Giants’ rookie pass rusher is getting attention for all the wrong reasons after the loss to the Patriots
New York Giants rookie pass rusher Abdul Carter is under fire again for getting benched during the first quarter against the Patriots
The New York Giants lost to the New England Patriots 33-15 on Monday night, and all eyes are on rookie pass rusher Abdul Carter for the wrong reasons.
Carter registered his first career full sack, but all the attention is on a bubbling story about him being benched for the first quarter of the game. This comes after another benching due to reportedly being late to team activities a few weeks back. When asked about it after the game, interim head coach Mike Kafka didn’t go into detail but was clear he felt it was necessary.
“It was just my decision to not play him,” Kafka told reporters.
A troubling trend for Abdul Carter
Carter was approached by the media after the loss and asked about the situation three times. He responded with a frustrated tone.
“I ain’t going to get into detail, s–t happens,” Carter bluntly stated.
While he wouldn’t clarify what caused the benching, Carter has clearly reflected on his mistake.
“I let my team down today,” Carter told the media, “First two drives I was out, they scored 17 points. I take responsibility for that. I got to be out there, I got to do better.”
Kafka was quick to establish his respect for Carter as a player and clarify that it wasn’t a personal issue. He also noted that Carter was visibly motivated once he stepped into the game and quickly registered his first career solo sack.
“Listen, when he came back in the game, you saw the kind of impact that he had and player that this guy is,” Kafka stated, “This is a kid that I, again, back. I support this kid highly. For any young player we have on the roster, whether it’s Abdul or any rookie or young player.”
Considering Kafka’s tone, addressing it as if it weren’t anything severe makes it seem like it has to do with more tardiness. Kafka shared a lengthy statement on how he’s trying to set a better standard under his watch.
“We’re going to make sure we take them under our wing and continue to develop these guys,” Kafka shared, “Because they’re important to us, they’re important to me. And Abdul’s no different. Just like Jaxson [Dart]. Just like young players like [Tyrone] Tracy and [Darius Alexander]. All these guys that are stepping up in big time major roles. These are the guys we’re continuing the develop, continuing to grow, continuing to be pros. The standards that we have in our program are sky-high and everyone’s going to be upheld to them. That was my decision, my decision only. Anything else outside of it is going to be kept in-house.”
Young players make mistakes all the time, but they ultimately need to be held accountable for those mistakes. When the team clearly lacked attention to detail under Brian Daboll, it was going to take serious work to plug the wholes in this ship. Seemingly, it has to start with making sure the young guys who are violating the standard needed to win focus on getting better.
While Carter sounded extremely annoyed by being asked about the issue, fellow veteran pass rusher Brian Burns said he thinks the message was effectively sent.
“I think it got through. I think it’s just an honest mistake,” Burns told reporters.
Carter is receiving a lot of negative attention after this game, despite playing well. Maybe this type of scrutiny will help him focus better and reach his potential.
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