Brad Wing has put the poor punts in the past and looks towards the Chargers on Sunday:
A look at the playmakers of the Giants' upcoming opponent
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J.– Brad Wing had a choice after a second poor punt in as many weeks contributed to a Giants loss.
"You can go back and watch it 100 times," Wing said today, "or you can just trust the body of work that you have and move on."
Wing chose the second option. So he has moved on, worked hard this week, and is eager to face the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in MetLife Stadium.
"I know what I can do," said Wing, who is in his fourth season in the NFL and third as the Giants' punter. "I trust my ability, the coaches have trust in me, the players around me do. So I am just looking forward to getting out there this weekend."
On Sunday in Tampa, the Giants led the Buccaneers, 17-16, with 9½ minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Wing booted a punt that traveled all of 15 yards. The Bucs took possession on their own 43-yard line and, four plays later, took the lead on Jameis Winston's 14-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Brate. Tampa Bay went on to win, 25-23, on Nick Folk's field goal as time expired.
The previous week in Philadelphia, Wing's 28-yard fourth-quarter punt in the final minute put the Eagles in position to kick a game-winning field goal on the final play.
Although disheartened immediately after the punts, he hasn't lost faith in his ability to punt well and help the team.
"I know how good I am," Wing said. "There's only 32 punters in the NFL, and I have one of those jobs. So yeah, the last two weeks, there's been some negatives, but I have a lot of confidence in what I do. I've done a lot more good than bad. I am not going to let two plays determine me as a punter. I know what value I bring to this team, and I look forward to getting out there and having another chance to do it this weekend."
Coach Ben McAdoo remains strongly supportive of Wing.
"Brad Wing is our punter," he said after the loss in Tampa. "He made one mistake today. A lot of guys made one mistake, including me."
Wing said, "Anytime anybody in the organizations comes in and sticks up for you after you know you let them down, it gives you good confidence. It just makes me want to go out and work even harder to protect him and help the team as much as I can."
Although he didn't want to dwell on his latest short punt, Wing conceded that he did watch it on tape.
"I don't want to overanalyze it, but you definitely want to look at it," Wing said. "I thought I had an idea of what went wrong before looking at it, and it just confirmed (he was correct). It was just small, technical and the thing with punting and kicking, we are talking a half an inch, an inch. If something is off a half an inch, an inch, it turns a 40-yard punt into a 15-20-yard punt."
Wing didn't get another chance to punt at Tampa Bay, so he must live with the 15-yarder as his most recent kick for an entire week.
"It's tough because you only get 4-5 reps a game," Wing said. "You can't just be like, 'I'll get it the next play.' So you have to see it and think about it a little bit. Like I said, I just can't wait. It was good today to get out there and punt. I was waiting for today to just get the foot on the ball and I look forward to this weekend."
*Tackle Bobby Hart did not practice last Wednesday because of an ankle injury, but was not on the week's final injury report on Friday. But he was still inactive for the second week in a row at Tampa Bay.
"I felt it was best to give Bobby a full week of practice and see how he does with a full week of practice this week," McAdoo said. Justin Pugh again played right tackle in Hart's absence. Will Hart return to the lineup this week? "There's a chance," McAdoo said. "He's out there competing for the right tackle spot, yes. He had a good practice today."
*Four players, all of them starters, did not practice today because of injuries: cornerback Janoris Jenkins (ankle), defensive ends Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder/knee) and Olivier Vernon (ankle), and center Weston Richburg (concussion). Coach Ben McAdoo said of JPP, "We'll take a look at him tomorrow. See how he responds tomorrow."
Four players were limited: wide receivers Odell Beckham, Jr. (finger/ankle) and Brandon Marshall (toe), and running backs Paul Perkins (ribs) and Orleans Darkwa (back).
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