Is half a sack really the metric we are using to judge a rookie’s entire existence?
If you just glance at the box score on Monday mornings, you might think Abdul Carter is invisible out there. The New York Giants‘ first-round investment has a measly 0.5 sacks next to his name, and in a city that worships pass rushers like deities, that number invites panic. But the narrative that Carter has been a ghost is lazy. It ignores the actual tape.
The 22-year-old out of Penn State is playing a different game than the stat sheet suggests.
NFL: New York Giants at Detroit Lions
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Disruption Over production
We need to look beyond the finish. Carter has generated 38 pressures this season. That is not an accident. He is consistently collapsing the pocket and making quarterbacks uncomfortable, forcing them to step up into traffic or throw the ball away early. He ranks among the league leaders in pass rush win rate, which means he is beating his blocker. He just isn’t getting home yet.
“Carter leads all rookies in PFF pass-rush grade (75.0), total pressures (38) and win rate (13.1%). … He is making a clear impact as a pass rusher for the Giants in his rookie season,” PFF recently stated.
Sacks are often a matter of luck and circumstance. Pressures are a matter of skill. The sacks will come in bunches eventually if he keeps winning his reps at this clip. The Giants have been a defensive disaster this year, but Carter is one of the few bright spots generating organic pressure without needing a perfect scheme to free him up.
The Flaws Are Real But Fixable
Let’s be honest about the ugly stuff, though. Carter is far from a finished product. His run defense has been suspect at best. He has a 19.4 percent missed tackle rate, which is high enough to make a defensive coordinator lose sleep. He struggles to set the edge. He relies too much on athleticism rather than technique when trying to bring ball carriers down.
He needs to get stronger. That is typical for a rookie. A full NFL offseason in the weight room usually fixes the strength deficit. The tackling issues are technical. These are correctable flaws for a guy with his athletic profile. You can teach a guy to wrap up. You cannot teach a guy to bend around the edge at 250 pounds the way he does.
Abdul Carter, NFL: Los Angeles Chargers at New York Giants
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A Culture Shock Was Necessary
The concerns about his work ethic are actually the most interesting part of this story. Reports surfaced that Carter missed several meetings this season. He owned it. He apologized. But that speaks to a larger issue in the building under Brian Daboll. The discipline wasn’t there.
Mike Kafka is changing that immediately. The interim head coach already scrapped the unusual “Tuesdays off” schedule that the Giants were running. Players are back in the building on Mondays for maintenance and review and that’s considered their off day. That structure is exactly what a young player like Carter needs. He needs to know that the standard is the standard.
With Shane Bowen fired and his confusing schematics gone, the defense has a chance to simplify. A new system debuting against the New England Patriots might just let Carter pin his ears back and play fast. He is creating chaos for everyone else. If the Giants get the right defensive coordinator next year to harness that energy, nobody is going to remember he only had half a sack in November of his rookie year. They will only see the havoc he causes on every single snap.