This season, the New York Giants revamped their special teams under new head coach John Harbaugh and coordinator Chris Horton.
The "teams" have been mostly effective this season, but in the last few weeks, there have been a slew of mistakes that point not only to the players but to the coaches as well.
In last Sunday's loss to the New Orleans Saints, the Giants lost 97 yards on returns due to penalties. In a one-score game, you can bet they played a major role.
"Those 97 yards, they came at opportune times, situations where we could have definitely flipped the field," Horton said on Thursday at his media session. "When you get in situations, and you're talking about losing yards because of blocks in the back, those are decision-making things. Those are things that
happen within the game, and we can coach against those things because we offer a lot of tools in those toolboxes so you don't block a guy in the back.
"Balls being returned, for an example; if I'm running behind the guy, if I'm in chase mode -- we call it chase mode -- just turn and climb. Put your foot in the ground, go climb, and go block somebody else. Returners are good enough to make guys miss at the point of attack. Secondly, if I'm in a situation where I feel like I'm going to block a guy in the back, maybe I run in between my man and the ball, and then I shield that guy off. There's opportunities to make sure that those things don't happen. And, again, it comes back to playing winning football and pure execution of the plays."
Another issue is more about game management. The Giants have been frequently caught with 10 men on the field, something Horton chalks up to poor communication.
"I believe we do a great job throughout the practice, and we're rotating a lot of guys," he explained. "But, man, that thing starts with me. 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've got to get out there, we've got to make calls, and we've got to have everybody up. We've got to put an end to that. I can assure you that, man.
"Quite frankly, it's embarrassing that that is continuing to happen. I want to make sure that we get a handle on that and we're able to put an end to it."
Horton was asked how he could rectify the situation.
"It's a communication thing. It's a part of being just in tune to the game," he said. "We're out there, we're making calls. When the phases are up, we need every guy up on the field. Sometimes there's guys that are on the field that have got to make sure that they don't come off the field. It just kind of goes back into those little things. Again, we're working on those things, and we're going to get them fixed."
The Giants play in Houston this Sunday. They will have several more new faces on the field again this week. Injuries have forced them to shuffle their roster, and special teams is the unit that pays the highest price.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Giants' Chris Horton says repeated 10-player issues are embarrassing
