The New Orleans Saints are in a funk, something nearly every other good NFL team has experienced this season. But perhaps the only team that has avoided a funk is the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New Orleans' opponent on Sunday night (ESPN, 8:30 p.m. ET).

The Raiders and the Patriots each had four-game skids. The Dolphins had a three-game losing streak. The Saints, Packers and the 49ers have lost two straight. But the Bucs have been the NFL's most consistent -- and best -- team, a credit to their first-year head coach, Jon Gruden. Never in Gruden's four-year coaching tenure at Oakland did the Raiders quit or become substandard. And Gruden is having the same effect on the Bucs.

Theismann's Keys

TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS Offense: Play smart -- If they get chances to make plays, the Bucs have to convert them. There may only two or three opportunities, but they must capitalize. The Bucs know they can stick a fork in the Saints if they can go by 14 points. The Saints will become a post-Thanksgiving turkey. Defense: Make Brooks win the game -- The Bucs can't allow Deuce McAllister to run. They have to force Brooks to throw the football, and he's been susceptible to mistakes. NEW ORLEANS SAINTS Offense: Protect Brooks -- The Saints' offensive line has three new starters -- LeCharles Bentley, Spencer Folau and Kendyl Jacox -- but it must block Tampa Bay's front four. Protection is the key because Brooks must protect the football. When Brooks does throw, he must operate a patient passing game. Tight end David Sloan should probably play a bigger role in it. Defense: Stop the run -- The Saints, who have struggled against the run, must stone Michael Pittman and Mike Alstott. Then, in addition, they have to tackle the Bucs' receivers in their short passing game. Keyshawn Johnson is questionable with a bruised rib, but the Bucs will still spread the ball around to a variety of receivers.

People wondered why I picked New England over St. Louis in Super Bowl XXXVI. But it's important to look at all three phases of the game -- offense, defense and special teams. What are the teams getting from the return game? How good is their field-goal kicker? How well is their offense playing? And what about their defense? In Tampa Bay, each area of the team is playing solid football.

The question has always been asked about Tampa Bay: What would the Bucs' defense be like if they had an offense to complement it? The question is finally being answered. The offense may be unspectacular, ranked only 24th in league. But with the league's No. 1 defense, all the Bucs' offense has to do is not beat itself. And the Bucs have only turned the ball over 15 times. With only a few turnovers and a great defense, the odds are Tampa Bay won't lose many games.

The Bucs may sound a lot like the Super Bowl champion Ravens from two years ago, but the Bucs' offense is much more explosive than the Ravens were. Brad Johnson has returned to Pro Bowl form. When he was in Minnesota, the Vikings brought in Jeff George and wanted him to play a year after Johnson made his first Pro Bowl. Johnson never has been a bad quarterback; he has just been in bad situations. Now he is in the best possible situation in an offense that complements his strengths -- making quick decisions, getting rid of the football and making few mistakes.

In the scoring department, the Bucs' offense has gotten excellent help from the defense. Tampa Bay has scored 26 touchdowns -- 20 on offense (four rushing, 16 passing), one on special teams and five on defense, four by linebacker Derrick Brooks.

Meanwhile, the Bucs' defense has only given up 13 touchdowns -- eight running and five passing. By comparison, the Saints have given up 32 touchdowns. To further illustrate how good the Tampa Bay defense is, teams in today's NFL -- when 300- and 400-yard passing games are regular occurrences -- should be able to throw for at least 200 yards. But the Bucs only allow 156.5 yards through the air.

If the Bucs score 17-20 points, not many teams will beat them. However, they will receive a great challenge from the Saints, who are the league's second-highest-scoring team. The Saints have scored 32 points or more six times, but they have only scored 32 points the last two weeks combined in losses to Atlanta and Cleveland.

Last year quarterback Aaron Brooks got himself in trouble in the red-zone area. He made bad decisions, took sacks, fumbled the football and threw interceptions. The same thing happened to him last week against the Browns. The Saints committed six turnovers, four by Brooks -- three interceptions and one fumble. He fumbled at the Browns' 23 and was intercepted twice in the red zone, once on the 1-yard line before the half.

The Saints run the West Coast offense. It's a quarterback's scheme -- the success or failure of it rests squarely on his shoulders. Right now Brooks scares me with his mistakes, but we tend to forget that he is still a young player in only his second year as a starter.

Last week the Saints played without running back Deuce McAllister, who is expected to be back from his ankle injury. With McAllister in the backfield, the Saints should have a full complement of offensive weapons. The Saints need his presence, but I don't believe he will be able to run for many yards against the Bucs.

Still, the Saints should run McAllister much like the Redskins did Stephen Davis last week against the Rams, when he ran 31 times for 88 yards. Because they are coached by Lovie Smith, a former Tampa Bay assistant, the Rams run the same kind of defense as the Bucs. If McAllister can touch the ball 20-25 times and average 3.5 yards a carry, the Saints' offense will be balanced.

However, on the other side, the Bucs get back defensive tackle Anthony McFarland, who was sidelined for a month with a broken forearm. Even if he gets only 10 snaps, it will enable the Bucs to rest other players for 10 snaps. Their great defense will only be better and deeper. They will have a greater chance of earning home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and a smaller chance of falling into a funk, one the Saints would like to escape.

A game analyst for ESPN's Sunday Night Football, former NFL QB Joe Theismann won a Super Bowl and a league MVP award.