New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has historically been the coach for which you don't want to fumble. Running back David Wilson found that out last year, when a fumble in Week 1 reduced him to a third-string role, behind Ahmad Bradshaw and Andre Brown, until late in the season.
Tom Coughlin ‘confident’ David Wilson will learn from fumbles
The Giants running back is in the doghouse after a pair of fumbles Sunday, but his coach appears to be stuck with him for now. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Of course, sometimes a coach has no choice anymore.
Speaking to media Wednesday, Coughlin said that the team is still counting on Wilson to overcome his fumble issues, despite the team's addition of 31-year-old Brandon Jacobs, according to a New York Daily News report.
“He’s following the technique that he’s been taught,” Coughlin said in his press conference. “And we’ll see under pressure if he can continue to do that. He can do a good job of covering the ball up. He was careless and it cost us dearly. But I’m confident he’s going to learn from it.”
Fantasy impact: The team's best non-Jacobs alternative to Wilson, backup Da'Rel Scott, was injured in practice Wednesday, though, per Ralph Vacchiano, it appears he will be OK for Sunday. Jacobs, a longtime Giant, surely knows the team's offense better than anyone else they could have brought in this side of Tiki Barber, but it still seems clear that Wilson will at least get one more shot at being the team's starter.
It's going to be one of the shortest leashes you're likely to see, but expect Wilson to at least get the start Sunday as the team hosts the Denver Broncos. His owners spent a high draft pick on Wilson, and are unlikely to have a better option, so it seems like the best bet is to run him out there one more week with fingers seriously crossed.
Meanwhile, Jacobs and/or Scott will have minimal value going forward as long as Wilson keeps the starting gig. If his fumble issues continue, and one of the backups ends up starting, they might be worth a look as a flyer, but it’s hard to expect high production out of either.
