TAMPA, Fla. -- When Tampa Bay opened the season with a 31-24 road victory over the Atlanta Falcons, it was a promising start to Dirk Koetters head coaching career against a team he and Buccaneers defensive coordinator Mike Smith coached together.But as the rematch approaches Thursday night at Raymond James Stadium, much has changed as the Buccaneers find themselves considerably short-handed as they try to stop a Falcons offense that has established itself as the NFLs best.I think theyre playing with more confidence, and you would expect that: They won some big games, Koetter said.The Falcons (5-3) have the NFC South lead and quarterback Matt Ryan leads the NFL in touchdown passes (19) and passing yards (2,636), having thrown scoring passes to an NFL-best 10 different players. The biggest challenge will be containing receiver Julio Jones, who went off for 300 yards in a victory against Carolina this season, but the Buccaneers held him to 66 yards in the first meeting. Jones has been slowed by a knee injury, but the Bucs fully expect to face him.Julio Jones is going to play, said Smith, his coach in Atlanta until last year. He is obviously one of the top three receivers in the league. Theres no doubt about that. Maybe No. 1. I think hes probably one of the toughest guys to defend.The Bucs wont have nearly the same offensive lineup they had around quarterback Jameis Winston in the first meeting. Doug Martin and Charles Sims, the teams top two running backs, are injured as is No. 2 receiver Vincent Jackson, and tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who caught a 30-yard touchdown against the Falcons, has since been arrested on a DUI charge and waived.As if losing their top two backs wasnt enough, the Bucs will be without former Falcons back Jacquizz Rodgers, who had filled in admirably with back-to-back 100-yard games before getting injured Sunday in a loss to the Raiders.Now the Bucs move forward with three backs all signed off the street since the start of the season -- former Falcons back Antone Smith, who has never had more than four carries in a game; rookie Peyton Barber, who played only three offensive snaps in Sundays loss; and Mike James, who was signed Tuesday after being waived-injured by the Bucs in Week 1, days before the first Falcons game.The quick turnaround to a Thursday game is tough enough, but the Bucs are coming off an overtime loss to Oakland that saw their defense on the field for 94 snaps. The Raiders piled up 626 yards of total offense, including a franchise-record 512 passing by Derek Carr, whose fourth touchdown won the game late in overtime.Atlanta, too, had their game Sunday come down to the wire as Mohamed Sanu caught the game-winning touchdown in a win over the Packers, so both teams will be physically spent entering the game.Our last three weeks, all the games have come right down to the end, coach Dan Quinn said Tuesday. We had some disappointing finishes where we thought we had a chance to finish and we didnt, then in this game where we did. Were glad we had another opportunity to try to finish ... weve got work to do, but were pleased we were able to finish it this past one.If the Bucs (3-4) win, theyll have the season sweep of the Falcons and be a half-game out of first and even in losses with the Falcons. Theyll need to play much better defensively than they did against Oakland, while facing the NFLs top passer, but Tampa Bay has won three straight against Atlanta -- all since Winston took over as quarterback last season.Both teams will enjoy the longer break after Thursdays game with the Bucs staying home to face the Bears in Week 10, while the Falcons go to the Eagles next weekend before finally getting their open date. Custom John Paxson Jersey . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. Custom Bulls T-shirts . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.custombullsjersey.com/ . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Authentic Custom Bulls Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Cheap Bulls Jerseys .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.Remi Garde left Aston Villa by mutual consent on Tuesday after just 147 days in charge, but who will be the man to succeed him? That decision comes down to the Aston Villa board, which in the last three months has experienced a major re-shuffle that has led to the departures of chief executive Tom Fox and sporting director Hendrik Almstadt.So with some new faces entering the doors of Aston Villas dedicated football boardroom, who will be responsible for appointing Remi Gardes successor? We take a look at five of the key figures. Steve Hollis Aston Villa chairman Steve Hollis has expressed his concerns on how the club spent their transfer funds in the summer A Manchester City fan with an accountancy background, Hollis has held numerous high-profile roles for KPMG in the Middle East, Far East, USA and Europe before taking on the role of Aston Villa chairman in January this year.He is also the current vice-chairman of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership.Hollis told Sky Sports News HQ that he has been frustrated at the clubs transfer spending over the last few years and that things need to be fixed before big money is spent again.Whoever does take charge of Villa should not expect to receive too much to play with next season.Mervyn King Mervyn King has joined Aston Villa as a director Aston Villa announced the appointment of Lord King of Lothbury, the former Bank of England Governor, to its board of directors on February 4.The 67-year-old is known as a life-long Villa supporter and says he has been attending matches for over 55 years.Villa chairman Hollis said of his appointment: Mervyn successfully steered the Bank of England through the most turbulent economic headwinds in living memory.His appointment to the board is a huge boost as we plan our path back to more successful times. Who will be next Villa boss? Leading contenders to replace Remi Garde, according to Sky Bets odds.dddddddddddd David BernsteinBernstein became chairman of the FA in 2011, alongside the same role he filled for Wembley Stadium Limited since 2008.Before that, Bernstein joined Manchester City in 1994 as a board member then became chairman in 1998. He was widely respected by Manchester City supporters for bringing stability to the club, leaving in 2010.The Aston Villa role is his first with one club since. He told Sky Sports News HQ last week the club must be cautious of thinking too short-term if they are relegated.If we are thinking short-term or long-term, then it has to be a little bit of both, he said. We have to mix sensible short-term thinking and long-term planning. We cant be too short-termist, but on the other hand we cant be thinking five years ahead because a lot will happen in the next year or two.Adrian Bevington Adrian Bevington used to be the director of communications for the FA Bevington is well known in the world of football mainly for his time working with the England team in his old role as Club England managing director.He spent 17 years at the FA, holding a media role before taking on the position of head of media then director of communications.Since leaving his role in 2015, Bevington has helped the Welsh FA plan their operations for Euro 2016 and also assisted Watford with a communications plan ahead of their return to the Premier League.He was appointed to the Aston Villa board on March 29 and will work closely once again with David Bernstein.Brian Little Brian Little is the last Aston Villa manager to win a major trophy Little is a former Aston Villa player and manager who was appointed as an advisor to the board on March 11.The former Villa striker spent his entire playing career at the club from 1970 to 1980, scoring 60 goals in 247 appearances.Little was Villa manager and led them to the League Cup in 1996, the clubs last piece of major silverware. Earlier this year, he was appointed Jersey manager until the end of the season.He won 68 of his 164 games in charge of the Birmingham club between 1994 and 1998, and also took charge of West Brom, Stoke and Leicester during his managerial career.Little is highly respected among Villa fans, and his knowledge of football management should mean his input is vital when the club select their new manager. Also See: Who will be next Villa boss? Garde leaves Aston Villa Bevington handed Villa role Sherwood sacking a mistake ' ' '