Fumble ruins debut of David Wilson

David Wilson posted his list of goals this week. One of the major ones was to get through the season without a fumble.

The season? He didn’t even last a half of a game. And now he’s got a new list to be worried about. Coughlin’s blankety-blank list.

Wilson had just one carry for three yards before he fumbled, and after that play in which Sean Lee blasted him and popped the ball out to kill off a nine-play, 64-yard drive (great play by Lee, by the way), he did not see another offensive snap. Bradshaw was the running back for the rest of the game.

Wilson said he wanted to get back on the field.

“When you fumble, you want to put it behind you and move forward with the game, but I didn’t get another offensive play in,” he said. “It’s hard to put it behind you when that’s the last play you can remember, but I understand the coaches. I know I didn’t have much room for error being a rookie and then having a critical error like that, like a turnover. You just live and you learn and you move forward.”

Wilson had some fumbling issues in college, but in the preseason he had been relatively secure with the football.

Coughlin admitted that the fumble caused him to change the number of plays the Giants wanted Wilson to be involved in.

The fumble did not shake the confidence of Wilson or his teammates.

“I’ve been in the same position,” Bradshaw said. “Just keep his head up and focus on holding the ball a little more in practice and through the week. I’ve been in that position. It’s a tough play as a toss play. Getting around the edge, a lot of guys coming from the inside, unblocked, running full speed and gets a nice hit on him and it’s hard to take that hit. I told him keep his confidence up, keep his head up and keep fighting. He’ll be all alright. All it takes is a little work, a little extra thinking.”

“He’s a hell of a football player, a very talented back,” said Osi Umenyiora, one of the many veterans who were seen counseling and consoling Wilson on the sideline after the fumble. “He’s gonna respond and play well the rest of the way, and I just need to let him know that … We’ve all made those mistakes before and he’s going to step up and help this team win.”

The only question now is when? When will Coughlin trust him with the ball again?