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.

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.

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.

Yesterday, mandatory verteran minicamps began.  Players took the field for an hour and forty minutes for practice.

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.

The New York Giants were very busy the last few days making sure their draft selections had a place to stay.

First round pick David Wilson, RB out of Virginia Tech, signed a four year deal with a fifth year option.  The contract is worth $6.68 million and it includes a signing bonus of $3.3 million.  Wilson received much praise in his rookie camp and is expected to have immediate playing time behind Ahmad Bradshaw.

The Giants also signed their second round pick Rueben Randle, WR from LSU.  Randle was in consideration by the Giants to be drafted in the first round, and the team was stunned to find out that he was still available during their second round pick.  Randle has received high praise from everyone covering the draft, knowing that he was NFL ready.

The Giants picked up eight undrafted free agents:

1.  WR David Douglas (Arizona)
2.  WR Julien Talley (UMass)
3.  FB Joe Martinek (Rutgers)
4.  G Stephen Gooden (Nebraska-Kearney)
5.  DE Adewale Ojomo (Miami)
6.  DE Matt Broha (Louisiana Tech)
7.  S Jojo Nicolas (Miami)
8.  S Janzen Jackson (McNeese State)

It’s no surprise that Julien Talley is already being compared to Victor Cruz.  Both are from New Jersey, both played for UMass, both are WR’s, and both were taken by the Giants as undrafted free agents.  However, Talley does believe he has the same caliber as Cruz.  We shall see.

Defensive Coordinator Perry Fewell addressed the middle linebacker position yesterday.  The position has been in queston for the past few seasons, but it was announced that Chase Blackburn will start.

Blackburn won’t have it easy, however, as there will be competition for it throughout camp and the season.  Possible competitors are Mark Herzlich, Greg Jones, Michael Boley, and Keith Rivers.  Fewell said Boley has the ability to play the position, but for now it’s Blackburn’s.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The New York Giants kept very busy this week and signed some players to return for the 2012 season.

A source confirmed last night that middle linebacker Chase Blackburn came to terms with the team to return.  Blackburn was a major contributor to the team in 2011.  His most notable play of the season was in Super Bowl XLVI when he grabbed an interception off Tom Brady while covering TE Rob Gronkowski.

With linebackers like Mathias Kiwanuka and Michael Boley, Blackburn will only help strengthen the position.

Blackburn wasn’t even on the roster at the start of the 2011 season.  He was called to rejoin the team before Week 13 due to injuries that benched players.  He was a key contributor to the Super bowl run and of course the championship.

The Giants really need to hold on to Blackburn for as long as they can.  He has more talent than they originally thought.

The Giants also traded a fifth round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for Keith Rivers.  Rivers has the talent to be a powerful linebacker for the Giants…that is if he stays healthy.  He missed all of 2011 with a wrist injury.

The Giants signed offensive linemen Sean Locklear and cornerback Antwaun Molden on Wednesday.

Locklear will give a verteran presence for the line and should be a key contributor to help protect Eli Manning.

Molden was a part of the 2011 New England Patriots team and joined the team that denied him a ring.  However, he is reportedly “glad to be a Giant”. Molden was a big contributor in the Super Bowl for the Patriots and will help strengthen the Giants weak secondary.

All the moves the Giants have made this week are going to be very key.  They strengthened the linebacker position and already started to build a strong offensive line.  This will bring more anticipation for the upcoming draft to see how much further Jerry Reese can build for 2012.  It should be a fun season.