For a defense trying to build an identity, the first three games have offered a blunt reminder: effort alone does not create a pass rush. Abdul Carter said this week that he is disgusted by where the New York Giants stand in that area, and the frustration makes sense. Brian Burns is out for the season with a knee injury that includes a torn ACL and meniscus, and the Giants are now searching for a way to affect the quarterback without one of their best edge players.
Carter did not soften the message. “Honestly, seeing where we are with our pass rush, I’m honestly disgusted at it, but at the same time, we can’t let it discourage us,” he said. That is the key tension for the Giants right now: the production has not matched the urgency. Carter has one sack through the first three games of the season, and the unit as a whole has not consistently threatened opposing quarterbacks. In a league where pressure often shapes games as much as coverage does, that is a real problem, not just a slow start.
The injury to Burns only sharpens it. Carter called Burns a player the defense could always look to because he “does everything right,” practices hard and plays hard. He also said Burns showed his character by playing hurt before the injury finally ended his season. That loss matters beyond the stat sheet. Burns gave the Giants a proven way to win on the edge, and without him, the margin for error shrinks for everyone else. If the Giants are going to recover, Carter and Kayvon Thibodeaux have to help carry more of that burden.
That is where the conversation gets more practical than emotional. Carter said he and Thibodeaux have talked about how they need to be better and more impactful, and he acknowledged that teams will scheme to keep them from wrecking games. Dennard Wilson struck a similar note this week, saying the coaching staff is looking for ways to improve the pass rush and put players in better positions. He pointed to moving pieces around, using different spots and trying to dent the pocket in the A and B gaps. In other words, this is not just about asking for more effort. It is about changing the geometry of the rush.
Wilson also said the production has not been there and that the staff takes full responsibility for getting it going. That matters because it frames the problem as a collective one, not just a star-player issue. The Giants have time to fix it, and Wilson emphasized that it is still early in the season. But “still early” is not the same as “not important.” Pass rush tends to reveal itself in September, and once it starts to click, it can feed on itself. Wilson said as much when he compared it to turnovers and interceptions: once it starts, it can keep coming.
That is the hope. The concern is that the Giants have already reached a point where they need that break to arrive soon. Carter’s frustration is understandable, and his honesty is probably useful. The Giants have already seen how roster turnover can change a defensive plan, as discussed in their recent moves and the ongoing reshuffling up front. Now they need that new mix to produce something more disruptive than what they have shown so far. If they cannot create pressure without Burns, the rest of the defense will keep carrying a heavier load than it should.
For now, the message is simple: the Giants know what the problem is. The harder part is proving they can solve it.
