Some would view a trip to New Orleans to face the 5-2 Saints, playing in one of the most hostile environments in the league, as a death sentence for a 2-5 football team.

The Bucs see it differently- as a chance to rise to the occasion and maybe flip the script on what we've seen so far.

Just don't use that word "maybe" in the locker room.

"Ain't no maybe to it- we're about to turn this season around," linebacker Kwon Alexander said.  "We're going up there with one thing on our minds.  To win.  That's our mindset.  So that's what we're going to do."

"Once you get the ball rolling down a hill, it's kind of easy to just let that ball keep going," linebacker Kendell Beckwith said.  "So that's just something that we have to do."

"It's not panic mode," wide receiver Adam Humphries said.  "But every week that goes by, we realize we need to win.  So a divisional game on the road is huge for us.  So this would be a great opportunity."

The key for the Bucs D is finding consistency, says defensive coordinator Mike Smith.

The goal isn't necessarily to shut down the number two offense in the NFL.

"I tell our guys all the time- sometimes yards are empty  yards- they're like empty calories," Smith said.  "We all eat empty calories.  Me a lot of them by the way.  The things we've got to concern themselves with are keeping them out of the endzone and getting off the field on third down."

If they don't, the high expectations coming out of One Buc Place to start the season will be running on empty as well.