Giants Talk

Ahmad Bradshaw taking a lead role? (New York Daily News)

The numbers from victory over the Bucs – staggering. (giants.com)

Chiefs having trouble. (Kansas City Star)

The BFL? (Connecticut Post)

Giants once again have the runs. (Connecticut Post)

Offensive linemen join the injury parade; Coach Coughlin optimistic. (Newark Star-Ledger)

Chiefs not exactly loaded at the skill positions. (Kansas City Star)

Giants D administers a beatdown. (Connecticut Post)

Tuck packs light, talks his way into playing; Giants again a bit banged up. (Newark Star-Ledger)

Bucs in a bad place. (St. Petersburg Times)

So are the Kansas City Chiefs. (Kansas City Star)

Coach Coughlin couldn’t have scripted it any better. Win the toss, take the kickoff, march down the field for a red zone TD, then follow up with a three-and-out on D. Hard to believe, but that it was all it took for the Giants to set the tone for a dominating 24-0 victory.

The Giants covered all the bases against a surprisingly listless Tampa Bay team, excelling in all facets of the game save for Lawrence Tynes’ miss on a short field goal before halftime.

Eli: another day at the office

Takeaways

Eli Manning: 14-24, 161, 2 TDs, 106.4 rating. Just another day at the office.

Running yards: Giants, 226; Tampa Bay, 28.

Kareem McKenzie: How hurt?

Giants games, win or lose, are usually stressful affairs. Not today.

The Giants don’t match up with Tampa Bay much (Giants lead the all-time series 10-6, as well as a playoff win in the 2007 season), but the Gmen have made some memorable trips to Tampa.

Your Giants Talk blogger has not made it to Tampa for a game, but his cohorts – Doug, Egghead, Goober, Mike and Tom – took the show on the road to the old Tampa Stadium in 1991.

The boys saw a stirring win. Phil Simms, benched by genius rookie coach Ray Handley (whose name hopefully will never be mentioned in these confines again), came off the bench after Jeff Hostetler was injured. The 36-year-old Simms led an absolutely masterful two-minute drive to secure a 21-14 win. Check out the wrap-up and a great, great quote.

After the game, our road trip crew celebrated in proper fashion, with Egghead offering a particularly legendary performance.

The exploits of that crew aside, the Giants’ most memorable trip to The Big Sombrero occurred earlier that year for Super Bowl XXV. Check out the short highlight clip below, plus a bonus.

This one is an awesome package, and worth watching all the way through. However, if you need an instant dose of thrill chills, fast forward to the 7:26 mark.

After last week’s hype fest, this week’s game has all the makings of a let-down or trap matchup. By the numbers, it seems pretty simple: the Giants are 2-0, the Buccaneers 0-2 – two teams moving in different directions. The reality, of course, is a bit more complex.

As commenter Ed Finn points out, the difference between wins and losses in the NFL often comes down to a few plays. So far, the Giants have been making the plays, the Bucs have not. Playing from behind, the Bucs have put up offensive stats that rank them 4th in the NFL in total offense, but those numbers have not translated into points or wins. Meanwhile, the defense has given up huge plays in both losses.

The Giants have better personnel than the thrifty Bucs, and have done what it takes to win games. The keys for this week, then, lie in game management:

1. Can the Giants defense get the Bucs off the field? Byron Leftwich is accurate but immobile. The receivers had problems getting deep last week against Buffalo, even when the Bills were bringing seven and eight men into the box. The Bucs running game can be effective (174 yards against Dallas). Can the banged-up Giants D control the game up front, keep the lid on the long ball, and make some stops? Yes, on all counts.

Raymond James Stadium

2. Can the Giants keep the crowd out of the game? Even though Raymond James Stadium will see more than its share of Giants fans Sunday, the joint can get pretty loud. This means the Giants offense needs to score early and set the pace, while the special teams need to prevent Clifton Smith from breaking one. Can the Giants get in front and stay there? Yes.

This is the kind of game where a Coach Coughlin-coached team tends to shine. Better personnel, well prepared, outmatches the opponent. Prediction: Giants, 27-20.

Kenny Phillips’ season ended in a dismal fashion yesterday. A diagnosis of patella femoral arthritis sent him to the injured reserve list and puts his career in jeopardy. While Coach Coughlin and Antonio Pierce said all the right things, the fact is Phillips is a rising defensive star. It’s a tough loss, particularly to a Giants defense that is already struggling with injuries.

C.C. Brown: on the spot

So, what now? The Giants picked up Aaron Rouse, a third-year player from Virginia Tech, off waivers from Green Bay. Rouse started for the injured Atari Bigby in Week 2, when the Packers D was torched by the Bengals, so let’s assume he’s not Ronnie Lott.

With Aaron Ross and Kevin Dockery still banged up, that leaves Terrel Thomas and Corey Webster as the probable starters at the corners, C.C. Brown and Michael Johnson at safeties, with rookie Bruce Johnson and Rouse as the backups. The ranks are thin.

Luckily, the Giants are hitting what some might call the soft part of their schedule, with Tampa Bay, Kansas City and Oakland coming up in the next three weeks. None of these teams are offensive powerhouses or particularly pass-happy. Barring any further injury debacles, this stretch could give the Giants a chance to get squared away on defense, before the competition steps up in class a notch in Week 6, when the Giants (and this blog) head to New Orleans to take on the Saints.

Only two games into the season, the Giants’ injuries are reaching a tipping point.