By ROY CUMMINGS

rcummings@tampatrib.com

TAMPA - Derrick Brooks usually gives himself 24 hours to enjoy a victory. Not this victory. As soon as the game clock struck zero at Ford Field on Sunday, Brooks began thinking ahead to this week's game against New Orleans.

He had reason to. This game marks the beginning of a three-game stretch of contests against NFC South rivals that could ultimately decide whether the Bucs reach the playoffs and in what capacity they reach them.

"This [stretch] is huge for us," Bucs center Jeff Faine said. "If we can get on a streak here, it can really set us apart from the rest of the division. But obviously, the first order of business is the Saints."

It's no short order. The Saints have had trouble winning once again this year, especially on the road, where they are 1-4. But they do have the league's most potent offense.

That and the fact the Saints beat the Bucs in the season opener is why a lot of Bucs players were planning to spend their Monday night scouting New Orleans on "Monday Night Football."

"They're a team that's very capable of beating us," Faine said. "They have every tool they need and our offense will have to match with them and put some points on the board and take advantage of [its] opportunities."

That could be a problem for the Bucs. Though they tied a franchise record for points scored on the road on Sunday, the Bucs still rank 30th in the league in red-zone offense.

They'll have to overcome that as well as their penchant for slow starts and for struggling on the road to beat not only the Saints, but the Panthers, who share first place in the division with them, and the Falcons.

"The Panthers are loaded," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said. "Defensively they are for real, and with [quarterback] Jake Delhomme behind center they are a proven winner.

"And you can't deny that with [quarterback] Matt Ryan and [running back] Michael Turner, they've made some great acquisitions in Atlanta. [Ryan] is dominating the league right now, so it's going to be interesting."

It's going to be critical, too. As critical as this stretch of games is, though, the Bucs say they can't afford to look at them as a whole, but must continue, as always, to look at them one at a time.

"Don't push me there yet," Brooks said when asked about the three-game stretch that awaits his team. "When that clock struck zero [Sunday] I started thinking about New Orleans and that's how it will stay. This is no time to get ahead of ourselves."

Reporter Roy Cummings can be reached at (813) 259-7979.

Photo: Derrick Brooks

Says Bucs can't look past Saints game

Copyright ? 2008, The Tampa Tribune and may not be republished without permission. E-mail library@tampatrib.com