Loading ...When the New York Giants faced off with NFC East division rival Dallas Cowboys last week, we were facing an opponent we all know very well. This week, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on deck, not so much. So to get a look at what we can expect out of our opponent, we turn to our good friend Wolf Heard over at Buccaneers101.com.
While the Giants were busy losing to the Cowboys in Week 1, the Bucs were busy upsetting Cam Newtown and the Carolina Panthers. Behind a running game that featured rookie Doug Martin toting the rock 28 times for 95 yards, Josh Freeman managed the game well, going 16 of 24 for 138 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions, hitting six different receivers along the way. While the offense did its job, the Bucs won because of their defense, picking Newton off twice and holding his offense to only 10 points).
So Wolf, Giants fans watched their corners get burned by Tony Romo, Dez Bryant and co last week. Should we be scared of running into Freeman, Vincent Jackson and co?
After the Buccaneers jumped out to a 13-0 lead over the Panthers last week, they played pretty conservative football. Freeman only threw for 138 yards and didn't really take any shots down the field. That should change against New York's injury-plagued secondary. Look for offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan to use a more vertical passing attack this week with Vincent Jackson getting a couple of bombs thrown his way.
The Giants also struggled to get pressure on Romo and contain the Cowboys running game when it mattered. How does Tampa's OL look?
As for the offensive line, they have tough task in front of them. Last week, the O-line played great against the Panthers. But let's fact it, no one has a defensive line as good as the Giants. Pro Bowl guard Carl Nicks and right tackle Jeremy Trueblood are nursing injuries and that will make things tougher against the Giants pass rushers, but they have to keep Freeman upright if they want a chance for the road win.
Tampa traded up in front of the Giants to draft Doug Martin this year. The Giants either settled for David Wilson or wanted Wilson all along (depending on who you ask). Tampa fed Martin the ball 28 times in Week 1, so they certainly view him as a workhorse back. Does he look the part so far?
It was only a few series in the preseason and one full game, but Martin certainly seems like a stud in the making. He is a shifty, agile runner in the mold of Baltimore's Ray Rice. Martin is also a good receiver out of the backfield so he can play all three downs. We've been impressed with Martin thus far and so have the Bucs, which is why he will continue to be the focal point of the offense. That won't change on Sunday; look for the kid to get between 20-25 touches in order to slow down New York's pass rush.
Tampa Bay beats Big Blue if…
…They do what we talked about earlier – protect Josh Freeman and establish a strong running game. If the Giants get constant pressure on Freeman then we could see some turnovers, and that won't bode well for the Bucs. Freeman has have time to look down field and needs Martin, LeGarrette Blount, and D.J. Ware to keep the chains moving when they get the rock. If they do that, then the Bucs wear out New York's front four and have a good shot at beating the defending Super Bowl Champs.
We can't disagree that the Giants defense will be on the field a lot if they can't slow down Tampa's running game and let Josh Freeman stand in a clean pocket. We'd like to think Eli Manning and the offense could outscore Freeman and co. any day of the week…but after last week we're not too quick to rest on suppositions like that.
We'd like to give much thanks to Wolf and the team over at Buccaneers101.com for giving us an inside peak. Feel free to hop on over there for more coverage of this week's game.
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BigBlueGiant says:
September 14, 2012 at 10:41 AM
Well, one thing I learned after watching that game last night…. We’re not the only NFC team with offensive lien woes.
I said weeks ago that just about every team has OL concerns amongst the contenders. I knew both of these OLs were questions but the OL that was shockingly bad in week 1 was NO. Everyone deservingly so got caught up in RG3 (he’s now earned that nickname) but I was more surprised that the Washington front 7 dominated the NO OL. It’s one game but if Brees is going to get pressure like that and the running game is not there to balance out their offense they are in big trouble.
Our OL with Beatty can be good enough. I know that doesn’t sound acceptable to some but looking at chicago’s OL last night they barely gave Cutler a chance. Good enough means that there will be some pressure but most of the time Eli will have enough time to be effective in the passing game. And the running game (with Wilson playing a key role) can be good enough to keep defesnses honest.
I’m a little concerned that TC won’t start Beatty this week. While I agree Lockear has been solid and maybe even good his upside is just that. Beatty has a much higher upside and IMO we need to give him the chance to show that given he’s healthy now. It’s not like the OL played great as a unit vs Dallas so we don’t want to upset the chemistry. Or I’m wondering if he wants to see Lockear another week before deciding to move him to RT. Something just doesn’t seem right if Beatty has now practiced for 2 weeks and he still isn’t the starting LT.
Look, it’s pretty clear that teams aren’t as good or bad as they play in Week One. That was on full display last night, as the Bears, who have been spoken about so highly after a dominant performance in Week One, looked as offensively inept as the Browns and the Dolphins did in their first games. The Packers also seemed to struggle until that fake field goal seemingly broke the spirit of Cutler and the Bears.
So, with that in mind, we have to realize that the Bucs are a good team that we can beat, because we are better. Period. Sure, they’ve got a good running back, and a couple of really good receivers, but Freeman is hot garbage and Ronde Barber is still a starter on that defense. They’re a stingy team, but if we play our football in our stadium with the intensity we should have had last week, we will win this game.
I agree with everything except I’m sure what Freeman is yet. 2 years ago he looked like Big Ben and last year Kyle Boler. He scares me some because he has mobility and a good arm with Vincent Jackson at WR. But in the end we will beat them if we play well.
On TT, that’s sad but that’s the NFL. Given that TT wasn’t a speed demon with 100% anyways I’m thinking the best way for TT to return as to convert to safety. I just can’t see at CB him being able to play at a high enough level that a team will take a chance on him as a 4th CB type due to his injury concerns. I think at safety his athletic limitations won’t hurt him nearly as much and his tackling ability can allow him to still be effective. I mean Craig Dahl is still in the NFL so TT has a chance to succed there if healthy. But after 3 ACL surgeries I don’t think you ever return to 100%.
Big Blue…I got an email back from from John Sego…
he said he has Manning, JPP, and Nicks in blue. $85 paid with Paypal…delivered in 10-14 days. Do you remember what you paid or if there was a webisite to “see” the jersey before you bought it.
I mainly wanted to let you know that he responded to my email. Have a great weekend.
I bought a Nicks jersey from him. It is spectacular.
Ask if the JPP is an away jersey for me? Wanna get me one of those!
I got the old reebok ones, not the nikes but yeah, same price.
I got KP.
Thanks though, I’m def gonna contact him! You have a great weekend as well!
THis site is good and reliable
http://www.offerjerseysonline.com
You’ve used them? The jerseys are nice? For $23 it sounds too good to be true.
They’re from China, and they’re actually decent. Not bad jerseys. Havent seen the new “nike” ones, but im sure they’re good.
These aren’t authentic NFL licensed jerseys though. They’re terrific replicas.
Oh…and there’s $21 in shipping…
Order a bunch, its flate rate. Haven’t seen NIke but Reebok and throwbacks are official like a referee with a whistle
Mark Hale ?@HaleMark
Nicks (foot) and Baas (hip) on the side during media portion of #Giants practice. Prince (ankle) and Coe (hamstring) both on the field. Beatty (back) out there too. #giants
We SHOULD win on Sunday, and we MUST win. This team needs to put out a far better effort or they should be ashamed of themselves.
I see where Justin Tuck said he liked practices a lot better this week. That’s nice. Perhaps he could contain his side of the field this time around rather than do a few inside loops that left his area totally open to Romo so he could spend 5 1/2 seconds finding a receiver.
There’s no secret about what Tampa Bay will try to do. They’ll probably go deep at least once or twice early hoping to force the Giants to think about it, but will try to run the ball all game in order to wear down the defense and keep enough time-of-possession to make it a low-scoring game. They’ll have Freeman make some safe passes from quick releases to offset our pass rush. They’ll count on their defense and their special teams to dominate the game and get them a road win. We just have to have KP aware of where Jackson is (and not allow him to get behind the defense), and be staunch against the run. And I sure hope our coaches understand that this game becomes a lot easier if we score in the first few possessions and get an early lead.
One of these days our old-school coach will realize that if you allow Eli to play fast early, even in a no-huddle offense if they like, we can get some early points on the board and THEN start consistently establishing the run. It needn’t always start with the run. I completely agree with Coughlin that we need balance, but I think we get bogged down way too much in the first quarter because there is a mindset that insists we establish the run immediately. It doesn’t have to be so.
I’ll tell you this–I’m surrounded by Bucs fans in Orlando, so I see lots of Bucs football. Yes, they will want to run the ball early and often. And yes, they went out and spent a lot of money on Vincent Jackson, to add to Mike Williams, who, like his quarterback, had a great first year and an abysmal second year, as well as Dallas Clark. Freeman likes to throw the ball to his tight ends, so that’s going to be the gameplan against us–run the ball, run the ball, play action to one of the tight ends or to Jackson. They’re not a great team, but they are capable of putting up points and grinding out the game if we let them. Think of them as a younger, less good 49ers.
UUT