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One of the best special teams units in the NFL can’t keep getting burned by something as simple as counting to 11.
Giants special teams coordinator Chris Horton didn’t hide Thursday from at least three instances in six games of playing one man short on kicks and punts.
“Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing that that is continuing to happen,” Horton said before Thursday’s practice. “I want to make sure that we get a handle on that.”
On a day when defensive coordinator Dennard Wilson put his players on blast for not hustling in pursuit of the ball in last week’s loss to the Saints, Horton said the special teams’ issues, including penalties that knee-capped returns, are “not a lack of effort.” The bigger issue is communication.
“That thing starts with me,” Horton said. “It’s making sure that I’m communicating to the guys. Then it’s also the players understanding, being in the flow of the game, being in the moment. We have to get out there, we have to make calls, and we have to have everybody up. We have to put an end to that.”
The Giants ranked No. 3 in the NFL in Estimated Points Added (measures the value of an individual play by calculating the change in a team’s expected points from the start to finish of the play) on special teams after the first five games.
LB Tremaine Edmunds (shoulder), TE Chris Manhertz (calf) and CB Greg Newsome II (concussion) did not practice.
CB Paulson Adebo (knee), RT Jermaine Eluemunor (calf), S Jevón Holland (concussion), TE Theo Johnson (neck), WR Charlie Jones (Achilles), OT Marcus Mbow (knee), S Tyler Nubin (neck) and LT Andrew Thomas (groin) were limited.
CB Colton Hood (concussion), P Jordan Stout (right knee) and OLB Kayvon Thibodeaux (illness) were upgraded from limited to full participants.
Former Citadel punter James Platte had a workout with the Giants to provide a look at left-footed spin for the punt returners ahead of facing the Texans’ Kai Kroeger.