Big Blue View
The New York Giants lost their third consecutive opening game on Sunday, falling to the Washington Commanders by a wide margin. The momentum generated by the Giants, now revealed as ostensible, is all but vanquished. If there was one bright spot for Giants fans after the Week 1 debacle, it was rookie edge defender Abdul Carter, the team’s No. 3 overall.
Carter played 38 of 70 defensive snaps and did not see the field after the Deebo Samuel 19-yard rushing touchdown with more than seven minutes left in the fourth quarter. Carter earned the highest Pro Football Focus grade of any Giants’ player, which may not be saying much, but his impact was felt on defense and special teams; below, he utilizes his unique talents to block a punt:
The Giants’ offense then went on to possess the football for 48 seconds — gained zero yards — and gave it right back to Washington in a 14-3 game during the third quarter. It’s a new season, with a similar story, bad execution, and no complimentary football.
Nevertheless, Carter looked the part and was used in a variety of different ways by the Giants; perhaps not nearly enough, with just 38 snaps. Let’s see how defensive coordinator Shane Bowen aligned the talented rookie in Week 1 against one of the most dynamic duel-threat quarterbacks in the NFL.
Much has been made of Carter’s deployment — or misdeployment — as a quarterback spy in Week 1. Bowen, whom I have my gripes with, used Carter as a spy three times when New York was in man coverage (Cover 1) with Kayvon Thibodeaux and Brian Burns manning the edge:
This is an appropriate use of Carter’s skill set against Jayden Daniels with the other personnel of the Giants. New York attempted to use Bobby Okereke as a spy twice, and it resulted in two rushes for 12 yards by Daniels off the scramble.
Carter can manage a variety of roles and locations to get three of the Giants’ best defenders on the field: Carter, Burns, and Thibodeaux. Carter may already be the best pure pass rusher of the three, but he’s also the most natural in space, having spent two seasons at Penn State as a linebacker.
Ideally, I’d love to see Carter pin his ears back on every pass attempt and just get after it. Still, his curveball skill set gives Bowen a much-needed wrinkle to energize an otherwise insipid defensive philosophy — one that could become a real conundrum for opposing offenses.
Twice on second-and-long, the Giants blitzed Carter from the linebacker position to provide interior pressure and isolate less athletic guards and centers against Carter’s uber-explosive lateral movements.
There’s a good argument that Carter was held on both of these plays. It’s rare to find players who can move this athletically in a phone booth. Plus, Carter’s lateral movement skills, coupled with his hand usage, display the precocious nature of the third overall selection....
