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New York Giants enemy exchange: 5 Tampa Bay Bucs questions answered

By Charles Vitolo

EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 18: Tight end Evan Engram #88 of the New York Giants carries the ball against cornerback Brent Grimes #24 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium on November 18, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The New York Giants won 38-35. New York Giants won 38-35.(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ - NOVEMBER 18: Tight end Evan Engram #88 of the New York Giants carries the ball against cornerback Brent Grimes #24 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the fourth quarter at MetLife Stadium on November 18, 2018 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The New York Giants won 38-35. New York Giants won 38-35.(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /
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In this week’s edition of ‘New York Giants enemy exchange’, we traded questions with our friend’s over at the Pewter Plank to get some inside info on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers might not be a team that all New York Giant fans are exactly well-versed on, and for that reason we reached out to our colleague Cory Kinnan, who is the site expert over at the Pewter Plank (check them out, they do a terrific job).

Cory had some interesting things to say about the team, and this matchup in particular. While the Bucs aren’t a huge rival of Big Blue, this is a pivotal game for both teams. Here are his answers to the five questions I asked him, including his prediction on the outcome.

The Exchange:

1. The Giants defense is somehow without a turnover in two games this season. With Jameis Winston being one of the most turnover prone QBs in the league, who do you see winning that battle? Can Jameis escape this game with zero turnovers?

Cory Kinnan: Jameis played a turnover-free game a week ago against the Carolina Panthers, but before that it was a three pick game against the San Francisco 49ers. With Winston it seems like it is a flip of the coin which gunslinger you are going to get. The matchup against the Giants’ secondary should play into his favor though, as Dak Prescott and Josh Allen have torched them in back to back weeks. But long story short, there is really no way to figure out which Jameis will show up on a week-to-week basis; he will either throw for 300+ yards or throw three picks.

2. As a two-year Ronald Jones fantasy owner, I can speak to how frustrating his usage rate has been. How do you see him being deployed on Sunday?

CK: The Buccaneers’ running back situation is an absolute conundrum. Bruce Arians has stated that he will ride the hot hand this season, but his barometer for the hot hand has not quite added up. After outperforming Peyton Barber in week one, it was still Barber who got the start last Thursday night against the Panthers. The Bucs will definitely trot out Barber with the starters and give him the early carries, but there is no great way to understand how they plan to use Jones, as he had just four touches a week ago.

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3. What’s the deal with OJ Howard? Do you think he could break out in what seems to be a very favorable matchup, or is he really in Arians’ doghouse?

CK: Arians has never utilized the tight end to the most of their abilities throughout his coaching career, yet he has never had a tight end with the talent of Howard. The good news for Howard is that he is playing a large percentage of offensive snaps for the Buccaneers, the bad news is that he is seeing a target on just four percent of those snaps. He will continue to get reps on the field and does not seem to be in bad standing with the team; you just have to wonder at how well he will be utilized moving forward for the Buccaneers. What offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich should do versus what he will do with Howard are two different stories as they should have a mismatch with him up the seam, but this is not a throw Winston makes very often.

4. Where will the majority of the Bucs pass-rush come from without our former star, JPP? Who has stood out so far?

CK: It has been all newcomer Shaquil Barrett for the Buccaneers off the edge this year. He won NFC Defensive Player of the Week after sacking Cam Newton three times on primetime, and is currently behind Myles Garrett of the Cleveland Browns for the most sacks in the league. He would be a consistently high grader for the Broncos in the past, but never saw anything more than a rotational role until signing a one-year deal with the Bucs this offseason. After four seasons of being overshadowed by the likes of Demarcus Ware, Elvis Dumervil, Von Miller, and Bradley Chubb, the Buccaneers have given Barrett the most opportunities he has seen in his career and he has rewarded them with four sacks in two games.

5. Lastly, what’s your prediction for the game? Vegas has this as Bucs -6, additionally, do you see them covering that number (if you pick them to win)?

CK: This has the feeling of a trap game for the Buccaneers. They do not have any film on Daniel Jones besides vanilla playcalling in the preseason and he definitely adds more wrinkles such as rollouts, RPOs, and extended plays to the Giants’ offense that Manning could not. However, the Buccaneers defensive performance thus far through the first two weeks (surrendering just one offensive touchdown) would lend me to believe they will bully the Giants’ depleted receiving corp and Todd Bowles will dial up the pressure on the rookie quarterback. Preparing for a heavy dose of Saquon Barkley, the Buccaneers held Christian McCaffrey to under 50 yards last week and will need an even stronger showing here. I do think the Buccaneers cover, with a final score of 28-17, but this could be a deceptive matchup for the pewter and red.

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