The New York Giants don’t have their most potentially impactful defense in a game when Abdul Carter, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux are not on the field together. Against the Washington Commanders, that edge trio was on the field at the same time for only eight of 70 snaps, with Carter playing the least (38 snaps, 54%).
“I think that’s something that’s going to evolve as we go here,” defensive coordinator Shane Bowen said on Thursday.
Bowen said Washington’s no-huddle offense did not allow some of the substitutions the Giants might have made.
“A lot of factors going into that game with their offense, the tempo, different schemes, everything that comes into play with that. I think the tempo kind of handcuffs you a little bit with how much control we potentially have over that at times,” Bowen said. “But I think each week it’s something we’re going to look at just ways situationally that fit that we’re able to hopefully utilize those three guys, whether it’s together, separately, but continue to evolve as we go. We’ll see where that goes. It might be totally different this week just in terms of count and where it stands. I think it’s week to week with that.”
Personnel usage in the modern NFL is situational.
“Anytime we can get those three on the field, I think it’s beneficial for us in certain situations, right?,” Bowen said. “It could be not very beneficial in other situations, just depending on how teams are attacking us at the time. Something we’ve got to continue to look at and make sure we find those opportunities when they’re there.”
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With off-ball linebacker Micah McFadden on IR due to a foot injury, there is an opening to perhaps get Carter a share of snaps at that spot. He began his collegiate career at Penn State as an off-ball linebacker, moving to the edge in his final season with the Nittany Lions.
“Abdul’s got the history of playing off the ball, so that’s something we’ve got to consider, got to look at,” Bowen said. “Another way to potentially get all three of those guys on the field. I think all those guys have versatility to do some different things for us that we’ve got to continue to explore.”
Darius Muasau, who played well in spot duty for the Giants as a rookie last season, seemed to struggle vs. Washington when filling in for the injured McFadden.
“Got a lot of confidence in Moose (Muasau),” Bowen said. “He went in there and I thought he did a good job last week, for the most part. He’s done really well last year when he played for us.”
Still, Muasau is not the potential game-wrecker Carter is. Odds are we will see a lot more of the No. 3 overall pick on Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
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