Giants" David Wilson Is Still Figuring Out How to Attain His Lofty Goals David Wilson has flashed his potential while returning kicks and punts. EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - David Wilson, the Giants" first-round draft choice, does not want to be just another N.F.L. running back whose contribution is so modest he is forgotten over time. He is driven to excel. He announced as much in early September when he shared his lofty goals for his first season: 5 yards per carry, 10 touchdowns, one play of 20 or more yards per game, six 100-yard rushing games, 0 sacks allowed and 0 fumbles lost. The last item on that list was spoiled when Dallas Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee drilled him on his second pro carry and jarred the ball loose after a 2-yard gain. Coach Tom Coughlin, whose emphasis on limiting turnovers has been critical to his successful nine-year tenure, pulled him from the game. The 5-foot-9, 205-pound Wilson became so emotional on the sidelines that wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and defensive end Osi Umenyiora, both veterans, consoled him. Wilson's contributions since then have largely been on kick returns. He entered Sunday night's game against the Green Bay Packers well within range of breaking the team's rookie kick return record of 987 yards, set by Clarence Childs in 1964. Wilson had brought back 37 kicks for 939 yards, a 25.4-yard average. He is also on pace to break the team's overall mark for kick returns in a single season held by Domenik Hixon, who amassed 1,291 yards in 2009. As significant as Wilson's handiwork has been in giving the Giants good starting field position, his list of ambitions made no mention of special teams, and the Giants did not draft him 32nd over all out of Virginia Tech with only that in mind. The bursts of speed and game-changing ability he flashes after fielding kicks has not bolstered a running game that finished at the bottom of the league last season and has showed only occasional signs of life this year. Wilson has carried 18 times for 89 yards and a touchdown. He has not been a threat out of the backfield, making one catch for 3 yards. Wilson was loquacious and unguarded after an encouraging preseason in which he ran 28 times for 131 yards, but now he chooses his words carefully. "Just keep working - that's the only thing I can tell you," he said recently. I'm working hard. That's the only quote I've got. Wilson again irked Coughlin during the fourth game of the season, a 19-17 loss in Philadelphia. With ample running room ahead of him, he fanned on a shovel pass from Eli Manning at midfield. "It's there: catch it, put it away, and use your God-given ability," Coughlin said after that gaffe. Coughlin said he was encouraged by Wilson's approach and has made numerous references to his game-changing potential. "He works hard every day," he said. 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. Wilson played in 40 games, starting 15, at Virginia Tech. He carried 462 times for 2,662 yards and 18 touchdowns while catching 37 passes for 363 yards and 5 scores. Despite leaving after his junior season, he ranks fourth on the team's career list with 1,324 kick return yards. But he also fumbled seven times, losing four, in his final season. If the story of Wilson's rookie season through the first 10 games illustrated anything, it is how daunting the transition can be for some first-year backs. "Just because you're a first-round draft pick doesn't mean you're ready to play or they all would be great," the Giants running backs coach, Jerald Ingram, said. He is a situational player as a rookie right now. Yeah, he's explosive. But at what cost is he explosive? Is he explosive at the cost of not being able to protect well, not being able to know his job well enough to be a pro? That all has to develop. Ingram said Wilson must consistently stymie much larger blitzing linebackers before the staff can feel comfortable with him. "There's certain things that you have to learn how to make a difference in your size," Ingram said. There is a mismatch. What are you going to do with that mismatch? According to the offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride, the Giants are not surprised that Wilson is taking time to develop because he was not given many responsibilities beyond running the ball in college. Gilbride said of a back's role in the N.F.L.: "You're a member of a unit, and they're going to be asked to do a lot of different things besides just carry the ball."