There aren't many drills in which you can practice holding on to the football while landing upside down on your head. If there were, Larry Donnell would be doing them over and over again to make sure there's not a repeat of what happened at Jacksonville last Sunday.
The Giants blew a 21-0 lead to the Jaguars, whose second-half comeback was helped in large part when a fumble by Donnell was returned 41 yards for a touchdown that gave Jacksonville a 22-21 lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Jaguars' eventual 25-24 win has haunted Donnell throughout this week as he prepares for Sunday's game against the Titans.
"When I think about that play, it makes me think about holding the ball much tighter," Donnell said on Friday. "It's hard to think about. But I don't ever want to forget about it. It's left a bad taste in my mouth. I've got to figure this thing out."
Donnell's fumble was one of two plays that resulted in Jacksonville defensive touchdowns. In the third quarter, Eli Manning fumbled while being sacked. The ball was recovered in the Giants' end zone by Jaguars linebacker J.T. Thomas, cutting the Giants lead to 21-10.
Both could be considered freak plays that may not happen again, but Donnell knows it probably won't be the last time he finds himself upside down with the football. At 6-foot-6, Donnell is a tall target for defensive backs who aim for his legs.
"I try to get low, but when those smaller guys get low, I can't get under them," Donnell said. "Linebackers will just try to take my head off, but the smaller guys go low because of my long legs."
Donnell has lost four fumbles this season, a troubling trend compounded by the propensity for the 26-year-old tight end to land on his head. The Giants have worked with him on securing the football tighter while running, but again, there aren't many drills for rehearsing holding on to the ball while landing on your head.
"It's tough, but you've got to find a way," Donnell said. "It's easy to hold it upright, but when you're upside down, man. … But I've got to find a way to do it. That's cost us."
An undrafted free agent from Grambling, who spent 2012 on the practice squad, Donnell has shown plenty of promise, catching 51 passes for 516 yards and six touchdowns this season. But the fumbling and his deficiencies as a run-blocker are keeping him from being a reliable starter.
"He's obviously a young guy coming literally out of nowhere that is talented that quite frankly we're trying to get more out of," coach Tom Coughlin said this week. "We're trying to make him the best player he can possibly be. We want to see him step up in the areas that are not natural for him; the blocking areas for example and obviously ball security."
Donnell's crucial fumble against the Jaguars came on a third-and-15 play. He caught the ball in the flat and tried to jump over a defender.
It wasn't a smart move.
"You always want to get an extra two yards, but with the situation I was in it was third-and-long," he said. "I might just have to get down. I'm sure the Titans have seen the play, too, so you have to expect them to do it."
Donnell said it took the support of his wife, father and especially his teammates to help lift his spirits after what happened in Jacksonville.
"The guys here have stuck together all season," he said. "They told me 'Don't worry about it. You're going to come back and make something happen.' That really helps. But it's still a bad feeling no doubt."
A bad feeling Donnell hopes to erase in Nashville.
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