The Talking Plank - Week 8

The Talking Plank - Week 8: At New York Giants




Excuse the lateness of these posts, as Blogger was having some issues. Nevertheless, make sure you catch my post on the defense, just below this one. And why? Because it goes into one of the key areas for this week's game against the Giants. The Bucs, coming off a last second 62 yard field goal win, have some redemption to do, mostly on defense, but also on offense. Last week the defense started out well, shutting Philly out for 8 straight drives, but then the defense puked all over itself in route to nearly giving the game away. The offense also failed to get more yards and points during the early going. Now they face the Giants, who have the league's leading rusher, and a defense that's recorded 13 sacks in the last two games.

On Offense, the Bucs won't have to face Arrington, and may get to play without facing Umenyiora, who suffered a hip plexor in the MNF game. If that's the case, then it should be hard for the Giants to repeat the pressure they've gotten the last two weeks. The Giants are average against the run, giving up 106+ on the ground. The Bucs will need to exploit that by running the ball where Arrington would have been, and bringing the defense in tighter to exploit in play-action passing. The Giants are weak in the secondary, and the Bucs can take advantage of that fact if they keep Bruce upright. Both the starting right corner, Sam Madison, and his backup, Walker, have hamstring injuries and may not play. Even if they do, you don't want your corners out there with hamstring injuries. If the Bucs can subdue the Giants pass rush and get some semblance of a running game going, then I look for Bruce to be setup well on play-action passes, and he should do well. The Giants should have a hard time containing our receiving threats, and that could be a big factor in this game. Overall, I think the offense will be able to move the ball and score points, especially if Bruce gets a solid breakout type game going.

On Defense, the Bucs will be faced with their third straight contest against a top notch offense. The Giants are number 2, behind Philly, and Tiki Barber is leading the way. The Bucs must come into this game with two things firmly entrenched in their play: 1) tackle effectively and 2) gang tackle, getting as many guys on the ball as possible. If the Bucs can do these two things, and continue causing turnovers, they should be able to hold the Giants' offense down some, though they are unlikely to stop them completely. After last week's embarrassment that almost ended in a loss, I think Brooks is ready to step it up and come out swinging. If he gets others to think similarly and bring it, the Bucs may have a shot at slowing up the Giants to a respectable amount. I just have a feeling that the defense is tired of these types of games. I think they are ready to get their game back to where it was last year.

On Special Teams, the Bucs and Giants are getting similar results in all phases of the game, so it's tough to tell if one might be able to break the game open or not. I think the Bucs will continue to get solid starting position, but I don't think we'll see any thing overly spectacular. Of course, we do have Bryant, who kicked the 62 yard field goal. Maybe that counts for something?

The Giants are favored by 9 pints, but, I have a feeling that the Bucs are going to sneak up and bite them in the rear. Look for the Bucs to get some offense going and just barely pull this game out.

Bucs 23 Giants 21