Giants - Bucs
1999 Game 1 - 4 pm ET

Opening Day at Last

This is it!
Opening day at last and the Giants start out with a big one. Looking at some stats, Tampa Bay coach Tony Dungy doesn't have as good an opening day record (1-2) as coach Jim Fassel (2-0), but his Bucs went 4-0 this preseason for the first time since 1983, while the Giants finished up at 2-2.
Interesting, but what does it mean? Nothing much, mostly because both teams went 8-8 during regular season time last year, and that's what counts and that's where the real story is. Both these teams share a lot in common as you will see from the topics.

No Offense
Both teams had no offense last year, and suffered greatly for it. The Giants changed their QB from Danny Kanell to Kent Graham late last year. That worked out so well, and they got so excited, they continued this practice into the off season, picking up Kerry Collins to replace Kent Graham.
All this changing QB stuff was put on hold by coach Jim Fassel who had worked with Kent Graham in Arizona as the QB coach, and he likes what he sees out there when Kent Graham takes the field of battle.
And make no mistake, it was a field of battle all around Kent last season and many of the plays that broke down around him were made good solely by his efforts.
Fassel believes there's not much reason to bench the QB who rallied his team and managed to out Elway Elway at his own game. That 20-16 win over undefeated Denver is hard to forget.

Fassel has managed to calm down the brass, reporters, players and yes, even the fans, and do things according to Fassel. There is somehow no QB controversy despite the fact that Kerry Collins is getting paid starter money, and Graham is paid like the backup.
Jim Fassel wears that Giants head coach crown very well on his head.

Giants - Pass Pass Pass
To further improve the Giants on offense, they've included Pete Mitchell, a TE who can catch. Working in tandem with old reliable Howard Cross, these TEs can mix and match blocking and receiving and keep the opposition off balance. Chris Calloway was replaced to get younger speedier talent on the field and to give Kent Graham more open targets downfield. Mix all this up, and all you need is the running game.

This brings us to a little hitch right now.
RB Gary Brown, who showed last year that he could produce if only given the ball enough times, was the victim of a hit and run accident while riding his motorcycle during the off season. Gary was just about recovered when he injured his knee in his first preseason game.

Luckily, the Giants were just as suspicious of Brown's skills as they were of Kent Graham's, and they drafted Sean Bennett who has turned out to be a rookie sensation (OK in preseason anyway).
This kid has speed and can run to the outside. If the Giants can get some help from recovering Leshon Johnson (hand injury), and Charles Way to punch it through the middle, they can mix things and up put some serious points on the board.

Go Kent Go
QB Kent Graham has picked up right where he left off last year. His limited preseason play netted him a 64.5 completion percentage (40-for-62) for 609 yards and five TDs, and quarterback rating of 116.9. This Sunday, Kent will be facing a tough pass-rush push up the middle from the Bucs. They are a strong fast unit led by Pro Bowl defensive tackle, Warren Sapp.
As if he wasn't effective enough last year with Tampa Bay being ranked second in total defense, Warren is thirty pounds lighter this year and could be a real game killer.

To protect Kent, the Giants start with center Brian Williams.
He's returning for the first time since 1996, off an eye injury, and has shown in preseason that his presence does make a big difference.
Aside from handling Tampa Bay nose tackle Brad Culpepper, Brian will have to be mindful and help out the Giants first round draft pick, rookie LG Luke Petitgout who has shown he's physical enough to do the job, but is still new. This will be a tough day for the Giants offensive line, and hopefully I shouldn't have titled this section "Run Kent Run".

Bucs - Pass Pass Pass
Head coach of the Bucs, Tony Dungy has also been working to improve his offense.
He's still using QB Trent Dilfer from last year, and like the Giants, the Bucs also have a new backup on hold just in case, (Eric Zeier) but they have a whole new passing game.
Trent Dilfer is working out of the shotgun, using more formations, and the Bucs have had great results with all this in preseason, outscoring opponents 108-37.
Why, I don't know. I remember when Dallas used the shotgun all the time and they were unstoppable, but that was many many years ago, and it's not quite as indefensible now as it was back then.

Starting this Sunday, the Bucs will find out if this style of play works just as well in regular season for them as it did in preseason.
They're betting so much that it will, that they kept only three backs on their roster and they plan to throw the ball to them a lot also.
Thanks to running backs Warrick Dunn and Mike Alstott, the Bucs are ranked 4th in the NFL in rushing. They were only 27th in passing though, so I guess the way you straighten out these numbers is to simply throw the ball to everybody on the field, as well as the regular guys, WRs Reidel Anthony, Jacquez Green and Bert Emanuel.

Why are they sticking to the same QB as last year? Well, it could be that they are afraid to make a change. Dilfer was their 1994 No. 1 pick, and the list of QBs who used to play for Tampa Bay include, Vinny Testaverde, Steve Young, Chris Chandler and Doug Williams.
You're thinking that maybe what they need is a really good QB coach. You're right. Trent Dilfer is working with a quarterback coach (Clyde Christensen) for the first time in four years, and the passing game has been just great in preseason.

Go Trent Go
So it's all on Trent Dilfer to produce now or else. If you remember, the same thing happened to Danny Kanell last year. There was also a hot QB sitting on the bench in waiting, and when Kanell tried to force things downfield, it ended up in heartbreaking INTs, including 3 to this very same team. Last year those 3 INTs led to 17 out of the 20 points the Buccaneers got that day.

If Tampa gets a lead on the Giants, it will be tempting for them to push Trent Dilfer to open it up big with this new passing game.
He'll be up against Pro Bowl linebacker Jessie Armstead, who played all of last season with a badly sprained ankle but is healthy now, and Michael Strahan, who had 15 of New York's 54 sacks last season.
If the Giants defensive unit plays like it can and does it smart, they will put the right kind of pressure on Trent, and the Bucs can be had.
In that respect, Giants fans should remember these words from Conrad Hamilton following the preseason loss to the Jets, "They came prepared for our pass rush. They had lots of screens and draws." Lets hope the Giants learned from that game and don't make the same mistake here.

Also Trent will be watching for the Giants suspected weakness at corner, Jeremy Lincoln.
He's new to this team, but has eight years of playing behind him. Let's say that with Jason Sehorn and Conrad Hamilton still nursing injuries, there's a lot is riding on Jeremy Lincoln this Sunday and he also can be had.

Some Stats - Last year:
Giants finished third in the NFC East.
Bucs finished third in the NFC Central.
Giants finished 8-8
Bucs finished 8-8

Bucs averaged 19.6 points per game.
Giants averaged 17.9 points per game.
Bucs allowed 18.4 points per game.
Giants allowed 19.3 points per game.

Next week
The Giants play at home Sept 19 against Washington at 1 PM.
The Bucs play at at Philadelphia at 1 PM.

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