Abdul Carter was listed on the injury report on Friday for the first time this week as questionable with a hamstring issue.
Though the third-overall pick has registered just half sack so far during his rookie season, the Giants continue to be impressed with his work on the field — and he showed no ill effects from the hamstring injury during the portion of practice that media was allowed to watch.
“Abdul is doing a great job,” outside linebackers coach Charlie Bullen said Friday. “He had some clean, ‘Wow,’ wins that we saw in training camp. For whatever reason, the sack opportunity hasn’t been there.”
But he credited Carter’s presence for helping Brian Burns get free.
“That’s just pass rush,” Bullen said. “Sometimes the production comes to you.”
Still, for a player that was among the sack leaders in the nation a year ago at Penn State, his lack of them through the first part of this season has stood out.
Bullen called Carter an “elite” finisher and also said he is doing damage without compiling sacks.
“As a coach, as long as you’re doing your job with technique and energy, the production kind of comes,” Bullen said. “Pass rush is about disrupting and affecting the quarterback and he’s done that. We all want sacks, but by definition, a sack doesn’t mean it’s a great rush and I think his numbers will come.”
The Giants will be without John Michael Schmitz on Sunday. The center was ruled out Friday after remaining in the concussion protocol all week after he left last Thursday’s win over the Eagles with the injury.
As for WR Darius Slayton, who didn’t practice with a hamstring injury, he was listed as doubtful.
Carter isn’t the only high-profile Giant coming up short in the sack department.
A year ago, Dexter Lawrence had a career-high nine sacks and eight tackles for loss. Through the first six games of this season, the defensive lineman hasn’t registered in either category.
But according to defensive line coach Andre Patterson, those numbers don’t mean a thing.
And he added that one of the reasons Brian Burns and Carter have been so effective is because opposing offenses are focusing so much on Lawrence.
“Call everybody we play and ask them if Dexter Lawrence is still playing like Dexter Lawrence,” Patterson said. “There’s no other defensive lineman in this league that gets as many double teams as he does. It’s not even close. … The reason Burns is getting the production he’s getting and [Carter] is getting is because they’re putting two dudes on Dex.”
He also pointed to the fact that Lawrence and Tampa Bay’s Vita Vea are among the only nosegards that stay on the field for third down.
“I get it,” Patterson said. “People don’t see the sacks he had last year, but that doesn’t mean he’s not playing up to his standard. … [And] the sacks will come. He’s going to get them because he’s been close a lot.”
The Broncos are inducting the late Demaryius Thomas into their Ring of Honor before Sunday’s game. A 10th anniversary celebration of the Super Bowl 50 championship team is scheduled for halftime.
Giants long snapper Casey Kreiter was a teammate of Thomas’ in Denver as a rookie in 2016 — one year after Thomas and others earned their rings.
“It’s special for me to be there,” Kreiter said. “When I got there, my locker was pretty close to D.T.’s. He had no business even knowing my name, and he treated me and my family like we were his family. It was tragic when he passed. I think about him all the time. He had an infectious smile and a great laugh. I’ll take a moment to appreciate the moment, but I’m there to win a game.”
DL Chauncey Golston (neck) was also listed as doubtful, while OLB Victor Dimukeje is questionable.
— Additional reporting by Ryan Dunleavy
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
