EAST RUTHERFORD — It was a curious development when Abdul Carter didn’t take the field for any of the six snaps on the Giants’ first defensive series against the Packers on Sunday, including a third-and-13 which was seemingly ripe for his pass-rushing.
As it turns out, the Giants were disciplining their first-round rookie outside linebacker.
“I made a mistake during the week that was detrimental to the team,” Carter said after the game. “That was a consequence, so I had to live with it.”
Asked what happened and if he learned anything from it, Carter declined to share the specifics and reiterated that he had to live with the mistake and keep playing.
Carter played every snap for the rest of the game and finished with just one tackle (dropped Emanuel Wilson for a 2-yard gain in the second quarter) and one quarterback hit in the Giants’ 27-20 loss.
Mike Kafka said he would keep the reason for Carter’s discipline “in house.” When asked if he was trying to set a standard of accountability in his first game as the interim head coach, Kafka instead wanted to push out a positive message.
“He played his butt off. He practiced his tail off, played his butt off,” Kafka said. “I’m really happy about Abdul and excited to watch him continue to grow and continue to play a lot more as a pro.”
But like a few of the Giants’ much-hyped pass-rushers, Carter hasn’t gotten home to the quarterback with flashy numbers yet this season.
Although he frequently commands double teams and has been a disruptive force, the Penn State product has only half a sack and eight QB hits on the season. He also recovered a fumble in the Giants’ 34-24 loss to the Niners two weeks ago.
“Cup half full,” Carter said last Wednesday when asked to describe his rookie season so far. “I feel like there’s a lot more out there I can do. I can be a lot more ferocious in everything that I do. Just got to keep getting better week in and week out.”
Carter also noted that he’s had four sacks taken away by penalties this season.
“That hurt a little bit,” Carter said. “But at the same time, I can’t make excuses for myself. I’ve just got to keep working. The sacks are going to come.”
