Giants looking for second-year edge rusher to continue building his resume"

/>Skip to main contentclockmenumore-arrownoyesHorizontal - WhiteBig Blue Viewa New York Giants communityLog In or Sign UpLog InSign UpFanpostsFanshotsSectionsLibraryGiantsOddsAboutMastheadCommunity GuidelinesStubHubMoreAll 322 blogs on Horizontal - WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections New York Giants NewsGiants Training Camp 2016Giants vs. Eagles 2015 Dexter Lawrence NFL Draft , Week 17Filed under:New York Giants NewsGiants’ 90-man roster: Is Lorenzo Carter ready for the next step?New,68commentsGiants looking for second-year edge rusher to continue building his resumeEDTShareTweetShareShareGiants’ 90-man roster: Is Lorenzo Carter ready for the next step?Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY SportsThe last time the Giants had a defender manage to post double-digit sacks was in 2014 when Jason Pierre-Paul recorded 12.5 sacks. To put that accomplishment in perspective, the Giants have since had three head coaches (Ben McAdoo, Steve Spagnuolo, and Pat Shurmur) and two defensive coordinators (Spagnuolo and James Bettcher).That’s a mighty long dry spell for a defensive unit that claims to pride itself on being aggressive in getting after the quarterback.This year with an improved defensive secondary on board to hopefully hold the coverage better, there is hope that the Giants will not only be in the top half of the league in sacks but will have one of their young players, such as second-year man Lorenzo Carter, emerge as a double-digit sack artist. The basicsHeight: 6-foot-5Weight: 252Age: 23Position: EdgeExperience: 2How he got hereCarter was a third-round pick (No. 66 overall) out of the University of Georgia and the eighth linebacker chosen overall in the 2017 draft. However, like most young draft picks, Carter’s jump from college, where in four seasons he posted 166 total tackles (83 solo), 21.5 tackles for a loss, 14.0 sacks and six forced fumbles, to the pros is a work in progress.In 442 defensive snaps over 15 games (with two starts), Carter finished with 43 tackles, 4.0 sacks, and four passes defensed — not bad numbers for his first season. According to Pro Football Focus, Carter finished tied for 11th (out of 25 rookie edge rushers) in pass-rushing productivity with a 6.3 score achieved in 298 pass-rush snaps. His 17 hurries put him in the top 10 among rookie edge rushers, tying him for ninth with Frankie Luvu of the Jets and Uchenna Nwosu of the Chargers.But like most rookies, Carter underwent a transition period where he probably wasn’t playing as fast as he is capable of doing, a factor not lost on outside linebackers coach Mike Dawson Color Rush Deandre Baker Jersey , who will work with Carter and the rest o the edge rushers for the first time this year.“He’s got the tools where he’s strong enough, and he’s got the athletic ability,” Dawson said. “Really kind of getting to know this language. He was in kind of a 3-4 system in college, but some of the terms are different. It may be the same term, just named something different, and having to process that in your head. When you don’t have to think about that, I think that helps you play a little bit better.” 2019 outlookWith Olivier Vernon having been traded to Cleveland, Carter will get a golden opportunity to compete for some of those snaps in tandem with Markus Golden. Defensive coordinator James Bettcher, who is counting on Carter to play a more prominent role in this year’s defense, noted that like all players before him, it’s all about building up one’s resume.“Lorenzo Carter has to build his resume,” Bettcher said. “The only way the guys get a chance to do that is on the field getting snaps. Getting their butt coached off and taking it.”Carter, who spoke before this year’s draft, sounded patient when it came to questions about feeling pressure to add sacks. “Sacks are going to come. Sacks are the things that people over analyze and like to look at a lot,” he said. “If we play the way we are supposed to play and work fast and hard, it is going to come. Everything will fall into place. I am not worried about trying to add sacks to the team. It will come.”Sacks might eventually come, but it would sure help in the meantime if players can get off blocks and at least pressure opposing quarterbacks into throwing quicker than they’d prefer. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Things definitely didn’t go the way Pat Shurmur wanted in his first season as New York Giants coach.The Giants (5-11) finished last in the NFC East for the second straight year. They missed the playoffs for the sixth time in seven seasons and were among the NFL’s worst teams despite a spectacular rookie season from running back and No. 2 overall draft pick Saquon Barkley.The bottom line is there are lots of problems to be fixed and major personnel issues to be resolved.For general manager Dave Gettleman, it starts with what to do with two-time Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning, linebacker Olivier Vernon, cornerback Janoris Jenkins and Pro Bowl safety Landon Collins Youth Deandre Baker Jersey , who finished the season on injured reserve with a shoulder injury that required surgery.Manning, Vernon and Jenkins all might be salary-cap casualties. Collins is at the end of his rookie contract and might be hit with the franchise tag.The soon-to-be 38-year-old Manning, who has a $23 million cap value, is the biggest decision. The veteran quarterbackfinished his 15th season and had his ups and downs, in large part because of his lack of mobility and inconsistent play by an offensive line that remains a work in progress.There is no one waiting in the wings to replace him, and the quarterback class in the draft is not nearly as good as last season’s.The Giants, who have the No. 6 pick overall in April’s draft, also have a greater need for a pass rusher or an offensive lineman.After a 1-7 start, New York showed flashes after its bye week. It won four of five, including a win over NFC North champion Chicago. The season ended with a three-game losing streak, the final two games each decided by point.It’s no wonder players packing their belongings in the locker room Monday showed the optimism of a team reporting to training camp.“I believe that we’re very close, and to be completely honest, I think what we have here is special,” said Barkley, who finished second in the league in rushing with 1,307 yards, and No. 1 in yards from scrimmage with 2,028 —only the third rookie in league history to crack the 2,000-yard plateau.“I wasn’t here the year before, but we’re not the team that we were when we went 3-13,” Barkley added. “Obviously Womens Deandre Baker Jersey , we went 5-11 and that’s not the record that we would like, but we’re close. We’re really close, and I believe that’s going to show next year if we continue to believe in each other, continue to work and continue to grind and have that dog mentality that we showed this year.”Shurmur and Gettleman did a solid job of turning over last year’s roster. There were fewer than 15 players from the 2017 team on the roster at the end of the season.The offense has playmakers with Barkley, wide receivers Odell Beckham Jr and Sterling Shepard, and tight end Evan Engram, who rediscovered his game late after an early-season injury.James Bettcher’s new 3-4 defense played hard but it failed too many times to hold leads. New York lost eight of its 11 games by seven points or less.The biggest surprise was special teams. Aldrick Rosas, who struggled as a rookie, is going to the Pro Bowl after making 32 of 33 field goals, including a team-record 57-yarder.“We didn’t win enough games,” Shurmur said. “What we did well is we took a young team and a new team and a new staff and we competed, and we had some good victories. But we’ve got to do a better job of winning those close games. We’ve either got to get a stop or get a score, and that’s where we need to get better.”Center Spencer Pulley will be a restricted free agent. He wouldn’t mind coming back; this team reminds him of the one he played on last season with the Chargers. They went from 5-11 to 9-7 and just missed the playoffs. Los Angeles went 12-4 this season and got a wild-card berth despite tying Kansas City for the top record in the AFC.“This is probably the most excited I have been at the end of a season, to come back and be back into the thing,” Pulley said. “I can look at the Chargers team I was on last year and things started getting a little better at the end of the year. I look at them now and they are doing pretty well. I don’t want to say I see even more here, but I see a lot of the same things. There are some many young players here and veterans, I can see special things happening.”Next year will tell.