ARLINGTON, Tex. — Giants third-round pick Darius Alexander‘s healthy Week 1 scratch was the best thing for the player and the team, defensive line coach Andre Patterson said Friday.
Even if it’s tough to be patient, including for the front office that drafted him, Patterson said.
“That’s hard for the individual player, and it can be hard for people upstairs, too,” Patterson said ahead of Sunday’s road game against the Dallas Cowboys. “But I’ve been doing this a long time . .. So I’m gonna stick to my guns on that, because I know it’s the best thing for him, but mostly important it’s the best thing for the New York Giants — to let this guy become what I know he’s gonna become.”
Patterson made it seem like he banged the table, so to speak, to keep Alexander on a developmental track and out of the rotation until he’s ready.
“He’s gonna be a great football player,” Patterson said. “I’m just making sure that he’s the player that we all want him to be. And the worst thing I can do is put him on the field before he’s ready to be that. I’m not gonna ruin that kid, because he’s got great upside to him.”
The only problem is Joe Schoen and the Giants drafted Alexander, 25, who spent six years in college including a 2019 redshirt season, to help the defensive line and run defense now.
It was the front office’s job to evaluate the player as ready to contribute, and it is Patterson’s job to have Alexander ready to play.
The rookie was hurt in the spring, so he missed out on an important couple months of practice time prior to his first NFL training camp. But that excuse didn’t help the Giants in Week 1 at Washington when the defense surrendered 220 rushing yards to the Commanders.
Patterson, who blamed the secondary for the team’s poor run defense last season, took half of the blame for this year’s Week 1 disappointment. But he still managed to pin it on the whole group — not just his front.”
“I think we can play better. I always feel that. I think we can play better,” Patterson said. “Anytime they rush for that many yards — which is a team defensive thing — we can play better.”
Run defense first and foremost is a defensive line stat, however, just like pass blocking metrics primarily measure offensive lines and not running backs.
Alexander may get a jersey by default on Sunday at Dallas due to veteran Rakeem Nunez-Roches’ foot injury. But even if he does, that might not guarantee any playing time with Dexter Lawrence, Roy Robertson-Harris, D.J. Davidson and Elijah Garcia all ahead of him in the rotation.
Regardless, the Giants’ run defense needs to tighten up in a hurry. And it’s not ideal that a player they drafted to help plug the middle isn’t ready.
LAMB SEEKS REVENGE ON PHILLIPS
Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb said Friday that he wants revenge on Giants corner Dru Phillips for tackling him and injuring him the last time the teams met.
“He tackled me and hurt me,” Lamb said, per the Dallas Morning News. “So I’ve got something for him.”
Phillips wasn’t interested in a war of words. He said he and Lamb just ran into each other on a pick play.
“It don’t change s–t,” Phillips told The Athletic. “It don’t change nothing about my preparation or how I’m going to the game. It’s just football, man. It happens.”
The feud adds intrigue to Sunday’s must-win game for both 0-1 NFC East teams, including for Lamb, who had several costly drops in Dallas’ narrow Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
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