Buccaneers Week 4 Tape Study: What we see in the 2017 Giants

This week, Ren Daxt listed running back Peyton Barber as his sleeper fantasy football pick for the Buccaneers against the Giants.

I have a feeling he may be right after watching how the Eagles pounded the rock with LeGarrette Blount last week.

The former Buc power back ran the ball 12 times against the Giants, gaining 67-yards and scoring a touchdown.

Barber may not be the proven bully Blount is, but he’s a power back who has shown the ability to make an impact when given the right chance in the right match-up.

I think we have the second part right, now let’s look at how the coaching staff might look to employ him.

Blount didn’t get his first carry until almost 11 minutes had run off the clock in the first quarter. In the same time-span, quarterback Carson Wentz was sacked twice. Both of them are what would be considered coverage sacks.

Basically, the Giants didn’t respect the Eagles’ ability to run the ball, so they rushed very minimally, and allowed the coverage to give their front enough time to get to the quarterback. And, it worked.

At least, up until Philadelphia realized this opened up things for Blount.

Must Read: Fantasy Football Advice for Week 4

In the formation ahead, you can see the Giants have five men on the line of scrimmage including one standing up.

However, also notice, they’re very spread out along the line with good sized gaps naturally built into their formation.

Because of the offensive formation, New York has two defenders playing outside of the left tackle. This is a big part of this play.

When the ball is snapped, both Giants defensive ends push into their respective blockers, but also turn their attack so they can contain the pocket or outside runs.

Likely, this is a byproduct of game planning, as the Eagles have a very quick type run style and a mobile quarterback.

Setting the edge consistently will ideally help the Giants from getting gouged by outside runs and quarterback scrambles. This approach helped secure the two sacks before as Wentz was unable to escape.

Next: Biggest Threats from the Giants

Look also, the offensive linemen have leveraged the defenses already widened alignment to push them even wider. This task made easier by New York’s desire to spread their own defensive line.

This particular play features a trap block, made all the more effective due to the fact the Giants present no conflict at the point of attack. This allows Philadelphia’s center to chip block the interior lineman and work his way to the second level with no issues while the outside blocker sweeps in from his also uncontested position outside the formation.

All of this, due to the fact New York was more concerned with Philly’s passing attack.

In this play, Blount takes the hand-off from Wentz just outside their own 5-yard line. He only gains three yards on this particular play, but the fact he is able to build up a five-yard head of steam before meeting contact does not bode well for the Giants defense.

Two plays later, and on third-down, the Eagles bring in Blount again. Again, the Giants are lined up in a slightly spread out four-man front with linebacker help.

This time the Giants are a bit better prepared for the power run. However, the linebackers don’t react quickly due to the threat of Wentz as a runner and passer.

Again, there’s an emphasis on containing the outside by the top and bottom parts of the line defense. The Giants do bring a corner blitz, which is brave.

Blount take the hand-off at around the 15-yard line this time.

Just like before, Blount gets a good head of steam going before he meets contact. This time the result is a 17-yard gain, and more carries for the big guy.

This adjustment by the Eagles forced the Giants to play more of an inside game than a contain. Now, it’s easy for coaches to tell players to adjust their rushing techniques based off the backfield, but when you’ve been working so hard focusing on containment it can be a tall task.

New York eventually did move to a more inside type of defensive strategy, which is when the Philadelphia smaller backs started exploiting the team.

A great use of countering your opponent’s formations. Hopefully, the Buccaneers were watching, and if so we should see some of Peyton Barber as they try and do the same.

If the team does this, and it’s effective, then the Giants will be forced to commit more to run stopping. This, we all know, makes it easier to throw.

In the case of the Buccaneers, it’ll also make it easier to gain and maintain a lead this weekend.

This is what I saw. How am I wrong? Maybe I’m right? Give me your opinion. I know you have one, don’t just sit there, tell it to me!

Comment, find me on Facebook, Twitter, or email me at walkingtheplankpodcast@gmail.com to discuss this or anything Buccaneers related.