FAST CHANCE
Rookie RB Wilson on verge of 1st start
Prior to each season, Giants running back David Wilson determines his goals and writes them down. He still hasn’t done it for his rookie campaign. But it could be finished soon.
“After I go this week and see how it goes, then I can get more detailed into it,” the firstround pick said yesterday, three days before the Giants face the Bears at MetLife Stadium in their third preseason game. “Because you want to make goals ... not that you know you can accomplish, but ... I’m not going to say I’ll have a 2,000yard season and then in preseason you didn’t even have a run over 10 yards.”
Wilson already has a run of more than 10 yards. In his first preseason game against the Jaguars, he ripped off a 26yarder, totaling 43 yards on seven carries. On Saturday versus the Jets, the speedster ran eight more times for 26 yards.
Wilson received some practice snaps with the firstteam offense this week, and he indicated yesterday he will see time with the starters Friday, too. Established starter Ahmad Bradshaw is dealing with a hand injury, and Wilson looks to have leapfrogged reserve running back D.J. Ware. So against Chicago, Wilson likely will have a chance to flash his skills alongside the team’s best offensive players and behind the top offensive linemen.
“You’re excited for your first game to go out there ... especially for me since I’m being out there with the starters,” Wilson said. “I’m just excited about the whole experience. Each week I look at as an opportunity to prove yourself and move up on the depth chart. This week, they’ve moved me up tremendously in giving me a shot, so you definitely want to take advantage of that.”
Wilson has the added pressure of pass protection. Running back is more than just grabbing a handoff, searching for a hole and rushing through it. If he doesn’t pick up a blitzer or misses a blocking assignment, Eli Manning could be in trouble.
“I’m a rookie and I’m learning and the running back protecting the quarterback is a big role,” Wilson said.
Against the Jets, Jayron Hosley, a fellow rookie and Wilson’s former Virginia Tech teammate, displayed his own explosive ability. The cornerback picked off Mark Sanchez and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown — the most dynamic play of the Giants’ 263 win.
That had Wilson hungry to do the same.
“It’s a game of persistence, but you’ve got to also be patient, especially at my position in this league,” he said. “You can’t go out there and try to make the big play all the time. At least I’m not comfortable to go out there and do it right now. You can turn a bad play into a worse play by trying to always have the greatest play.
“Just seeing him go out there and do what he did, it was definitely energizing and when I went out on the field, I did have that in the back of my head, like, ‘I’m waiting for my turn.’ ”
He gets his next turn Friday. And with the varsity.