New York Giants rookie defensive tackle Darius Alexander has no issue with being patient and honing his craft until defensive line coach Andre Patterson is ready to fully turn the third-round pick loose.
“Not at all. Patience is everything to me. It’s all about perfect timing, right timing,” Alexander said on Thursday when I asked him if it was difficult to wait for Patterson to give him the green light. “For me, me and Coach Dre, we have a common goal with each other. I have a goal for myself and his goals that he has for me, that he wants me to set this season.”
Patterson, acknowledged as one of the game’s best defensive line coaches, is famously reluctant to put his young charges on the field before he believes they have absorbed enough of his teachings to be ready.
The most famous example of Patterson’s leading to impressive results is Danielle Hunter. Drafted in Round 3 by the Minnesota Vikings in 2015, Hunter was inactive twice and played just 23 snaps in the Vikings’ first four games that season. Hunter has 101.5 career sacks and remains one of the game’s great pass rushers. He had 12.0 sacks and made the Pro Bowl last season for the Houston Texans.
Go through Patterson’s career and there are a number of examples of players who were brought along slowly and then went on to have long, successful NFL careers.
Alexander was inactive Week 1 against the Washington Commanders, with Elijah Garcia elevated from the practice squad to supplement the defensive line depth.
Patterson spoke to the media prior to the Week 2 game against the Dallas Cowboys, and talked about his patient approach.
“He’s [Alexander] going to be a really good football player for us. There’s no doubt in my mind about it,” Patterson said. “But, I’m going to put him on the field when he’s ready to go perform.
“It’s nothing bad against him. It’s nothing to say that he’s not what we thought he was going to be. He’s a rookie, and the NFL is different than college football. You have to learn how to play this game. He goes out here every day and he busts his tail to master the technique. And, he’s going to be a great football player.”
“If you let him bloom, we’re going to have a beautiful flower.”
— — DL COACH ANDRE PATTERSON
Patterson, who has been coaching since 1982 and took his first NFL in 1997 with the New England Patriots, was adamant that going slowly with Alexander is the right approach.
“I’m just making sure that he’s the player we all want him to be,” Patterson said. “The worst thing I can do is put him on the field before he’s ready to be that. I’m not going to ruin that kid. He’s got great upside to him … it’s gonna happen for him.”
Patterson said historically defensive tackle and offensive line are two of the hardest positions for young players to master.
“The game is so different,” Patterson said. “We just have to be patient and let him develop, let him bloom. If you let him bloom, we’re going to have a beautiful flower. That’s my job to make sure that happens.
“It’s hard for the individual player, and it can be hard for the people upstairs, too. But I’ve been doing this a long time and I’ve been blessed enough to develop some great players and I know how it works. So, I’m going to stick to my guns on that because I know it’s the best thing for him. But most importantly it’s the best thing for the New York Giants, to let this guy become what I know he’s going to become.”
An injury that sidelined defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches and overtime game that saw the Giants’ defense on the field for a monumental 89 snaps forced Alexander onto the field for 15 snaps against the Cowboys. A single quarterback hit was his lone mark on the stat sheet.
“It was fun, I was stoked,” Alexander said. “Just happy to be out there with my teammates, go out there and compete and try to get ourselves a win.
“Me, personally, I feel good about the snaps out there. First game, just going out there and getting my feet wet. I’m just looking forward to this week.”
Just because he played against the Cowboys does not mean Alexander will play against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday night. Nunez-Roches has been practicing this week and appears on track to return. Garcia, elevated from the practice squad for the first two games, has one more elevation before he has to be added to the 53-man roster.
Alexander, of course, wants to play. He won’t, though, question Patterson’s approach.
“It definitely is easy for me to lock in and just listen to him, especially with a guy like Dex [Dexter Lawrence] in my room, from a guy that he came in to help improve throughout the years,” Alexander said. “So it takes nothing for me to go in there and pay attention and listen, especially when you’ve got other guys who praise him for what he does, whether it’s coaches or players around the league. So I’ve got a wonderful coach, and I trust him all the way.”
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