E-GIANTS
Dave Klein was the Giants' beat writer
for The Star-Ledger from 1961 to 1995.
He is the author of 26 books and he is one of
only four sportswriters to have covered all the Super Bowls.
Dave has allowed TEAM GIANTS to reprint some of his articles.

JAKE BALLARD DIDN'T SURPRISE HIIMSELF BY EMERGING AS A STARTING TIGHT END

By Dave Klein
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - Jake Ballard is probably the least likely start on the Giants' offense.

He was scheduled to have a major fight on his hands just to make the team, just to be the third string tight end. But then Kevin Boss signed with the Oakland Raiders and there went the starter.

Then Travis Beckum got himself hurt (again) and missed last week's opener against the Redskins. So who should trot onto the field? Ballard, who is 6-6 and 275 (he almost blushes when he confesses to 280), but his face gets red when it is suggested that he is nothing more than a blocking tight end.

"Not so," he says. "I can catch the ball, it's just that people my size don't get the ball thrown to them that much. It didn't happen at Ohio State, either. That's what the smaller tight ends do, they catch it. We have to make sure the quarterback stays on his feet so he can throw to them."

But Ballard has already proven to be a sure-handed receiver. He was on the practice squad last season, then activated for a while, then released and re-signed in time for the 2011 season.

Now he's the starter, and of all the people who might have been surprised at that, he isn't one of them.

"I expected to make the team," he said. "I wouldn't have even shown up for training camp if I didn't expect to make the team. I had it figured out. If Kevin had signed, Bear [Pascoe] would have played more at fullback, and then I would have been the second-team tight end. But Kevin left, so Bear and I kind of share the job."

Ballard had two catches for 59 yards against the Redskins, not numbers one might consider to belong to a tight end, and it should be pointed out that he and Pascoe started the game when the Giants opened with a two-tight end, two-wide receiver formation.

"Did I block? Of course I did," he said, standing in the locker room, "and I think I need to get better at that. I actually think I need to get better at everything, and every game, every day in practice. It's what professional athletes have to do."

In his two years working under Mike Pope, one of the most celebrated tight end coaches in the game, Ballard says he has grown better all-around. "I'm even quicker now, too," he said. "My patterns are better, more precise, and I am a much better player than I was at Ohio State."

He is probably in much better condition, too.

It is a constant mystery how some players can be drafted in the first round and turn out to be absolute disasters (we all have names; the kid who has moved around and around and finally out is Aaron Maybin, a defensive end from Penn State drafted first by Buffalo two years ago and since then released by the Bills and the Jets).

And then players like Ballard go undrafted - "I just didn't get enough attention at Ohio State," he says, referring to a place in the offense. He was "just" a blocker on a team of superstars.

Now the Giants have a gargantuan tight end with bulk, blocking prowess and more than a little receiving abilities, along with a smaller, quicker tight end in Beckum (a third round pick in 2009) who can be a different kind of force if he finds a way to stay healthy.

EXTRA POINTS - Prince Amukamara, the Giants' first-round draft pick, was jogging with the team alongside the practice field Wednesday and pronounced himself "ahead of schedule" in recovering from a broken foot. ... "It sure felt weird," he said, "to be out there with my teammates, and as long as I can run I know I'm going to get better fast."

Amukamara said his foot was "a little sore" but nothing to worry about and he said that the pin inserted during the operation will remain "forever," but added that he's out of the boot now and overall appears pleased.

Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, clearly the team's best, is still questionable with a sore knee but he is not being ruled out. ... "If he can't go, we are confident in the receivers we have," said quarterback Eli Manning. "We don't design game plans based on the players we have, they are based on the defense we are getting ready to play."

The St. Louis Rams, who come in for Monday night's battle, are led by former Giants' defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, and Tom Coughlin was asked if the two have had any contact. ... "We text each other at the start of the season and wish each other good luck," he said, "and of course we look for each other at league meetings. But I don't know if he has tried to bring 'NFC East' football to the Rams. He has a good team and he is working with his personnel."

Nicks offered this encouraging note: "If today was game day, I'd play," he said. "It's a bone bruise, a hyper extended knee. There is no damage." ... Defensive end Justin Tuck is also up in the air about whether he'll be allowed to play as well. ... He has a stiff neck but dismisses it as anything serious. ... "I showed up for the Redskins prepared to play," he said, "and I expect to play Monday night."

Strongside linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka seemed pleased to be facing his old defensive coach, and says that while Spagnuolo will use a lot of the same defensive techniques he installed when he was with the Giants, "our main focus is to disrupt the quarterback's pocket presence." ... The quarterback is the young and rising star Sam Bradford, who has a sore hand as a result of last week's action vs. Philadelphia, but none of the Giants felt the defense would "go after" Bradford (a bruised middle finger on his throwing hand). ... "There's a line between playing tough and playing dirty," Kiwanuka said. "We won't cross that line."

Neither quarterback exactly emerged as a shining star after the first weekend - Manning is ranked 15th in the NFC, Bradford 15th. ... St. Louis star running back Stephen Jackson is out of the game, to be replaced by former Buccaneer Cadillac Williams, who gained 91 yards in 19 carries vs. the Eagles. ... Nicks finished the first week with seven receptions for 122 yards while three others in the NFC (Steve Smith, Roddy White and Earnest Graham each had eight. ... Smith had 178 yards; Hicks was second with 122.

Check out Dave's website at E-GIANTS where you can subscribe to his newsletters which run much more frequently than what is available here.
- Team Giants

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