Tom Coughlin said rookie running back David Wilson has gone through some new drills especially designed to help him hold onto the ball and so far, the veteran coach likes what he sees from the first-year NFL player.
“He’s anxious to do right,’’ Coughlin said Wednesday morning. “He’s a little bit out of the doghouse.’’
Asked what Wilson can do to regain his trust, Coughlin said “Ball security.’’
Wilson lost a fumble in the season opener on his second NFL rushing attempt and didn’t get a third against the Cowboys. By stating that Wilson is coming out of the doghouse, Coughlin indicated that Wilson will get a chance to redeem himself on Sunday when the Giants face the Buccaneers.
The Giants will end up having a 10-day layoff between their first and second games. Asked what he expected out of his team after so much time off, Coughlin ran through a bunch of short, declarative responses.
“Energy. Enthusiasm. Pride. Second game of the season, didn’t like what we saw for the most part in the first game. Renewed vigor. Vigilance. Unselfishness. Do your job. Understand. Listen. Pay attention to details. Follow details through in the chaos of the game.’’
Other notables:
– CB Prince Amukamara was again on the practice field coming off his high ankle sprain.
“He won’t practice fully but we’ll try to pick up where we left off Monday and see if we can continue to allow him to work,’’ Coughlin said. “He does have some issues, he’s just fighting his way through them.’’
– Coughlin said he and his coaching staff studied Rutgers film from last season to get a handle on what Greg Schiano will do in his first year as the Bucs coach.
– LT Will Beatty was able to practice again but Coughlin was evasive when asked if Beatty would regain his starting job.
“He will continue to progress the way we’ve been bringing him along with the number of snaps he gets, trying to make up for all the lost time,’’ Coughlin said. “We’ll see how fast he comes.’’
– WR Hakeem Nicks did not practice, as he rested his surgically-repaired foot in what likely will be a weekly schedule for him.
– The only players on the injury report not practicing were Nicks, CB Michael Coe (hamstring) and DE Adewale Ojomo (hamstring).
– Remember that horse-collar tackle that robbed LB Michael Boley of a touchdown after his interception return against the Cowboys? It cost the offending player, Tyron Smith, $15,750 out of his paycheck. That’s how much the NFL fines Smith.