New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin has insisted that his side "need" running back David Wilson despite his under-par performance in their opening match of the season.
Wilson fumbled the ball twice during his side's 36-31 loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday and was left on the bench for the third quarter in favour of Da'Rel Scott.
The Giants also signed veteran running back Brandon Jacobs yesterday, but Coughlin insists that his team still need Wilson. However, he warns the 22-year-old that he needs to become used to being a "marked man" in the NFL.
"As I've said many times, we need [Wilson]. He's necessary. He's going to have to overcome this issue. And he's a marked man now, so he's really going to have to overcome it," ESPN quotes Coughlin as saying.
"He's following the technique that he's been taught, and we'll see under pressure if he can continue to do that. The problems occur when you try to make a move and the ball leaves your side and the pocket that you've established for it. You have trouble when there's no place to go and other people are surrounding you, you have no choice but to cover it up with both hands.
"That's not a difficult thing for David because of his body style and the height of his running position. 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."
Wilson was heavily criticised for his performance on Sunday, and the former first-round draft pick recently took to Twitter to respond to the negative comments.
