Buccaneers: Responding with their backs to the wall
By James Yarcho
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers now face a must-win situation early in the season. Can they perform with their backs against the wall?
It’s so difficult to say a week four – or game three, in this case – is a “must win” situation. However, it appears that’s what the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are now facing with the New York Giants coming to town. In front of a sell out crowd, the Bucs will have to take on a team that has their season literally hanging in the balance and will pull no punches to get their year back on track.
But how can the Bucs be sure their season doesn’t become derailed in the process?
It’s far from panic time, but losing this Sunday to the 0-3 Giants to then turn around and host the defending Super Bowl champions and arguably the greatest quarterback to ever play the game is a tall order. If everything goes wrong, the Bucs will be 1-3 for the second consecutive season and will be getting on a plane to head to Arizona to take on the Cardinals.
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Not exactly the start we all hoped for – or expected.
In order to make sure the Bucs are on track, they have to find a way to manufacture pass rush and get in Eli Manning‘s face. They are going up against arguably the worst offensive line in football and have a measly one sack on the season. With the loss of Lavonte David and seeing Noah Spence re-injure that surgically repaired shoulder, Mike Smith can’t rely on the sheer athletic ability of his defensive line to get pressure. They need to create some blitz schemes with Kendell Beckwith and Devante Bond to get additional pressure on Manning.
Manning is having a tough season, but make no mistake – he is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league at getting the ball out of his hand quickly to avoid blitzes and pressure, something we saw the Vikings have a lot of success with last week. Having Odell Beckham Jr. back at full strength and seeing Brandon Marshall start to get his legs back under him could spell trouble for the Bucs if they’re without Brent Grimes for a second straight game.
Vernon Hargreaves had quite a few issues against Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen last week, so being the number one corner against OBJ will be tough on the Tampa secondary. Ryan Smith did absolutely nothing to impress in his debut at cornerback and covering a savvy veteran in Marshall is a huge mismatch. Without the pass rush, the corners will be left on an island again and Manning will carve them up like a Thanksgiving turkey.
Potentially missing Kwon Alexander for another game truly tests the linebacker depth we all raved about. That puts Beckwith, Adarius Glanton, and Cameron Lynch as your linebacking corps and limits Smith’s ability to send pressure with the extra guy. An alternate option would be to scheme some safety blitzes with T.J. Ward, who is a top tier safety in the box and can get to the quarterback.
No one is afraid of the Giants’ run game. They have 146 rushing yards on the season and have allowed 460. The way to beat the Giants is exactly what we’ve seen through three weeks of football – neutralize Eli Manning and the passing game, create pressure, and capitalize off forced throws and mistakes. Manning has four interceptions on the season and has been sacked eight times. Something’s gotta give.
Next: Five Game Changers For Bucs/Giants
What is your keys to getting after Manning and getting a win on Sunday? Let us know in the comments below!