Mark Herzlich

New York Giants’ GM Jerry Reese and Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell have mentioned that the likely starters at middle linebacker is Chase Blackburn.

Blackburn did not play most of the 2011 season for the Giants when he was not called back during training camp.  When injuries limited the middle linebackers, Blackburn was brought back to save the day.

Forgotten fact:  It was Mark Herzlich‘s injury that prompted the Giants to call Blackburn.

It was reported on Giants.com that Herzlich has been at the Timex Center in the Meadowlands for four days a week on his own and plans to keep up this training until the Giants report to camp.  This is the point in summer when players spend the time off with their families before beginning the season, but Herzlich is on a mission.

Fewell said that Blackburn is the guy at middle linebacker, and Herzlich is looking to change that:

“I definitely think I can – that’s my goal,” Herzlich said. “That’s why I’m here every day working, to try to get that job.  It’s all a competition. I think the good thing about the Giants is they want to win and I think whoever gives them the opportunity to win will be able to start at that position.  For me right now, it is just learning the plays and knowing them, as well as I can so that way I can go in and let my play speak for itself.”

Here’s a little background on Herzlich just in case some of you are wondering who the heck this guy is:

Herzlich attended Boston College and played linebacker during his years there.  He played in all 13 games in his freshmen season and was named Freshmen All-American honors by College Football News.  He recorded 42 tackles, one interception, one sack, and two forced fumbles during that season.

Herzlich’s stats stayed consistent over the next two years at Boston College, but in 2009 everything came to a sudden halt.  On May 14th that year Herzlich announced that he was diagnosed with Ewing’s Disease which is a rare form of bone cancer.

On September 29, 2009 Herzlich announced that he was cancer free, but he sat out for the entire football season.

When it comes to battles, Herzlich knows how to face them.

Herzlich played in all of the beginning 11 games of the 2011 season, and started the last two of those, but an ankle injury forced him on the sideline for the remainder of the season which prompted the Giants to recall Blackburn.

“It was frustrating,” Herzlich said of his prolonged absence. “As awesome as it was going through the playoffs and winning all the games and winning the Super Bowl – obviously it was a dream come true. There’s still something left on the table for me, personally, because I didn’t get to play in those games. So it pushes me even harder right now, because I don’t want that to ever happen again. I don’t want to be watching those games and not playing in them.”

I’ve repeatedly said over and over again that the battle for linebacker was going to be an interesting one.  Like mentioned above, Fewell believes Blackburn is the guy to start at middle linebacker, but it’s not set in stone.

Aside from Herzlich, other guys battling for the spots are Michael Boley, Greg Jones, and Keith Rivers.

I think Herzlich has the biggest chance against Blackburn for the middle linebacker spot.  I’m sure we’ll be hearing a lot of updates from Fewell during training camp about these guys.

Herzlich has had his battles both professionally and personally, battles that a lot of us may not fully understand.  In the end, he is working hard to win this one and won’t stop at anything until he does.

On July 11th at 9pm the ESPY awards will take place on ESPN.  Your New York Giants are nominated for three awards.

Here are the nominations and who they’re up against:

[Click the links to go to the voting page]

BEST TEAM
New York Giants
Alabama Football
Baylor Women’s Basketball
Kentucky Men’s Basketball
Los Angeles Kings
Miami Heat
St. Louis Cardinals

BEST COACH/MANAGER
Tom Coughlin, New York Giants
John Calipari, Kentucky Men’s Basketball
Kim Mulkey, Baylor Women’s Basketball
Patrick Murphy, Alabama Softball
Erik Spoelstra, Miami Heat
Darryl Sutter, Los Angeles Kings

BEST CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCE
Eli Manning, Super Bowl
David Freese, World Series
LeBron James, NBA Playoffs
Tony Steward, Sprint Cup
Jonathan Quick, Stanley Cup

After winning Super Bowl XLII the Giants won three ESPY awards:  Best Game (Giants vs. Patriots in the Super Bowl), Best Play (Eli Manning’s pass to David Tyree in the Super Bowl), and Best Upset (Giants over Patriots in the Super Bowl).

The Giants have some pretty stiff competition this year.  So, Giants fans, if you want your guys to take home some more trophies, VOTE NOW!

Amani Toomer and Eli Manning

Sorry, Amani Toomer, but America does not agree with your comments.

In case you missed it, Toomer recently told a show on Sirius radio that he feels Dallas Cowboys QB Tony Romo is better than New York Giants QB Eli Manning.

ESPN’s SportNation ran a poll letting America decide.  Here’s how they voted:

Wow!  A whole 84% vs. 16%!

And to top it all off…even Texas agrees!

Thanks America!

Ramble over…Let’s get on with our lives.

New York Giants QB Eli Manning

Before we know it, we will blink and NFL training camps will start.  The New York Giants have been pretty quiet for the most part this offseason.  That is, they have been compared to last.

Here’s a look, position by position, at the current Giants offensive roster before it heads to training camp.

Quarterbacks
Obviously there’s no worry here.  Eli Manning will of course head to position and responsibility of leading the Giants offense.  Now that he has two Super Bowl MVP’s, there are no doubts whether or not he can handle it.  His back-up is David Carr, whose press conference for his re-signing we are still waiting for (snicker).

This will be Carr’s third season with the Giants as the second-string QB, and has only seen one stint of playing time with the team.  It was in 2009 when the Giants blew out the Oakland Raiders and decided to give Manning the rest of the day off.  Carr may not see much playing time…again…but if heaven forbid something happens to Manning, I believe the Giants have a solid back-up in Carr.  He knows the Giants playbook and studies it every week.

Wide Receivers
Last season, the Giants had an unstoppable trio of receivers in Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, and Mario Manningham.  No matter where opposing defenses forced Manning to throw, there was a reliable receiver ready to catch the ball.  That trio is currently broken up.  Manningham left New York for San Francisco, and Nicks is recovering from a fractured foot.  Nicks is expected to recover in time for the start of the season, but until then, what?  There’s still one spot left to be that third guy.  That guy that will make the third down catches.

Luckily for the Giants they have some depth.  Domenik Hixon is returning from missing his second straight season with a second straight ACL tear.  He’ll be used, but should be with caution.  Ramses Barden, who was drafted by the Giants in 2009, is looking to redeem himself of three miserable seasons.  In three years he has 15 catches and 174 yards.  Ouch.  If he has game in him, then this is the opportunity to show it.  If he still can’t prove his worth, then the Giants need to move on.

Finally, there is the rookie Rueben Randle of LSU.  There is a lot of hype around this kid, especially from GM Jerry Reese.  Reese claims him to be “NFL ready” and a lot of analysts called this Giants pick a steal.  NFL ready or not, he is young and still need to develop.  I can see the Giants using him for some of those third down catches, but he may not necessarily be the “third down guy”.

Tight Ends
Yes, the Giants made a mistake when they lost Jake Ballard to the New England Patriots.  But there’s one thing everyone needs to remember:  With or without Ballard, the TEs are limited.  Ballard had a bad ACL tear to his right knee and was ruled out for the entire 2012 season after he failed a physical.  Travis Beckum also tore his ACL.  It’s possible Beckum could be available for the season, but he obviously would be limited.

The Giants have two key players to turn to.  Bear Pascoe has the most experience with the Giants of all the TEs on the roster.  He was the second man to go to after Kevin Boss in 2010 and Ballard in 2011.  Unless another player steps up to the plate as the starting TE, Pascoe will be the guy.

That player that could possibly be Martellus Bennett.  The Giants signed Bennett after he played his first four seasons with the Dallas Cowboys.  He went from being the number two guy behind Jason Witten to now hopefully getting a starting role with New York.  In his career with Dallas, he has 85 receptions for 846 yards and four touchdowns.

Rookie Adrien Robinson can also have a chance to show what he’s capable of, but he has to outshine a ton of TE’s that saw no playing time last season.  I think the show for TE’s this training camp will be an interesting one.

Running Backs
Like the WR situation, the Giants lost veteran Brandon Jacobs when they could not reach a new contract agreement.  Jacobs is now with San Francisco.  Who do they have left?

The Giants have some depth, but it’s not as deep as the WRs.  Ahmad Bradshaw will continue to assume the starting role responsibilities, however he is recovering from a fracture in his foot.  He’ll be healthy to participate in training camp and start the season off, but he’s injury prone.  The Giants need to finalize some reliable backups.

First round draft pick David Wilson from Virginia Tech would be an easy choice, but like Randle he’ll need to develop enough in time to play a key role.  I don’t think he’ll have much of an issue making a statement in training camp, but it’s the question of transitioning onto the regular season field that is always the up in the air for rookies.

The Giants also have DJ Ware who is, in my opinion, pretty underrated.  I’m a little surprised he wasn’t used more, especially when both Jacobs and Bradshaw were battling injuries.  Ware had 46 carries for 163 yards and averaged 3.5 yards per carry.  He showed last season that he has the speed to break through the defensive lines.  I think he should be used more in 2012.

Offensive Line
In 2011, the offensive line behind Eli Manning was pretty horrific.  Manning was sacked 28 times during the regular season.  He’s a tough QB, but no one should have to take that many hits.  Kareem McKenzie failed to do his job of protecting Manning, which probably explains the reason why he’s not back with the team.

The key behind the Giants becoming a strong offensive line is a healthy David Baas.  Baas was brought to the team in 2011 hoping to hone his skills, but he was riddled with injuries that sidelined him for most of the season.

The tackles have a highly important role this season.  They really need to step up and provide better protection for Manning.  David Diehl and Will Beatty will be the go-to guys to protect, and hopefully Sean Locklear can bring a verteran and leadership presence to make the position stronger.

Special Teams
The special teams played a huge role in the Giants run for the Super Bowl.

Their kicker Lawrence Tynes made the crucial FG that put them in the big game, but it was the work of punter Steve Weatherford that made a huge difference.  Weatherford punted for 3,745 yards in the regular season average 45.7 yards.  In the postseason he managed to put the ball deep into the opposing teams end, making it extra difficult to come back down the field.

Overall the New York Giants offense is almost, just almost a match to last year.  A few tweaks here and there and they’ll be better.  The biggest challenge will be getting the offensive line a lot stronger.  A strong o-line gives more freedom to Manning.

Amani Toomer said WHAT?!

That’s right.  An article posted on ESPN New York said that the former New York Giants’ wide receiver claims Dallas Cowboys’ QB Tony Romo is better than Eli Manning.

 ”Tony Romo is probably, if you look at it, statistically, he’s probably the best quarterback in the NFC East,” Toomer said on the “Movin’ the Chains” show on SiriusXM NFL Radio. “You look at Eli Manning and what he does in the fourth quarter, but you talk about consistency, talking about 31 touchdowns and only 10 interceptions, that guy (Romo) can play.”

Romo is 18-19 in his career against the NFC East and 5-7 against the Giants, including three losses at Cowboys Stadium.

Manning, fresh off his second Super Bowl title, is 26-20 versus the NFC East and 9-6 against the Cowboys. He never has lost at Cowboys Stadium.

Am I missing something here?  If you said Romo is a better golfer than Manning then sure I wouldn’t disagree.

But to say Romo is a better QB than Manning is just…absurd.

Sorry, Amani, but I think you’ve got it wrong.  Do I think Romo is a good QB?  Sure.  Yes, Manning has had his inconsistencies over the years, but Romo has his share.  Try and throw around a million statistics all you want, but I think it’s pretty clear that if one were to choose between the two QB’s, 9 out of 10 would go with Manning.

At the end of the day, it comes down to which QB has accomplished more.

Manning has won the last five starts against Romo and the Cowboys.  In both NFC title games he’s played in, Manning is undefeated.  Romo has yet to reach one.  Manning has 21 fourth quarter comebacks, four against the Cowboys.  Romo has 13, one against the Giants.

Let’s not forget to mention these two shiny trophies:

Once again, I think it’s pretty evident who the better QB is.

One would think Tiki Barber was making these comments.  And just as Barber was booed at Giants Stadium after making critcizing remarks about Manning, there’s not doubt fans may boo Toomer if he shows his face at Metlife Stadium.

Say what you will, but Eli Manning is the most accomplished QB in the NFC East, and he has two Super Bowl MVP’s to prove it.

After the 2011 NFL lockout, New York Giants LB Chase Blackburn was a free agent waiting for the phone call to come back and play.  That call never came.  Not from the Giants.  Not from anyone.

Week 1 arrived, and he was still unemployed.

But that didn’t stop Blackburn from believing he would play football again.  He stayed hopeful and he kept training.  He was on his way to getting a job as a math teacher when his phone rang on November 29th.  It was the Giants.

The defense was riddled with injuries and a spot was cleared on the roster for Blackburn’s return.  12 weeks into the regular and he finally took the field against the Green Bay Packers.  This is what happened:

Though the Giants went onto losing that game, the Blackburn interception turned out to be one of the bigger plays to keep the Giants in the game.

Blackburn went onto starting at middle linebacker for the remaining four regular season games and all playoff games.  Giants fans will remember forever when he became a Super Bowl XLVI hero for this play against the New England Patriots:

I think Blackburn hurt Tom Brady’s feelings…

To me, the Blackburn story is a remarkable one.  Here is guy who was unemployed, about to become a dad, and still held onto the idea that he would get that phone call to return to the NFL.

The Giants made sure they held onto Blackburn for at least one more season by giving him an $800,000+ contract, and he’ll be a free agent AGAIN in 2013.

He is now the starting middle linebacker going into training camp this coming August.

Talk about going from missing almost an entire season, to proving you belong by making a statement on the field in such a short amount of time.

I tip my cap off to Chase Blackburn, and I hope he’s a Giant for a long time.

Bear Pascoe (PHOTO: Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Last week, Giants GM Jerry Reese took a gamble by placing starting TE Jake Ballard on waivers.  Ballard tore his ACL during Super Bowl XLVI and failed a physical before minicamp.  Reese’s plan was to reclaim Ballard and place him on the PUP-list.

Unfortunately the plan backfired when the New England Patriots scooped Ballard away from the Giants.

Even if Ballard was still a Giant, the team needed to address the TE situation.  Who will be the go-to guy?

The first guy to look at is Bear Pascoe.  The Giants have used him over the years as a second TE behind Ballard and Kevin Boss.  Of all the TE’s he has the most experience with the team and will be looked at to lead the staff.

In 2011 Pascoe played eight out of the 17 Week season.  He had 12 receptions for 136 yards, but no touchdowns.  He made a big impact for the Giants in Super Bowl XLVI with four receptions for 33 yards.

The irony behind all of this is Pascoe and Ballard are good friends and were roommates during their time with the Giants.  Now Pascoe will likely be taking over Ballard’s job.

But as we know, Pascoe can’t do it all.  Travis Beckum is also recovering from a torn ACL, but is expected to play next season.  However, it’s not likely he’ll recover enough to be a full time starter.  The number two guy they should look at is Martellus Bennett.

The Giants acquired Bennett this offseason from the Dallas Cowboys.  He’s 6’6″ and weighs in at 296lbs.  During his four years in Dallas he had 85 receptions for 846 yards.  He has decent speed that could give Eli Manning another moving target on the field in place of Ballard.

After being the number two guy behind Jason Witten in Dallas, Bennett is probably hungry for this opportunity to show the Giants what he’s capable of doing.  Pascoe is the starter for now, but Bennett won’t make it easy.

Rookie Adrien Robinson from Cincinnati can also have a shot at playing a role this season.  However, it’s still too early in the offseason to make any real determinations.  The Giants will have a better idea of what to do with him when training camp arrives.

After losing Kevin Boss, Kevin Gilbride and his coaches were able to train Jake Ballard enough to be a quality starter.  The Giants would not have won Super Bowl XLVI without him.  They have Pascoe ready to go, but need another TE to take the charge.  Bennett is the guy to play that role.

Mandatory minicamps have begun and before we know it training camp this coming summer will begin.  The New York Giants are coming off a championship season and are looking to work in every way possible to defend their title.  Here are the top five keys the Giants need to work on in order to accomplish this goal:

5.  Eli needs to stay elite
I don’t think there’s anything to worry here.  However, to insure victory, you need Eli Manning.  You need this guy to be the QB he was last year:  tough, clutch, and a leader.  Manning has already talked about what he needs to work on personally.  The number one stat he needs to improve is lowering his interceptions.  He led the league in 2010 with 25 and cut them down to 16 in 2011.  Even with his best season on record, Manning is bothered by the stat and wants to make sure it gets better.  Even with the 16 interceptions, Manning was the best clutch QB in the NFL bringing his team to come-from-behind victories almost every week.  When you played the Giants, the game wasn’t truly over until the clock was 00:00 after the fourth quarter, and it’s all because of Manning.  As long as he stays clutch, and continues to be a tough QB, he will have no problem leading his offense down the field.

4.  Find the perfect WR trio
In the 2011 season Hakeem Nicks, Victor Cruz, and Mario Manningham were an unstoppable trio of receivers.  It didn’t matter who the opposing defenses forced Manning to throw to.  All three were trustworthy and were at their spots to make catches.  Right now that trio is broken up.  Manningham left New York for San Francisco and Nicks is out with a broken foot.    The Giants hope to have Nicks ready in time for Week 1, but until then what do they do?  There is still one spot open to be that third guy.  That guy that will be there to make third down plays.  Domenik Hixon is returning from his second ACL tear and was used last season as a receiver.  His best catch last year was what caused his injury against the St. Louis Rams.  There is also rookie Rueben Randle from LSU.  Jerry Reese is all about this kid and has claimed he is “NFL ready”.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Randle is the go-to guy in third downs.

3.  Defensive backs need to step up their game
Last year, the Giants lost their best CB Terrell Thomas to an ACL tear during a preseason game.  The regular season started off very rocky for the backs and it showed that Thomas was really missed out there.  They had their moments of glory, but also very shaky moments of distress.  Corey Webster had a solid year for the CB’s with six interceptions and Antrel Rolle got more physical with 82 tackles.  Last year’s first round draft pick Prince Amukamara missed most of the season with a broken foot.  Now that he’s returned healthy he will have high expectations coming his way in 2012.  Thomas will also be back with a healthy knee and will remind New York why he’s so valuable.  In 2010 he led the team in interceptions (5) and tackles (81).  The Giants have also acquired Antwaun Molden from the New England Patriots who will be used as a solid backup.  It is a must for the CB’s to work twice as hard as they did last year, especially with the difficult schedule ahead of them.

2.  Protect your QB!
It can’t be stressed enough how important it is to protect your QB.  After being sacked 28 times in 2011, the Giants are lucky they have a tough QB in Manning.  The team did not offer a new contract to Kareem McKenzie, whose job it was to provide protection which didn’t really happen.  David Diehl will most likely serve as the top tackle for Manning and the line will have a healthy David Baas back.  The key right there is Baas at center.  He has the talent and the potential to give the Giants a strong offensive line.  He was riddled with injuries last year and was prevented from proving so.  If Baas stays healthy, you have a stronger line and a better chance at protecting the QB.

1.  Be the best defense in the NFL
The Giants have the talent and the experience the have the best defensive front line in the NFL.  There were some injuries and distractions that prevented it from being so in 2011.  This year, however, is shaping up to be a lot different.  There is a healthy Justin Tuck, a healthy and (key word) happy Osi Umenyiora, and a young, hungry, and powerful Jason Pierre-Paul.  If these three are on their A-game and attacking the QB every single week, it’s game over.  Let’s not forget the potential first string linebackers in Mathias Kiwanuka, Michael Boley, and Chase Blackburn that are showing their worth coming off 2011.  After about three seasons it looks like the LB position has finally been solidified for the Giants.  They need to do everything they can to stay healthy and give 110% every single week and they will be the best defensive front line in the NFL.

To be honest, there really isn’t much of a transition the Giants have to make in order to chase a repeat.  All they need to do is take what they did in 2011 and make it better.  Manning told the media during the first team workouts that his main concern is for the team to find a way to improve.  If they were successful last year, then how do they make it better?  As long as they head in that direction, they have a great chance at defending their title.

ESPN’s Kieran Darcy noted some highlights from the day:

1.  Veterans attended practice, but some did not fully participate.  One in particular was Osi Umenyiora.  He spent most of the afternoon on the sideline, but did take the field during the walk-off portion.

CB Corey Webster and S Kenny Phillips also sat out.  Webster is still healing a hamstring injury and the team is being careful with Phillips.

DT Chris Canty will sit out of minicamp while he recovers from knee surgery.

WR Hakeem Nicks, who broke his right foot a few weeks ago, was riding an exercise bike on the sideline.

2.  Newly signed Rocky Bernard played on the defensive line with Justin Tuck and Jason Pierre-Paul.  Michael Boley, Chase Blackburn, and Mathias Kiwanuka were the first string linebackers.

3.  On Eli Manning’s first pass of the day he was picked off by Boley on a pass that was intended for Victor Cruz.

Backup QB’s David Carr and Ryan Perrilloux were able to locate rookie receiver Rueben Randle.

Head coach Tom Coughlin spoke to the media about what the players should expect in minicamps and holes to fill in the lineup:

“We’re gonna throw a lot at them,” said Coughlin. “We’ll install, and then we’ll jog through, we’ll install again, and then practice. So in other words they’re getting two days of installation, and we’re trying to get as much information to them as we possibly can, and we’ll go through our corrections in the evening.”

The Giants will return the nucleus from their Super Bowl-winning team of a year ago. But they still have some holes to fill. For instance, they will be looking for a No. 2 running back to pair with Ahmad Bradshaw, now that Brandon Jacobs is with the 49ers. And they are looking for a No. 3 wide receiver, with Mario Manningham also jumping to San Francisco.

“We’re gonna get some people lined up [this week],” Coughlin said. “We have formulated some opinions, but it’ll take training camp and some preseason games before we start to be able to do some further thoughts with some of the young kids.”

More news from minicamp was posted on social media sites.  Art Stapleton of The Record notes some impressive coverage on Victor Cruz by rookie Jayron Hosley during 7-on-7 drills.

And the team’s Twitter page (@Giants) reveals Justin Tuck’s new facemask:

Notes from Day 2 will come later today.

Jake Ballard PHOTO: Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

Today while working, I received a text update from ESPN that read “Giants cut TE Jake Ballard (torn ACL)”.

This was the face I made:

Then I saw the below tweets from Ralph Vacchiano (@TheBlueScreen) from the New York Daily News:

Then I made this face:

Ballard will likely clear waivers and will be placed on the PUP-list and will miss the remainder of the season.

My fellow Giants fans, or really just anyone that knows me well, know my feelings about Ballard, but there is a reason why he has caught my interest.

When the Giants lost Kevin Boss after the 2010-2011 season I wondered what in the world they were going to do in that spot.  Boss, like Steve Smith, was another one of Eli Manning’s most trustworthy players to get to where the ball is placed.  What TE was going to be Manning’s go-to guy now?

Ballard stepped his game up big time last season and made Giants fans, in no disrespect, forget Boss.  Ballard caught 38 passes for 604 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season, one of which was the big game-winner against the New England Patriots.

It’s really a shame that this ACL injury happened.  Ballard was showing great promise for the Giants after last season.  This is one of those times where we are reminded that the NFL is still a business, but at least there is hope for Ballard’s return to the team.

It takes a lot of pieces to a puzzle to win a championship, and Ballard was certainly one of those pieces.  Without him they would have never made the playoffs, and therefore would not have won Super Bowl XLVI.