D.J. Fluker wants to get some payback vs. Chargers
Giants offensive lineman D.J. Fluker during a preseason game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium on Aug. 26, 2017. Credit: Daniel De Mato
D.J. Fluker wants to unleash some “frustration” on his former team this Sunday. He hopes to get that chance.
The offensive lineman, the first-round pick of the Chargers in 2013 who was released this offseason, saw his first action with the Giants’ offense Sunday when he started at right guard. With so much up in the air regarding the Giants’ configuration up front, Fluker isn’t certain he’ll be on the field this week, but if he is, he said he knows it will be noticeable.
“I know if I get in there it’s gonna be a wrap because I’m gonna give it everything I got,” Fluker said Tuesday. “Definitely I’m bringing that. Hopefully, we can get the running game started early so I can bring some of this frustration.”
Fluker said he thought he played well enough against the Bucs to get another chance this week. He admitted he struggled early but said he settled down as the game progressed.
As for his hard feelings toward the Chargers, Fluker insisted that they are aimed at the organization, not necessarily the players.
“You get what you pay for,” he said. “I guess we’re gonna see what happens. I’m looking forward to playing against them. I can’t wait for the opportunity. If it’s granted.”
Rosas looks to rebound
Aldrick Rosas said the first failure of his NFL career will not dim his confidence.
“Absolutely not,” the first-year kicker said Tuesday after missing a 43-yard field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter against the Bucs in a game the Giants would lose by two points.
“The kicker mentality is just one-for-one,” he said. “We hit the reset button after every kick. You just go out there and you just keep building on your routine and keep progressing and keep doing what you’ve been doing.”
That said, the miss was tough to handle.
“It’s my job to extend the lead when we get the chance to,” Rosas said. And he was not able to do that.
Giant steps
WR Brandon Marshall accidentally called this week’s opponent “the San Diego Chargers.” Or maybe it wasn’t accidental. “They’re the San Diego Chargers still,” he said of the team that moved to Los Angeles this offseason. “Need to go back to San Diego. There goes your headline for it today. Yeah. San Diego. Go back. Go back.” . . . Wayne Gallman was the first Giants running back to catch a touchdown pass in his first NFL game since Rodney Hampton on Sept. 9, 1990.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
