Bucs need much needed win against the Giants
The New York Giants bring their 0-3 record to Raymond James Stadium for a prime time match-up on Sunday afternoon against the Bucs.
The Giants have really struggled this season so far. The offensive line has been horrendous. Although Eli Manning has only been sacked eight times he has been running for his life on numerous occassions.. The Giants running game is last in the league averaging just 49 yards a game. This should be a good match up for the Bucs as they have the No. 4 run defense in the league giving up just over 70 yards a game.
The Bucs will be a bit healthier this game as Gerald McCoy will be back, and Noah Spence should be close to 100 percent as he will be playing with a special shoulder harness to prevent further injury to his shoulder. Also DE Jacquies Smith could see his first action of the season and that will will be a big boost to the DL.
LB Kwon Alexander has been ruled out as he continues to recover from the hamstring injury he suffered in week 1. Lavonte David did not practice and is listed as doubtful.
The Giants do have a top 10 passing offense led by QB Eli Manning. Manning has a nice trio of WR’s to throw to. Odell Beckham who is one of the top receivers In the game, second year pro Sterling Shepard, and another veteran in Brandon Marshall. Also don't forget about the rookie TE Evan Engram out of Ole Miss. Engram has 13 catches this season and one TD.
For the Bucs, DB Brent Grimes will be back. Newly acquired safety TJ Ward did not practice and is listed as doubtful. That means we will get another look at CB Ryan Smith. Smith struggled against Minnesota last week giving up over 120 yards and a TD. The Giants receivers will present more of a challenge than what he faced against the Vikings and Smith knows that he must improve.
It will be a reunion of sorts for Giants WR Odell Beckham and Bucs CB Vernon Hargraves. They faced each other in college when Beckham played at LSU and Hargraves was at Florida. This will be their first meeting in the NFL. Hargraves will probably be matched against Beckham the majority Of the time.
Giants QB Eli Manning is completing 74% of his passes and will present a huge challenge for the Bucs defense. Manning loves to run the no huddle and will change the plays quite often at the line of scrimmage. He will try to keep the Bucs defense on its heels. The Bucs defense has just one sack this season, and with the Giants offensive line playing so poorly, I look for the Bucs defense to notch a couple of sacks against Manning and the Giants.
Offensively for the Bucs, the running game was non-existent against Minnesota. The Giants have the worst run defense in the league giving up 157 YPG. This would be a good time for the Bucs running game to bust loose. How about giving Peyton Barber a few more opportunities? Barber had zero touches against the Vikings.
Jameis Winston has to have a good game. Make good decisions with the football. Don’t force the ball. Take what the defense will give you. The Giants have the 6th best defense giving up just 181 YPG, but have allowed a TE to score a TD in all three games so far this season. This should bode well for our dual TE threat of Cameron Brate and OJ Howard.
This is a game the Bucs need to win. You hate to classify a game as a must win this early in the season, but if there ever was such a game, it is this game. As good as the Bucs played against the Bears in week 2, they played just as bad last week in Minnesota. I am looking for a good effort on both sides of the ball.
When the cannons fire for the final time, I like the Bucs to walk out of Raymond James a 31-17 winner against the Giants.
