The Giants were a full 15 hours removed from Sunday night’s gut-wrenching loss to the Eagles but the wounds were still fresh.
“It’s not any easier [Monday] morning than it was [Sunday] night at
11:30, or whatever time that was,” said head coach Tom Coughlin. “It was a very,
very difficult loss for our team. And to be quite honest with you, it
was especially [tough] in light of the fact that a year ago, we had so
many exciting, come from behind type finishes that turned out the other
way.”
The Giants almost had yet another chance to perform late-game heroics, but this time it was their coach who dropped the proverbial ball. At least, that’s what Coughlin was saying on Monday. Right before he told his team to “put this game away” until the next time they meet, Coughlin expressed his own mea culpa.
“If I were to do it over myself, would I be as conservative with 15 seconds? Not [Monday] morning. I would throw it to the sideline or something of that nature and take a chance on that,” Coughlin said, explaining why he decided to attempt a 54-yard game-winning field goal instead of trying to gain a little more yardage. “We didn’t try it [gaining more yards]. And I take full responsibility for that. And as I told the players, I started the meeting off by talking about my sins — and that is one that I’ll confess to.
“Analyze, analyze, analyze and try to figure out where it went astray. It’s not hard to figure that out when you look at it. That hurts [because] it’s remorse for opportunity lost. … You saw it in the eyes of the players and the eyes of the coaches. There wasn’t any sleep here because there wasn’t any sleeping.”
Big Blue notes
»Rookie running back David Wilson may not be much of a threat as a running back yet, but he certainly had the Eagles on their heels as a kick returner. He returned six kickoffs for 217 yards, which was the third-highest single-game total in franchise history. Wilson, who has an NFL-high 13 kickoff returns for 393 yards, sports a 30.2-yard average that places him third in the league. Coughlin appreciates the way the rookie has found a way to help, despite his slow start as a running back.
“David Wilson as a weapon is quite obvious, now that people are really going to have to contend with that aspect of our game. … He works hard every day,” Coughlin said. “The kid works hard. He’s trying to get it all figured out. He wants you to know how much it means to him and how important it is to him. He went out [Sunday] night and proved a few things. Is there a place for a guy that can take it at five yards and run it the rest of the way? Yes.”
Follow Giants beat writer Tony Williams on Twitter @TBone8.
