In his latest podcast, Mike Francesa didn’t hold back on his assessment of New York Giants edge rusher Abdul Carter, starting with the rookie’s ill-advised attempt to claim Lawrence Taylor’s iconic jersey number.
“Now, it started badly when he had the gaul, and that’s the only word for it really. The word is gaul or stupidity to actually get involved with LT’s jersey,” Francesa stated bluntly, via YouTube. “I think obviously that was never going to fly.”
Francesa emphasized the historical significance of Taylor, highlighting why such a request was misguided from the start.
“To not understand what you’re talking about, to not understand not only what LT means to the Giant franchise, but what he means to the league, uh, and to how important he was,” Francesa continued. “He’s a generational transformational player. He changed the game of football.”
The sports talk legend explained that Taylor’s impact was so profound that Francesa consistently ranked him as the “number one defensive player of all time and the second best player in the history of the league” in his personal rankings, behind only Joe Montana.
Beyond the jersey controversy, Francesa’s analysis turned to Carter’s on-field performance and how coaching has affected his development.
“He was very badly handled by a very bad defensive coordinator. He was not used correctly,” Francesa asserted, suggesting that the Giants failed to maximize Carter’s unique skillset.
Rather than deploying Carter as a traditional edge rusher, Francesa believes his talents demand more creative utilization.
Francesa was particularly adamant that comparing any player to Lawrence Taylor sets an impossible standard.
“If anybody ever thought he was going to be LT, I mean, come on. That’s like, you know, expecting somebody to show up young and be Mickey Mantle. It’s not going to happen,” Franesa said. “No one’s going to show up and be Lawrence Taylor. He’s not going to be Lawrence Taylor.”
The radio icon painted a vivid picture of Taylor’s incomparable dominance, explaining how opposing coaches like Joe Gibbs would completely redesign their offensive schemes just to account for him.
Ultimately, Francesa believes that Carter can still carve out his own successful path if the Giants deploy him properly.
“He can be a very interesting player going forward if utilized properly by an imaginative defensive coordinator,” he concluded, suggesting that with the right coaching, Carter could still become a disruptive force in his own right, even if he’s not the next Lawrence Taylor.
