Brother Against Brother in Giants/Bucs Showdown

Oct 27, 2006, 18:15 GMT

- Tiki Barber has gone on record saying that this will be his final season. On Sunday, the New York Giants' star running back will likely play against his twin brother for the final time, when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers visit the Meadowlands for a Week 8 showdown between two 2005 NFC playoff participants.

The 31-year-old Barber is clearly still at the top of his game, as he leads the NFL in rushing and has produced 100-yard efforts in each of the Giants' last three outings. About the only thing the All-Pro back hasn't done this year is score a touchdown, something brother Ronde did with surprising frequency in Tampa Bay's stirring 23-21 victory over another NFC East contender, the Philadelphia Eagles, last Sunday.

Ronde Barber, the Buccaneers' standout cornerback, earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after intercepting Donovan McNabb twice and returning both picks for scores. One week earlier, Tiki was named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week after piling up 185 yards on the ground to help New York to a 27-14 win at Atlanta in Week 6.

The Barber brothers have faced one another four times previously. Ronde has the edge in that category as well, as his Bucs have emerged victorious on three of those occasions.

Tampa Bay will be facing a tough task this time around, judging by how the Giants have played during the month of October. New York has reeled off three consecutive impressive victories, including Monday night's decisive 36-22 decision at rival Dallas which vaulted the G-Men to the top of the NFC East standings.

The Bucs also come in on an emotional high provided by ex-Giant Matt Bryant's 62-yard field goal on the game's final play, which lifted Tampa Bay to its narrow win over Philadelphia. It was the second straight victory for the Buccaneers in the final minute, as the team pulled out a 14-13 triumph over Cincinnati during Week 6 on a Bruce Gradkowski touchdown pass to Michael Clayton with 35 seconds left.

SERIES HISTORY

The Giants lead the all-time series with the Buccaneers, 9-6, but were 19-13 road losers when the teams last met, in 2003. New York's most recent win in the series came in Tampa in 1999. The clubs have not met at Giants Stadium since 1997, when Tampa Bay scored a 20-8 victory. The Giants had won the previous meeting between the teams at the Meadowlands, in 1993.

Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden is 3-0 all-time against the Giants, including a 2-0 mark while with the Raiders from 1998 through 2001. New York's Tom Coughlin is 1-1 against the Bucs, with both of those games coming during his tenure with Jacksonville (1995-2002). Gruden and Coughlin have never met head- to-head.

BUCCANEERS OFFENSE VS. GIANTS DEFENSE

This game was also supposed to serve as a homecoming for Tampa Bay signal- caller Chris Simms, whose father Phil quarterbacked the Giants for 15 seasons and is the franchise's all-time leader in passing yards. But the younger Simms is still recovering from a spleenectomy performed last month, leaving the offense in the hands of the rookie Gradkowksi (533 passing yards). The 23- year-old has impressed in three starts since taking over for the ailing Simms, completing 56.1 percent of his throws with four touchdowns while being intercepted only once. Most importantly, the sixth-round draft choice has engineered late game-winning drives in each of the last two weeks. Gradkowski's top target, veteran Joey Galloway (21 receptions, 346 yards, 2 TD) has had an inconsistent season thus far, but still can be a gamebreaker at age 34. Clayton (19 receptions, 202 yards, 1 TD) and second-year tight end Alex Smith (15 receptions, 122 yards, 2 TD) are both big targets who can be effective in traffic. An offensive line that features two rookie starters has done a solid job of protecting Gradkowski, who fell victim to the Eagles' swarming pass rush only twice last week.

Tampa Bay will go up against another one of the league's better pass-rushing teams this week. New York sacked the Cowboys' quarterback tandem of Drew Bledsoe and Tony Romo six times on Monday, one week after taking Atlanta's Michael Vick down seven times. However, the Giants are expected to be without their leading sacker, end Osi Umenyiora (19 tackles, 5 sacks), who strained his hip during the Dallas game. Perennial Pro Bowler Michael Strahan (28 tackles, 3 sacks) is still around to terrorize enemy QB's, though. The 14th- year veteran had a monster performance versus the Cowboys, recording two sacks and deflecting a pass at the line, which was intercepted. The Giants' relentless pressure helped force four Dallas interceptions on the night. New York ranks only 23rd overall in passing defense (224.2 ypg) and surrendered 338 yards through the air on Monday, although much of that total came late with the outcome already in hand. The secondary, a weak spot early on in the season, has improved greatly during the team's win streak, with cornerbacks Sam Madison (25 tackles, 2 INT) and youngster Corey Webster (21 tackles, 4 PBU) each stepping up their games.

The run game was a big factor in Tampa Bay's success in 2005, and it's also played a role in the team's 2-4 start to this season. The Bucs are a disappointing 27th in the NFL in rushing yards (92.3 ypg), as its inexperienced and injury-plagued line has struggled to consistently open holes for second-year sensation Cadillac Williams (394 rushing yards, 1 TD). Williams has run for over 100 yards in three of his four career games on turf, however, including a season-best 111 at New Orleans in Week 5. Backup Michael Pittman (12 receptions, 123 yards) is dangerous as a receiver and return man.

Although the Giants yielded 223 yards to Atlanta's powerful ground attack two weeks back, their defense has generally fared well against opposing backs. New York stands 15th overall versus the run (106.3) and limited Dallas' Julius Jones to just 30 yards on 13 carries last week. Rangy middle linebacker Antonio Pierce (43 tackles, 1 INT, 5 PBU) heads a front seven that will be without former Pro Bowl honoree LaVar Arrington, who suffered a season-ending Achilles' tear against the Cowboys, on the strong side. New York may be able to fill the void if Carlos Emmons (22 tackles), the opening day weakside starter, is able to come back from the pectoral injury that's sidelined him the last three weeks. Brandon Short (19 tackles, 2 sacks) has filled in capably in Emmons' absence.

GIANTS OFFENSE VS. BUCCANEERS DEFENSE

The Giants boast a very balanced offense which ranks second in the league in total yards (389.5 ypg) and rushing yards (152.3 ypg) while averaging better than 27 points per game. The centerpiece, of course, is Tiki Barber (647 rushing yards, 222 receiving yards), who followed up his huge game against the Falcons with a workmanlike 27-carry, 114-yard effort versus Dallas. The affable back is still a dangerous receiver as well, contributing 26 catches over the first six games. Barber's understudy, Brandon Jacobs (217 rushing yards, 3 TD), has been a force in short-yardage and goal-line situations, and is averaging a robust 4.9 yards per pop.

Tiki should be able to add to his league-leading yardage total against a Tampa defense that has been uncharacteristically poor against the run. The Bucs have allowed over 150 yards per game on the ground, the third-worst mark in the league, and let Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook -- a similar back to Barber -- roll up 101 yards on just 13 attempts last week. Linebackers Derrick Brooks (45 tackles, 1 INT) and Shelton Quarles (37 tackles, 2 forced fumbles), both in their mid 30's, have begun to show their age, while former Pro Bowl tackle Chris Hovan (12 tackles) hasn't been much of a factor. Ellis Wyms (12 tackles, 3 sacks), the team's other tackle, had three stops and a sack last week in his first start since replacing Anthony McFarland, who was traded to the Colts earlier this month.

Eli Manning (1,518 passing yards, 13 TD, 8 INT) still has some bouts with inconsistency directing the Giants' pass game, but the third-year quarterback has been good more often than bad so far this season. Manning's completion percentage has gone from 52.8 last year to 62.9 in 2006, and his 13 touchdown passes trail only McNabb for tops in the league. He's developed a red-zone rapport with tight end Jeremy Shockey (20 receptions, 255 yards, 4 TD), who's scored three times over the last two weeks. Manning also connected with big- play wideout Plaxico Burress (24 receptions, 424 yards, 4 TD) for a 50-yard touchdown which set the tone for the Dallas win and still looks often to veteran Amani Toomer (332 receiving yards, 3 TD), who leads New York with 29 catches. The Giants' offensive line has given up 13 sacks for the year, but eight of those came against the Eagles back in Week 2. New York's 237.2 passing yards per game stands seventh in the NFL at the moment.

The Bucs have some issues regarding their secondary as well. While Ronde Barber (49 tackles, 2 INT) continues to play at an elite level on one corner, Tampa Bay suffered a significant loss on the other side when Brian Kelly was placed on injured reserve this week because of a lingering turf toe problem. Juran Bolden (25 tackles, 1 INT) has size and experience and has been adequate in Kelly's absence, but he's fighting through a hip injury and depth is a concern. The Buccaneers had just one interception through their opening five games before snagging three last week, but the defense also surrendered 302 yards and three touchdowns through the air to the Eagles. The team has also had problems putting heat on the quarterback, mustering just 10 sacks on the season. Pass-rusher extraordinaire Simeon Rice, who has produced double-digit sack totals for five straight years, has just one in six games. The team's most effective rusher has been reserve end Dewayne White, who has compiled three sacks in situational duty.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

The Buccaneers have played four straight nail-biters, but don't expect a dramatic finish this time around against a Giants' squad that's been playing on another level lately. New York should be able to move the ball at will on an aging Tampa defense that lacks big-play potential, and the Bucs don't possess enough firepower to keep up.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Giants 27, Buccaneers 17

© 2006 The Sports Network