E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls. Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

GIANTS INSIST WILSON WAS THEIR CHOICE
AND HE HAS STARTED IMPRESSING THEM

By Dave Klein
Let's play a game. How about True or False?

OK? Ready? When the Giants were on the clock prior to making their first round selection, they just missed the running back they wanted. True or False?

They insist the answer is False, that rather than Doug Martin of Boise State they wanted David Wilson of Virginia Tech all along. If that's true, then they just managed to dodge a bullet, since Tampa Bay traded into the 31st spot and took Martin, leaving Wilson as the third overall running back drafted in the first round.

Did they breathe a long sigh of relief or was there a lot of silent gnashing of teeth when that happened?

They won't say, of course, for any number of reasons including the fact that the Giants never discuss other teams' players, nor would they intentionally and publicly denigrate one of their own.

But according to a noted and respected scouting service offered this analysis of Wilson, who seems to be in the position of not proving he can help the Giants' running game but how quickly.

"Wilson is still regarded as one of the elite ball carriers in this class," the service notes, "thanks to his superb burst and acceleration through the holes. [He] closed a 4.29 time in the 40-yard dash [during combine workouts] and won the "Iron Hokie award" for his 445-pound front squad."

But there were some cautions as well. "Even though he showed impressive strength, he looks thicker in his lower frame than in his upper body. He is an explosive runner but you would hope for more patience and move the chains rather than go for the home run every time he touches the ball. He has bad ball security skills. He fumbled seven times in 2011."

"Wilson needs to be more patient allowing his blockers to set up for him. He is a 'quick twitch] type who has good knees bend and pad level, good balance and footwork running around the corners, but for all his speed I sense a 'thought process' issue as he seems slow to decipher coverages. There are too many times he simply runs into a crowd, the sign of just average [football] vision."

As to the fumbling problem, head coach Tom Coughlin appears to be experienced in working through that situation. His most famous pupil was Tiki Barber, who was a frequent violator of ball control until Coughlin got to be head coach in 2004 and worked with him countless hours. The mantra became "high and tight," referring how to hold the ball and it worked. His fumbles dropped significantly and he became a Pro Bowl running back.

It is certain that Wilson has already heard the "high and tight" chant since OTAs and the minicamp have been completed, and he'll hear a lot more of those words when training camp opens July 26.

In fact, the scouting reports from several experts in the field compared the 5-9, 205-pound Wilson to the equally 5-9 and probably 200-pound Barber.

Wilson flashed several inclinations of greatness during those recently completed sessions, causing offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride (how is it that nobody is calling for his job now that the Giants won another Super Bowl?) to offer tentative praise.

"There is a lot of smoke coming out of his ears and the eyes are going around in different directions," he joked, "but yes, he has done a lot of things to get our attention."

Gilbride couldn't stop the smile from playing on his lips. "It's kind of exciting to see [a rookie back like this one] around here," he said. "This guy has the kind of explosion I'm not sure you can find in too many guys in this league. I don't think Tiki had his speed and explosion, but Tiki had great vision and intelligence and was able to help his linemen set up the blocks."

Then he nailed it. "See, the things Wilson has you can't teach. Guys either have that ability or they don't. He has it. There is a lot we can teach him, coach him into, but he has the tools right now."

It is clear that Ahmad Bradshaw is going to be the starting running back but, with Brandon Jacobs now in San Francisco, it will be intriguing to see how high Wilson can ascend the ladder prior to the opening of the regular season.

There is competition from more experienced sources, of course, among them Andre Brown, Da'Rel Scott and D.J. Ware, but despite their presence, the Giants felt it was important to spend a first-round pick on another running back.

Wilson.

EXTRA POINTS - The Giants' starting three linebackers, at least for the moment, are Michael Boley on the weakside, Chase Blackburn in the middle and Mathias Kiwanuka at strongside.

The second set consists of Keith Rivers at weakside, Mark Herzlich in the middle and Jacquian Williams at strongside. Will those sets remain intact? Not likely. Defensive coordinator Perry Fewell really wants Rivers, obtained from Cincinnati where he had once been the ninth overall draft selection out of USC, to become a starter. It is possible he might move Boley into the middle, put Rivers at weakside and leave Kiwi where he is.

Oh, in pursuit of absolutely nothing at all, did you hear that Chad Ochocinco has decided to go back to his real name, Chad Johnson? ... Yep, he so informed Miami sportswriters of that salient face the other day during a press conference with his new team. ... And no, it didn't have anything to do with the fact that "Ocho Cinco" means 8 and 5 in Spanish, not his jersey number of 85.

That would be "ocenta y cinco" but then again, it probably wouldn't fit on the back of his jersey and the NFL would insist on changing it and the NFL Players Association would fight that decision and Jonathan Vilma would insist he had nothing to do with it.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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