Tampa, Fla. -- For whatever reason, the New Orleans Saints' annual visit to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers usually ends up being an early season affair.
And since Sunday's matchup is earlier than most, they'll have to figure out how to beat the heat.
"It seems like we always get them early when everybody still has that newness to the season," said quarterback Drew Brees. "Everybody is fired up, and you just get these tough, competitive football games."
Playing in the heat is a task the Saints are used to tackling, having spent hours practicing outside in the Louisiana sun during training camp. But getting game reps in the oppressive heat will be a new challenge.
"It's typically warm," said Saints coach Sean Payton, who in his last game at Raymond James Stadium in 2011 suffered a broken leg. "We know it's going to be a warm game, (we're stressing) hydration, getting all the fluids in us, the salt, all the things you would do."
And with a laundry list of injuries on defense, there's no telling how that could affect the Saints' young roster and its rotation.
The Saints (1-0, 1-0 NFC South) managed to scrape by the Atlanta Falcons, 23-17, last week despite playing only two outside linebackers and starting a young defensive line.
Despite the inexperience, the Saints got consistent pressure on Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, something Buccaneers quarterback Josh Freeman noticed in film study.
"They get after it," he said. "They play with a lot of intensity and a lot of passion. Up front, the front four do an awesome job putting pressure on the quarterback.
"The defense, when it came down to it at the end of the game, they made plays."
Whether the Saints' defense can continue to exert that effort remains to be seen. The injury report hasn't stopped growing, forcing New Orleans to re-sign outside linebacker Jay Richardson, who hasn't played a regular-season snap since 2010.
The Saints will likely be starting rookie nose tackle John Jenkins in place of Brodrick Bunkley, who is out with a calf injury. The Saints were already facing paper-thin ranks at defensive line after injuries to Glenn Foster (ankle, questionable) and Tyrunn Walker, who's out with a knee injury.
Things didn't get better when Akiem Hicks (knee injury, questionable) and Tom Johnson (foot, questionable) popped up on the final injury report Friday.
With such attrition, the theory of easing young players into the game has stopped almost before it began. The Saints will likely rotate heavily between players, and between three and four down linemen fronts to compensate.
"It's going to be hot, so you have to do that at every position," said defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. "All of our roster (of defenders) will play on defense. That's how we do it each week, and especially in a road game in the heat, you have to play everybody on your roster."
Added defensive end Cameron Jordan: "I think (they) do a phenomenal job of keeping guys fresh. But that being said, as our numbers dwindle, our effort won't."
Luckily for the Saints, Tampa Bay doesn't have the three-headed monster of Julio Jones, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez. And even Bucs coach Greg Schiano admitted his team "didn't exactly light the world on fire" in an 18-17 loss to the Jets in Week 1.
Freeman was sacked three times and threw an interception, while Pro Bowl running back Doug Martin rushed for only 65 yards.
"We have a lot of loose edges, frayed edges," Schiano said. "We have to get everything cleaned up."
However, the Saints will have to account for Pro Bowl receiver Vincent Jackson, who was the bright spot in the Jets loss with 154 receiving yards. And they'll still have to account for Martin, who rushed for 1,454 yards last season.
So even with the Buccaneers first-game offensive struggles, the Saints' depleted defense leaves them little choice but to rely heavily on their own offense to get the job done.
The defense was responsible for some key momentum swings in the first meeting last season at Tampa Bay. Besides the emotional lift of injured linebacker Jonathan Vilma's first game back, safety Malcolm Jenkins also swung the tide back to the Saints when he ran down Jackson to save a potential 95-yard touchdown reception.
But statistically, the Saints had one of their worst defensive performances against the Buccaneers in their first meeting last season, a 31-28 Saints win. So if the offense has to take the reins again, it would be par for the course.
The Saints swept the Bucs (0-1) last season, including a 41-0 victory in the last meeting. This likely won't be a cake walk, however.
The Buccaneers completely threw out the blueprints after sporting the league's worst passing defense last season, acquiring All-Pros in cornerback Darrelle Revis (Jets) and Dashon Goldson (49ers), while drafting cornerback Johnthan Banks in the second round.
"They got a little bit of a facelift there," Brees said.
Or a complete transplant.
"They play with a lot of confidence," Brees said. "They have great skill. It's something for us to obviously be aware of when we game plan and just force us to be even more efficient and aware of what we are doing."
He added: "It's a big premium going on the road period, but going on the road in the division and winning is huge. ... It's like you picked up one plus one and the fact that it was on the road. All of those things are important. It's a great feeling when you go on the road in the division and win, those are hard to come by."
Katherine Terrell can be reached at KTerrell@nola.com or 504.826.3405.
NOLA.com Saints coverage on Facebook
