Leave the counting for others. Markus Golden is not having it.
Let the record show he has three sacks in his first three games for the Giants — a promising sign, considering he managed to get just 2.5 sacks in 11 starts for the Cardinals in 2018. The increased production seems like validation for Golden, showing he is making inroads as he attempts to return to the form he displayed in 2016, but he will not take it as such.
“It’s too early,’’ Golden said. “That’s something I got to look at at the end of the year. You feel good, you want to keep being able to compete. My thing is, I want to be able to go out there and help my team, and I feel I’ve been doing that. That’s what I’m about.’’
Golden helped the Giants notch their first win this season, dropping Jameis Winston twice for sacks in last week’s 32-31 victory at Tampa Bay. Golden, 28, signed a one-year, $3.75 million contract as a free agent, clearly a make-good deal designed to re-establish his market. Golden, a 2015 second-round pick out of Missouri, had four sacks as a rookie for the Cardinals and blossomed with 12.5 sacks in 2016. He blew out his knee early in the 2017 season and has since tried to regain the pass-rushing prowess he flashed as a youngster.
The matchup Sunday with the Redskins could bode well for Golden and his teammates up front. Stud left tackle Trent Williams remains a holdout, and the Redskins were forced to sign 36-year-old Donald Penn to take his place. Pro Bowl right guard Brandon Scherff is questionable to play with an ankle injury and center Chase Roullier (knee) is out.
Plus, the Redskins start Ereck Flowers at left guard. Flowers, the No. 9 overall pick in the 2015 draft (the Giants still cringe when reminded of this) was a bust, mostly at left tackle and briefly at right tackle. The Giants did not view him as capable of moving inside to guard, but that is what the Redskins have done, meaning B.J. Hill and rookie Dexter Lawrence will try to exploit Flowers.
“I think he’s playing hard,’’ said coach Pat Shurmur, who could take just two games of Flowers last season before sending him to the bench. “I think he’s playing pretty well. He’s kind of a valued member of their offensive line. He’s a big, physical guy. In close quarters, he does a good job of getting his hands on you. That helps you at guard. They feel like he’s the best at that spot for them.’’
Golden called Williams “an animal’’ but he will not have to tame him, or evade his blocks, this week. Penn and Morgan Moses are the offensive tackles Golden and Lorenzo Carter will combat. Golden will look to add to his sack total as he tries to regain the 2016 performance level he maintains he is not obsessed with reclaiming.
“I haven’t even been thinking like that,’’ Golden said. “I’m blessed to be able to play the game and be able to feel good, feel healthy out there playing, so I haven’t been thinking, ‘Oh, man, I got to get back to that.’ I can’t answer that question. I’d be lying if I answered that question. My focus is to get right, get my body right each week and then go out there and compete and have fun, play to win.’’