New York Giants’ rookie edge defender Abdul Carter is aggressively playing defense against the idea that he slept through a practice last week, leading to his not starting Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
Some might say even more aggressively than Carter, who has only a half-sack this season after being drafted No. 3 overall, has played defense on the field this season.
Interim head coach Mike Kafka held Carter out of the first series on Sunday, a disciplinary move that came in Kafka’s first week after taking over for the fired Brian Daboll.
There have also been reports that Carter has made a habit of being late to meetings. He seemed to deny that, as well.
Carter said he didn’t know Kafka had changed the schedule.
“My mistake was an honest mistake,” Carter told ESPN on Tuesday. “I own the fact that it was an honest mistake. I was getting treatment and I told Coach Kafka that, too. But to say I was sleeping at that time just wasn’t true. And it also wasn’t a trend. This was the only time it happened.”
Carter appeared to be trying to protect his reputation.
“I don’t want anonymous sources to say these types of things about me that are untrue,” Carter said. “I did make a mistake, and I own up to what I did.”
Valentine’s View
In looking at pre-draft scouting reports about Carter, there are no mentions of attitude or work ethic concerns. I did reach out to a well-known scout, though, who told me that there were on- and off-the-field maturity concerns. Maybe that should not be a surprise since the 21-year-old is the youngest player on the Giants’ roster. It is, though, noteworthy.
As for Carter blaming the schedule change, in my view that’s weak. He is a grown up, professional athlete. He has a new coach and should be aware that things could change. It is his responsibility to know the schedule. It seems that every other player on the 53-man roster and practice squad got the message.
Let’s hope the young man learns to pay more attention to the details of his job.
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