Minnesota offense vs. Tampa Bay defense

	VIKINGS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	19
	Pass	1
	Tot. Yds.	2
	Scoring	5
	Int's allowed	15
	Sacks allowed	28
	BUCCANEERS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	3
	vs. Pass	3
	Total yds. allowed	2
	# of Ints.	15
	# of Sacks	31
	Turnover differential	-7

Regardless of their vast depth up front, it's impossible for Tampa Bay's defense to execute at its highest level without Warren Sapp in the lineup. That's exactly the dilemma that the Bucs encountered in the first meeting between these teams as the Pro Bowl defensive tackle was sidelined with a broken hand. Understandably, Tony Dungy's club struggled, recording zero sacks and just three tackles for loss, both season-lows.

The Buccaneers' entire defensive package is predicated on the front four's ability to get penetration without committing linebackers to the blitz. The most common alignment the Vikings will see this week is referred to as an "under" front, in which all the down linemen play a shade technique over either shoulder of their opponent.

Tampa will run a number of stunts and twists along the line in order to complicate Minnesota's blocking schemes. Once defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin senses that the Vikings are comfortable in their assignments, he likes to roll coverage to the weakside and blitz the cornerback on the single-receiver side of the formation. This will force Viking tackles Todd Steussie and Korey Stringer to slide and pickup the wide rush, which is a difficult to task for any player.

In addition, the Vikings can't ignore the use of strong safety John Lynch in a pass-rushing role. Tampa Bay frequently walks up Lynch near the line of scrimmage to help in run support, but the Vikings' coaching staff has recognized Lynch's tendency to almost exclusively blitz when he lines up on the weakside.

The biggest area of concern for Minnesota will be the overall athleticism on the other side of the ball. The key for the Vikings will be the play of their interior line, which has not fared too well in past contests against the Bucs. Center Jeff Christy, along with guards Randall McDaniel and David Dixon, must work in concert against the exceptional counter moves that each defender uses to create penetration. Look for the Bucs to continue using end Chidi Ahanotu inside to prevent the Vikings from double-teaming Sapp, who could be the difference-maker in this rematch.

If QB Jeff George is given time to make his progression reads, look for him to keep connecting with WR's Cris Carter and Randy Moss en route to his third-straight 300-yard game.

Aside from their Week 4 loss in which they rushed for just 84 yards on 24 carries, Tampa Bay has had great success running the ball on Minnesota in the past so look for FB Mike Alstott and RB Warrick Dunn to get plenty of work all afternoon. Dungy will stay committed to the run even if the Bucs aren't successful on the ground early. He can't afford to put the game into King's hands, especially before they've established something on the ground.

Offensive coordinator Mike Shula will won't scale back the playbook all that much this week because the team feels King has a better grasp of the system than most veterans. King looked sharp on a couple of short routes last week against Seattle and look for him to use his backs and tight ends more than Dilfer had in the past.

Unlike most inexperienced quarterbacks, the coaching staff believes that King will have the composure to take good care of the football. King will need more help from his receivers than they gave Dilfer the past three games. Reidel Anthony had three drops of his own, including a touchdown, last week against Seattle and the team is still struggling to find a compliment to Jacquez Green.

If someone can step up opposite Green, King could have a huge debut picking on an inept Vikings secondary that was scorched by San Diego's Jim Harbaugh for over 400 yards last week.