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.

IT'S DAVID WILSON TIME
AS THE GIANTS PREPARE
TO WIDEN NFC EAST LEAD

By Dave Klein
It was on April 26 when the Giants made the decision. Now, almost exactly seven months later, they are about to find out if all the things they said about that decision will prove to be accurate.

That was the day when they drafted running back David Wilson with the final choice in the first round. He was the third running back taken (Trent Richardson went to Cleveland with the third pick, a foregone conclusion) and then the Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded up to the 31st position to select Boise State's Doug Martin).

That immediately made Wilson the third running back, but not on the Giants' list. General Manager Jerry Reese indicated repeatedly that Wilson was their second-rated running back and that they were pleased to still find him available when, as defending Super Bowl champions, they finished the first round.

Was that merely whistling past the graveyard? Did the Giants have their sights set on Wilson only if Martin became suddenly available? This brought intense disagreement, all parties insisting that Wilson was, in fact, their second-rated running back, to be trifled with only if somehow Richardson magically appeared.

Well, the summer training camp period arrived and during it Wilson showed incredible quickness and speed, agility and elusiveness, and the Giants appeared to have been vindicated.

So on Sept. 5, when they opened the season on a Wednesday night (against Dallas), Wilson got the ball in the second possession of the first quarter. On the first play he gained an innocuous two yards going wide right. The call was a simple off-tackle veer -- AND HE FUMBLED.

It took place on the Cowboys' 29-yard line and it snuffed out a budding scoring drive.

Wilson got pulled, and he never returned. He finished the game with two yards on two carries and went immediately into head coach Tom Coughlin's dog house.

Meanwhile, the 5-9, 230-pound Richardson became a force, a star, and the 5-9, 205-pound Wilson was eventually relegated to kickoff returns.

But now things have changed. The starter is still Ahmad Bradshaw, but he had bad feet and other ailments and cannot be counted on to play a full game. The surprising Andre Brown suffered a broken leg last Sunday night against Green Bay and so it's Wilson as the first replacement. The fact that the Giants signed free agents Ryan Torain and Kregg Lumpkin doesn't matter; they are what is politely called cannon fodder, and if they have to play hide the women and children.

So it's Bradshaw for as long as he can go and then it's Wilson. The Virginia Tech product knows better than to be cocky, especially now. He is not about to make any predictions. The most he offers is this: "It's my turn to show I can help the team. I'm just going to get out there and play as hard as I can and be productive for my team. I think the most important thing I learned so far is to go to the next play."

The bottom line is that Wilson was drafted to be the next star running back of the Giants. It is a difficult position, one that takes its toll on younger players. The average career of a running back is about 4.5 seasons; by comparison, an offensive lineman can easily average 7.5 to 9.0 years in the league.

Wilson's build is much like former Giants' superstar Tiki Barber, and his speed (make that quickness and acceleration) is, if anything, slightly better. And you might remember that Barber struggled through a few seasons with a serious fumbling problem until Coughlin taught him to "carry the ball high and tight." That phrase - "high and tight" - became Tiki's mantra, and it worked.

Wilson smiled a little. "If my big chance comes on a Monday night game, that's great," he said. "I remember going though classes when I was in college, waiting all day Monday for the game that night, so now that I'm going to be playing in it, I hope I can provide for my team."

It is exactly what the Giants are hoping, too.

EXTRA POINTS - The signing of Torain and Lumpkin necessitated the release of a player, and that turned out to be undrafted Rutgers rookie back Joe Martinek. ... Brown was placed on the new Injured Reserve Designated to Return list, which obviously indicates that the Giants are hoping to see him again if they make the playoffs.

Speaking of playoffs, a victory over the Redskins Monday night would make the Giants 8-4 in the NFC East while dropping the 'Skins to 5-8. ... The other two teams in the division, Dallas and Philadelphia, play each other, so one might root for an Eagles' victory, which would make them 4-8 and the Cowboys 5-7.

How did you like the new defensive wrinkle with three safeties on the field? ... It worked brilliantly, confusing Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and turned into yet another coup by defensive coordinator Perry Fewell. ... Incidentally, he is rumored to be the object of several head coaching searches once the season ends, and if you like those rumors, forget the one about Jon Gruden taking the University of Tennessee job; he's going to be lured by the Eagles, once they fire Andy Reid. ... "Chucky" used to work for the Eagles as an offensive assistant.

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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