[Louie]

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are veterans of this venue and hope the Vet’s last go-around weighs down the Philadelphia Eagles.

This marks the third consecutive postseason in which these clubs have met at Veterans Stadium. However, this time will be the last football game played in the derelict Eagles domicile before the team carts its wares to a new home for next season.

And Philadelphia will look for more of the same home field advantage that has left the Bucs bullet-riddled after recent clashes on the Vet's uneven battleground.

Philadelphia won and covered the number in both Wildcard Weekend tilts over the past two seasons. They also snatched a straight up (SU) and against the spread (ATS) in a Week 7 meeting at the Vet as well, 20-10.

The Bucs' offensive futility in front of Eagles' faithful has been consistent, as the team has averaged just more than a touchdown's worth of points in those three trips to Philadelphia. And they haven't managed more than 10 points in any one contest.

The Eagles also stole a SU victory at Tampa Bay in Week 17 of last season, 17-13, as four-point 'dogs. They're now a perfect 4-0 SU and ATS in their last four meetings with the Buccaneers. Philadelphia also racked up a moneymaking 7-2 ATS record on home turf this season, which contributed to its second place ranking on Covers' ATS standings (11-6 ATS).

Don't expect Tampa Bay to be intimidated on the road. As this year's edition of the Bucs set franchise records for both SU wins in a season (12) and SU road wins in a season (6). They're also tied for second on the ATS standings, with an 11-6 ATS mark on the campaign. However, the club is just 4-4 ATS on the road.

After three losses over the past two seasons at the Vet, Tampa Bay has its sights set on making its mark on the dilapidated stadium.

"They've been a little thorn in our side," Tampa defensive end Simeon Rice told reporters. "We're going in to blow that thing up. We're going there to destroy it."
The Bucs are boasting an improved offense, evidenced by last week's Divisional Playoff win over the San Francisco 49ers, 31-6. They've beaten up on their last five opponents by a whopping combined 110-53 margin.

Meanwhile, the Eagles are putting up 348.2 yards and 25.6 points per contest this season with 131.6 of those yards coming on the ground. The team's No.1 pivot Donovan McNabb returned last week to lead Philadelphia to a dominating 20-6 thumping of the Atlanta Falcons.

However, McNabb's offense will line up against a Tampa Bay defense, which is the league's best against the pass, allowing only 155.6 passing yards per game, and ranks first in total defense (251.4) this season. The Bucs run defense has allowed only 97.1 yards per game and ranks fifth in the NFL.

My Pick: Bucs +4