TAMPA, Fla. — You might think the Tampa Bay Bucs would benefit from having a little inside knowledge regarding the tendencies — and even the playbook — of the New York Giants heading into Sunday's Week 2 game at MetLife Stadium.
After all, Bucs offensive coordinator Mike Sullivan served on the Giants staff as quarterbacks coach for Eli Manning the past two seasons and oversaw their wide receivers before that. Tampa Bay defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan held the same job with New York in 2009, coaching the team's linebackers during four previous seasons.
And Bucs head coach Greg Schiano was a New Jersey fixture as the guiding force in the renaissance of Rutgers University football. Surely, he must have picked up some helpful insights about his next opponent while working in the land of the Giants.
Think again, insisted Schiano Wednesday as his 1-0 Bucs began full-scale preparations to face the reigning Super Bowl champions.
"Mike — yeah, that helps," he began. "Bill's a while ago, so yeah, maybe a little bit. But me being there, absolutely zero. I hardly had enough time to do my job. I couldn't watch them."
Truth be told, Schiano said he doesn't expect Sullivan's recent ties with the Giants to create any tangible advantage, either.
"There are certain things he can help with, but we're doing a lot of things they did, too," Schiano said. "So they know it. Their whole staff knows it. They've been doing it for years, so there's a lot of offensive things (in common). Like I said the other day, there will be some subplots here with guys knowing stuff, but at the end of the day, it's players. What can you convey to your players, and what can they do?"
There was one primary subplot swirling at One Buc Place on Wednesday as the team came back to work after Tuesday off, savoring its surprisingly dominant 16-10 victory to kick off the Schiano Era: the mystery ailment involving tailback LeGarrette Blount.
Last year's No. 1 running back, as you'll recall, appeared to be shaken up on a 1-yard gain in the second quarter but wasn't listed as an injury during or after a game in which he carried only three times. Later, he bolted from the field and the locker room, giving reporters no chance to interview him.
Blount, according to general manager Mark Dominik, underwent an MRI of his back and neck to determine what might be bothering him and did not participate in workouts Wednesday. Dominik dismissed any rumblings that a concussion might be involved.
"I will say this, he obviously took a hit in the game and went down, as we all saw," he said before practice. "I can categorically confirm it has nothing to do with concussions whatsoever. So there's nothing there. There's nothing concussion-related with LeGarrette Blount. However, we're going to do our due diligence on our players to make sure player safety is No. 1 the most important thing."
Blount, as Dominik noted, was cleared to go back into the game Sunday after getting hit and coming off the field. But he never did return, as rookie tailback Doug Martin, who won the starting job in camp, powered his way to a sensational debut of 95 yards on 24 carries.
"He did not play due to circumstances, not because of injury or anything like that," Dominik said. "As it's gone on, we always take time to monitor any player that has gone down. We go back, look at everything that's happened with the player, and what we're doing right now is he's seeing all the correct people we think he needs to see. And that includes we're doing an MRI with his neck and back.
"All those things are going through. Hopefully, we'll get an answer in the next 24 hours and be able to update you (on) what is going on. If he's cleared, he'll be out there. If there's something else, then we'll certainly fill you in on what's going on."
Schiano reiterated those words when he addressed the media several hours later, adding that "when things don't add up, you keep digging. And I'm glad we did, because there's something that clearly has to be investigated, and that's what we're doing."
Schiano's intent has been to use Blount in relief of Martin, hoping his bruising style of running as a 6-foot, 247-pound tailback would be a nice change of pace from the compact, 5-9, 235-pound Martin. In some ways, that would mirror the Giants' template of recent seasons with the smaller Ahmad Bradshaw and big man Brandon Jacobs (now with the 49ers).
"The plan is to play them off each other," Schiano said. "Now, we have to wait and see. That plan might be altered. I'm disappointed about that."
The new Bucs coach stressed that Blount's attitude has not been a problem since he lost his starting job to Martin.
"He's been good," Schiano said. "There isn't any problem with LeGarrette. Certainly, he's a competitor. So as Doug assumed the position as No. 1 back, he's not jumping up and down, saying, ‘Oh, good for him.' He's a team guy."
While the Bucs wait to learn if Blount will be available Sunday, they've turned their focus to the daunting task of facing one of the NFL's best quarterbacks for the second straight week.
Sheridan's defense kept the heat on Carolina's Cam Newton impressively at Raymond James Stadium, but New York's Eli Manning presents a new challenge as one of the game's great line-of-scrimmage improvisers with a pair of Super Bowl championship rings to show for his efforts.
"Eli called himself an elite quarterback last year, and then he went out there and proved it," said defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, coming off a sensational game against the Panthers. "We have to know that he is an elite quarterback and that he can make plays. At the moment, he is the best two-minute, fourth-quarter quarterback in the league. So we have to do everything we can to keep from getting in that situation.
"And if we do get in that situation, we have to do all we can to prevent him from being who he is. Because everything runs through him."
Sheridan said Manning and the Giants offense will present a formidable challenge, even with Sullivan's recent experience with the unit.
"There might be some perception that there's a distinct advantage from a knowledge standpoint because Mike's here," he said. "But they do such an outstanding job — and Eli does in particular — of checking plays at the line of scrimmage. So unless you're really able to confuse them with different looks, he's going to get them out of bad plays and put them into good plays. Yeah, there's some familiarity with what they do … but Eli is probably as good as anybody in the NFL as far getting the clock down and making you show what you're going to do and him putting in the best play."
In the end, knowing the traits of Manning and his teammates will help a lot more than any inside knowledge of the Giants' schemes and plays.
"It's more the personnel that's still there from when Mike and I were there," Sheridan said. "It's not so much the scheme. You're basing your plans on what they've shown on videotape last year, in the preseason and in their opener."
For the record, Jon Gruden was still head coach of the Bucs the last time the two teams met, with the Giants shutting out Tampa Bay, 24-0, on Sept. 27, 2009. Now, the Bucs head north with a better record, at least for the moment, than the Giants, who lost their opener, 24-17, last week in Dallas.
Even with a far more experienced squad, New York head coach Tom Coughlin isn't taking this week's match-up lightly.
"I've watched the preseason games and I've watched this game, and I think Tampa Bay plays hard. They certainly have taken well to the new staff," he said by conference call Wednesday.
"They're rushing the ball and doing a nice job taking care of it — not turning it over — and have cut down on penalties. Their offensive line is doing a good job. They've added some fine players through free agency, and their three top rookies are all starters. Defensively, they're playing very well. Giving up 10 yards rushing to the team that was seventh in the league last year, that's a pretty good job. Their special teams are very good and fast. So the first win of the year was impressive."
And a far different Bucs team from the one the NFL saw in 2011. Coughlin doesn't need any inside knowledge to recognize that.
NOTES: Ronde Barber sure knows how to make the most out of celebration. In a game that honored him for his 200th straight start as a defensive back, he played a key role in helping the defense shut down high-powered Carolina in a 16-10 upset. For his efforts, Barber was named NFC Defensive Player of the Week for Week 1 on Wednesday. It was the 10th time in his career, including the postseason, that Barber earned Player of the Week honors.
His final stats Sunday: five tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, one interception and two passes defensed. Though he's been converted to free safety, Barber started his 200th game at right corner, giving him the longest streak at cornerback in NFL history and the longest active consecutive start streak among all players in the NFL. The interception marked the 44th of Barber's career and ranks as the most in team history. The sack was his 28th, the most ever for a cornerback in NFL history.
He is also the only player in NFL history to record 40 or more interceptions and 25 or more sacks in a career. Barber has the most Player of the Week awards in team history (a Buccaneer was now won the honor 36 times) and has earned Player of the Week honors at least once in nine of his 16 seasons in the league. ...
Offensive guard Carl Nicks was limited in practice Wednesday because of a toe injury sustained Sunday but insists he'll be good to go for Sunday's game. Wide receiver Arrelious Benn (knee) participated fully, as did cornerback E.J. Biggers (foot) and corner Anthony Gaitor (hamstring).
