It’s all systems go for both the New Orleans Saints and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who will open their respective 2008 seasons with a key NFC South clash Sunday at the Superdome.

This showdown between division rivals had been in jeopardy of being moved to another location due to Hurricane Gustav’s arrival on the Gulf Coast earlier this week. However, the Superdome was able to withstand the storm without any structural damage, unlike the devastation Hurricane Katrina heaped upon both the facility and the city of New Orleans three years previously.

Gustav did manage to alter the Saints’ preparation plans for Sunday’s tilt, however, as the team was forced to spend the past week practicing in Indianapolis after evacuating its home base as a precautionary measure.

This Week 1 matchup will pit the winners of the last three NFC South titles, with the Buccaneers capturing the division crown in 2005 and again last season after producing a 9-7 record. New Orleans took home top honors with a rags-to- riches 2006 campaign in which the franchise quickly rebounded from a 3-13 nightmare to win 13 regular-season games and reach the NFC Championship Game.

The Saints’ unforeseen success that year raised the bar to the highest of heights in 2007, and the team wound up crumbling under the weight of lofty expectations. New Orleans lost its first four games and never could dig itself from its early-season hole, eventually missing out on the postseason parade with a disappointing 7-9 record.

New Orleans enters 2008 with high hopes as well after seemingly upgrading a porous defense that was one of the NFL’s most submissive units a year ago. The Saints acquired former NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Jonathan Vilma from the New York Jets via trade in April, right around the time the organization traded up in the first round to grab USC defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis. Former New England cornerback Randall Gay and ex-Jaguars defensive end Bobby McCray were also brought in through free agency in an effort to help a pass defense that ranked 30th out of the league’s 32 teams last season.

The Saints also traded for problem-child tight end Jeremy Shockey over the summer, with the one-time Giant expected to add another weapon to a dangerous aerial attack that also includes marksman quarterback Drew Brees and prolific wide receiver Marques Colston.

Tampa Bay delivered a worst-to-first turnaround of its own in 2007, putting a disastrous 4-12 season from the previous year in the rear-view mirror by reaching the playoffs. The Bucs’ unexpected improvement was sparked by a resurgent defense that ranked second in the NFL in yards allowed (278.4 ypg) and third in points surrendered (16.9 ppg), along with a remarkably efficient season from veteran quarterback Jeff Garcia.

Duplicating last year’s feat may be hard, if recent history is any indication. Since the NFC South was established in 2002, no team that finished first in the division repeated as champion the following season.

SERIES HISTORY

New Orleans has a 19-13 lead in its all-time series with Tampa Bay, but was swept in last year’s home-and-home with its division rival. The Saints were 31-14 losers when they visited Raymond James Stadium in Week 2, and surrendered a 27-23 decision at the Superdome in Week 13. The Saints swept the home-and-home in 2006.

Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden has a 7-6 career record against the Saints, including 6-6 since taking over in Tampa prior to the 2002 season. New Orleans’ Sean Payton is 2-2 against both Gruden and the Bucs as a head coach.