David Wilson is moving on from his terrible Week 1 performance and learning how to correct his ways. The New York Giants have no plans on keeping the running back out of the game despite his fumbling ways, instead insisting that he get over it and fix the issue. Wilson is going just that, looking towards a former Pro Bowler for help.
Tiki Barber certainly knows how to properly carry a football. The former Giants running back experienced fumbling issues midway through his career until a transformation on how he holds the ball turned everything around.
"If people are ready to give up on David, that's ridiculous," Barber said, via Newsday. "As much as people want to say it's in his head, that he has to be smarter and man up and do these things, it's so much of a mechanical thing. It's fixable. The key is awareness of when contact is coming. If you watch David's fumbles, he's not aware of contact. He just thinks he can go through [the tackler], and by the time the contact comes, the ball is already compromised."
Barber has been watching tape of Wilson's performance against the Dallas Cowboys that led to two fumbles and a benching. Wilson is taking his advice to heart, working on the techniques Barber discussed while in practice.
A change is necessary as head coach Tom Coughlin told reporters that he has no plans to sit Wilson, instead keeping him as the prominent back in the offense. The Giants did sign veteran Brandon Jacobs early in the week, but only has a short-yardage option.
"In practice he's going to have to have the ball in that position all the time, not just when he thinks he's running free and there's nobody around him," Coughlin said. "I want to see the ball in the right spot all the time. And quite frankly, there's nowhere else to go with this. There's a way to carry the ball and there's a way to protect the ball. Ball security is No. 1. And that's what he's going to have to demonstrate."
Wilson has not heard the end of his poor performance. The running back lashed out at fans and fantasy football owners after hearing criticism. He called everyone "irrelevant" on Twitter, a statement he is not retracting. He cleared the air after the statements, saying things were taken the wrong way and he is very grateful for the support.
Wilson added, "Bad choice of words, 140 characters you can make a lot of mistakes."
