense.  LeGarrette Blount will likely get the bulk of the carries in the running game this week and he should have some success.  The Buccaneers are also going to take some shots down the field if Josh Freeman has time to throw the football.  Mike Williams & Kellen Winslow will be the guys who get most of the looks in the passing game but RB Cadillac Williams will also likely get some action out of the backfield. 

When the Cardinals have the ball:  The Cardinals are going to start Beanie Wells over Tim Hightower this Sunday.  They should gives Wells a lot of carries this week as the Bucs are allowing 157.7 yards rushing and 5.3 yards per carry so far this year.  Steve Breaston is going to start opposite of Larry Fitzgerald at WR this week which should give the passing game a boost.  The Buccaneers will likely just rush the passer with the defensive line as rookie QB Max Hall tends to hold onto the ball too long.  Hall turns the ball over quite a bit so CBs Aqib Talib and Ronde Barber could make some big plays in this game.

PREDICTION:  BUCCANEERS 20, CARDINALS 17

The Buccaneers have released 32-year old guard Keydrick Vincent who has started 5 games for the Bucs this year.  Jeremy Zuttah will go back to left guard to replace Vincent.  Zuttah has played in 6 games (2 starts) for the Bucs this year.  Rookie Ted Larsen will replace Zuttah as the starting center until Jeff Faine is ready to return to action.  Larsen has played in 2 games (1 start) for the Bucs so far this year.

The Buccaneers have released 30-year old TE Jerramy Stevens after he was arrested last Saturday Night with drugs in his car.  He has run out of chances this time as he is probably done playing in the NFL now.  Stevens played in 5 games for the Bucs this year and he caught 3 passes for 43 yards (14.3 avg).  He played in 50 games in his 4 years with the Buccaneers and he caught 72 passes for 759 yards (10.5 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  The Bucs won’t miss Stevens as he just isn’t worth the hassle of putting up with his bad behavior anymore.

The Buccaneers were down 17-6 at the half in this game and things weren’t looking too good for them.  But they chipped away with a couple of field goals before QB Josh Freeman took the Bucs on a last minute drive hitting Cadillac Williams with a 1-yard TD pass with 10 seconds left to seal the win!  Freeman completed 23 of 40 passes for 212 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  He also carried the ball 5 times for 40 yards (8.0 ypc) earlier today.  LeGarrette Blount led the way on the ground for the Bucs in this game with 72 yards rushing on 11 carries (6.5 ypc).  Cadillac Williams pitched in with 12 yards rushing on 4 carries (3.0 ypc) and he also caught 8 passes for 34 yards (4.3 avg) including the game winning TD grab.  WR Mike Williams (5 rec, 82 yards) and TE Kellen Winslow (5 rec, 44 yards) also pitched in for the Bucs in the passing game today.  The Buccaneers finished up with 124 yards rushing on 21 carries (5.9 ypc) and they also completed 23 of 40 passes for 189 yards. 

The Buccaneers made defensive adjustments at the half as they shut out the Rams the rest of the way.  LB Barrett Ruud (11 tackles) and CB Ronde Barber (10 tackles and 1 QB hit) led the way for the Bucs’ D today.  The Rams finished up with 161 yards rushing on 32 carries (5.0 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 26 passes for 124 yards.  The Buccaneers are now an amazing 4-2 on the year as they have already won more games than they did in all of 2009.

The Buccaneers will be without 21-year old rookie DT Brian Price for the next several weeks due to inflammation in his hip.  Price has played in 5 games for the Buccaneers and he has a whopping 3 tackles so far this year.  He has been a huge disappointment for the Buccaneers who drafted him in the second round last April using the #35 overall pick on him. 

To me this game is a absolute toss up.  The Rams are 0-2 on the road having been outscored 60-20 by the LIONS & RAIDERS!  The Bucs are only 1-2 on the home as they have been outscored there 83-36!  Here is a look at the matchups in this game:

When the Buccaneers have the ball:  The Buccaneers would like to be more balanced but their running game stinks right now.  That puts a lot of pressure on 2nd year QB Josh Freeman to carry the offense.  The Rams have 17 sacks already this year so they are going to bringing a lot of heat after Freeman this Sunday.  But the Rams are giving up 227.3 yards passing per game this year so some plays are to be made in the passing game by the Bucs.  Mike Williams & Kellen Winslow could be in for big games this Sunday.

When the Rams have the ball:  Steven Jackson has to be licking his chops watching game film of the Bucs’ D.  The Buccaneers are giving up 157.0 yards rushing and 5.3 yards per carry so look for Jackson to get as much work as he can handle this Sunday.  The Bucs only have 4 sacks this year so Sam Bradford will likely have time to throw the ball.  Look for him to target Danny Amendola on the short stuff and rookie Danario Alexander down the field.  The Bucs do have 10 pickoffs this year so the rookie QB could make some mistakes that they can make him pay for.

PREDICTION:  RAMS 23, BUCCANEERS 20

28-year old running back Cadillac Williams has really sucked for the Buccaneers so far this year.  He has played in 5 games for the Bucs so far this year and he has carried the ball 76 times for 190 yards (2.5 ypc) with 0 TD runs.  He has also caught 15 passes for 127 yards (8.5 avg) so far this year.  Cadillac Williams is the Bucs’ RB version of WR Michael Clayton as each of them had good rookie years and have sucked since.  Clayton was released and I see the same exact thing happening to Williams unless he starts running the ball better.  Williams has now played in 59 games in his six years with the Bucs and he has carried the ball 919 times for 3,430 yards (3.7 ypc) with 18 TD runs.  He has also caught 103 passes for 681 yards (6.6 avg) with 3 TD grabs in his career.  I think his career has been hurt by all of the injuries he has had.  If the Buccaneers had a better alternative (Earnest Graham is one) I think they would have already cut Williams by now.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have acquired 23-year old DE/DT Alex Magee and a 6th round pick in 2011 for a 5th round pick in 2011.  Magee was a 3rd round pick out of Purdue in 2009.  He played in 2 games with the Chiefs this year and he had 2 tackles.  He has now played in 17 games in his two years in the NFL and he has 10 tackles and 2 sacks.  The Buccaneers aren’t taking much of a risk in acquiring Magee who could help the D-Line right away.

The Buccaneers have lost 24-year old running back Kareem Huggins for the rest of the year due to a torn right ACL.  Huggins played in 3 games for the Bucs this year and he carried the ball 4 times for 11 yards (2.8 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 7 yards this year.  Huggins was likely going to see a bump in P.T. soon with the Buccaneers struggling to run the football so this was a really bad break for him.

The Buccaneers got thrashed today by a very motivated Saints’ team.  Josh Freeman didn’t get much going today despite completing 25 of 43 passes for 219 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Josh Johnson finished up the game by completing 1 of 2 passes for 17 yards.  He also had 1 carry for 11 yards.  Cadillac Williams only rushed for 18 yards on 10 carries (1.8 ypc) but he also caught 7 passes for 63 yards (9.0 avg).  Sammy Stroughter (3 rec, 51 yards), Mike Williams (4 rec, 45 yards) and Kellen Winslow (7 rec, 43 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Bucs today.  The Buccaneers finished up with 42 yards rushing on 18 carries (2.3 ypc) and they also completed 27 of 47 passes for 235 yards.

Sean Jones (8 tackles), Ronde Barber (8 tackles) and Quincy Black (8 tackles) led a simply pathetic effort by the Bucs’ D today.  Safety Cody Grimm pitched in with 4 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 INT.  The Saints finished up with 212 yards rushing on 32 carries (6.6 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 32 passes for 263 yards.  The Buccaneers are now 3-2 on the year.