Giants vs. Bucs: 3 things to watch

Hmmm. Is there an interesting reason to watch the New York Giants face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday? Might be. Let’s look at three things to watch as the Giants try to avoid falling to 0-3.

How Daniel Jones changes the Giants’ offense

Mark Schofield wrote earlier this week about the different skillset Jones brings to the Giants, especially because of his mobility. We also wrote this week about how Jones’ presence in the lineup might change Pat Shurmur’s playbook.

While it seems obvious we will see some differences the Giants, the Giants are insisting things won’t change.

“It should look the same schematically,” Shurmur said. “I’ll let the changes in tactics reveal themselves, so to speak.”

Saquon Barkley also toed the “things won’t change” line.

I don’t think it’s going to look very different at all,” he said. “I think we’re keeping the main thing the main thing.”

It stands to reason, though, that there will be differences. Partially to use Jones’ legs to their advantage, and partially because running an offense with a rookie making his first start vs. with a 16-year veteran simply has to be different.

Those differences will be interesting to watch.

Turnovers

The Giants defense has yet to create one while the offense has committed four, making the Giants -4 takeaway/giveaway ratio second-worst in the NFL. Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston has already throws three interceptions this season, so if the Giants are going to get on the board this would seem like a week with an opportunity.

On the flip side, Buccaneers defensive coordinator Todd Bowles is likely to throw some things at Jones aimed at confusing him and causing mistakes.

Asked the other day what advice he had given Jones, Manning said “throw it to the guy wearing the same jersey you are. Simple.”

Let’s hope he does.

Can the Giants cover anybody?

The struggles of rookie cornerback DeAndre Baker have been well documented. [Film study]. Janoris Jenkins complained about the lack of pass rush, but Jackrabbit hasn’t played well enough to really earn the right to complain about the performance of others. Antoine Bethea has been exposed in coverage on a few occasions. Jabrill Peppers has had a quiet start to his Giants career. Giants linebackers haven’t excelled in coverage.

Through two games, opponents have a 132.3 passer rating against the Giants. That’s 30th in the league. The Giants invested heavily in their secondary during the offseason. They need to hope that begins to pay off.