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TE Jake Ballard (Super Bowl Champion)

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New York Giants team report: Ballard suffers sprained knee
Paul Schwartz Sporting News

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? New York Giants tight end Jake Ballard suffered a sprained knee on his only catch of the game, which occurred late in the first half of Sunday?s 23-10 loss to the Washington Redskins.

Ballard was able to return briefly for two plays on the Giants? first offensive series in the third quarter, then took a seat on the bench for the remainder of the game. Afterward, Ballard did not seem to think he was hurt badly, but he will have an MRI Monday to determine the extent of what the Giants are calling a sprained knee.

Losing Ballard for any length of time would be a huge blow to the Giants, as he has been a revelation this season. The second-year player, who came into this season with no career catches, has 38 receptions for 604 yards and four touchdowns.

Ballard, an improving but hardly dominating blocker, has developed into a valuable downfield threat for Eli Manning. His size (6-6, 256) has been an asset.

There is not much waiting in the wings at the position. Travis Beckum has only three catches for 80 yards and one touchdown and is not a blocker at the line of scrimmage. Bear Pascoe is big enough to play tight end but is used more as a blocker at fullback.
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Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/nfl/sto...t-ballard-suffers-sprained-knee#ixzz1gzIQ8oPt
 
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HOLD ON TIGHT
The Giants are suddenly in a very tight spot at tight end. Starter Jake Ballard suffered an injury to his posterior cruciate ligament on Sunday. Ballard reaggravated an ?old PCL injury,? Coughlin said. He is considered day-to-day, although the Giants expect he will miss some time. Backup tight end Bear Pascoe is also dealing with a rib injury, and second-year tight end Travis Beckum missed Sunday?s game with a chest injury
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Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/f...-christmas-eve-article-1.994224#ixzz1h550tDDe
 
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JAKE BALLARD

Ballard, who these days is the Giants starting tight end, played his college ball at Ohio State. His path to the 53-man roster via the practice squad took a little longer than most and had a few more setbacks than perhaps he would have liked.

Like every pro prospect, Ballard had aspirations of being drafted. However, he was injured during his pro day, which sent his stock tumbling.

Having gone undrafted, Ballard was signed by the Giants as a rookie free agent on April 26, 2010. After participating in the rookie mini camp that year, Ballard found himself having to miss the team?s OTAs because his school year at Ohio State ran late.

?Everyone else was here for OTAs and lifting with the team, and I never had any of that,? he recalled.

As if that wasn?t enough of a setback, when Ballard finally did get into Giants camp that summer, he proceeded to pull a hamstring that cost him even more valuable practice time.

?That year we had like four tight ends go down,? Ballard recalled of a group that also included veterans Kevin Boss and Travis Beckum. ?I had an opportunity to get in there and show what I could do, but the hamstring set me back.?

While he was forced to be a spectator as his prospective teammates practiced, all Ballard could do was study. However, he admitted that there?s only so much that can be accomplished by studying.

?You have to learn everything by the chalkboard and video and by looking at a sheet of paper,? he said of how he kept up with learning the Giants? offense. ?I think it helps before a practice, but if you can?t get out onto the field to do it, I think that definitely sets people back.?

Because in part of his injury, Ballard didn?t make it through the Giants preseason last year. He was waived/injured on August 19 and didn?t resurface until Sept. 5 when New York signed him to the team?s practice squad where he stayed until Nov. 20 of that year before being promoted to the 53-man roster as insurance due to an injury by then starter Kevin Boss.

Three days later, he was waived from the 53-man roster and then re-signed after clearing waivers to the practice squad. Then on Dec. 16, the date the Giants placed receiver Steve Smith on injured reserve, Ballard was promoted to the 53-man roster where he?s been ever since.

In looking back at his time on the practice squad, Ballard views the experience as a mixed blessing.

?I was hurt, so that helped me out with getting my foot in the door,? he said. ?Since I wasn?t on the 53-man roster right away, it gave me the chance to hone in on all my skills, to try to get better at everything, and to really try to learn the playbook.?

It also gave him a chance to go against the Giants starting defense when the coaches asked him and the rest of the scout team players to simulate the opposing offenses during the daily practices.

?That?s a huge advantage going against the number ones all the time,? Ballard said. ?You start to learn their techniques and how they play, and you start to realize when you?re doing well and when you?re not doing well, so you kind of learn what you need to do to become the player you want to be. Being able to compete against some of the best players in the league ? that?s definitely an advantage.?

Yet for Ballard, who said that he didn?t think there was too much of an advantage in filling some of the other duties of a practice squad player such as simulating the roles of players at other positions (?You?re just really reading off of a card,? he said of simulating other positions), he said he can appreciate the detours his NFL career took given where he is today.

?Some guys aren?t ready to play in this league right away,? he said. ?Was I one of them? I don?t really know because I never really got the opportunity to play right away. But it definitely helped me get better at everything I did, and I think (the results) are showing today.?
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http://insidefootball.com/blog/archives/3529
 
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Dec. 26, 2011 - by Alex Raskin - Ballard feeling better, but knee remains untested
TE Jake Ballard has not yet tested his injured knee by running yet, he told reporters. Ballard, who missed his first game of the season Saturday, doesn't know if he can play Sunday but said he's feeling better. He originally suffered this PCL injury while at Ohio State.
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http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/rapid-reports/post/16606470
 
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Giants' Jake Ballard not making much progress in recovery from knee injury
Published: Wednesday, December 28, 2011
By Mike Garafolo/The Star-Ledger

Jake Ballard was told the normal recovery for his knee injury is 2 to 4 weeks.

?I?m trying to squeeze it into one,? the Giants? tight end said today.

So far, the results haven?t been so hot.

Ballard, who suffered a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament in the loss to the Redskins, ran on the side today as the rest of the team practiced. He anticipates doing the same on Thursday and isn?t sure if he?ll be able to practice at all this week.

Ballard said once again he wouldn?t be able to play if the game were today. It?s not, so he has a few more days to get ready, but the fact he?s no closer to answering yes on that question isn?t a promising sign.

?It?s not like a hand or something where you can play though it,? he said. ?If I can?t run and get the job done, somebody else can do a better job. And I feel like some guys when they get hurt they push through it but they end up hurting their team because the healthy guy behind them might be able to run better.?

For the Giants, that guy would once again be Bear Pascoe, who did not have a catch against the Jets.

Ballard said the call on whether he plays won?t be his. Working his way through a PCL issue could lead to further damage to his knee.

?I wish it was my call: ?Hey, I?m playing,? and my knee would be fine,? he said. ?But that?s not the case.?

Ballard had a PCL issue during his time at Ohio State. It wasn?t much of a concern because he was mostly a blocking tight end.

?I think I just wore a brace so all I could do was block. I didn?t run at all,? he said. ?So I didn?t really treat it as well as I should have.?

Asked if the Buckeyes? medical staff would?ve allowed him to play through this issue, he grinned and said, ?They would probably overlook some stuff: ?Oh you can play.??

Ballard hopes the Giants? staff will have a similar response by Sunday.

?Yeah, right now it?s do or die,? he said. ?It (stinks). It?s frustrating.?
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http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2011/12/giants_jake_ballard_not_making.html
 
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Q: How concerned are you about the fact that Jake Ballard may not play?
A: It is a big concern because obviously Jake had worked his way into being a very important part of the puzzle. In the game in Dallas he was huge and as the game went on at the end and that last drive, they started using a technique that I hadn't seen until I happened to be watching television and saw Romeo Crennel do it in Kansas City and all of a sudden they were doing it. They were punting two guys in like a punt coverage against Victor and we couldn't win with Victor so we had to win somewhere else. There were a couple things you could do but one of the things and easy solution was to see if Jake could win and he made a huge play for us and got it right down to the one-yard line. It is a concern obviously. You wish Jake was there and could play but we have been fortunate this year that when guys have been hurt, people stepped up and filled in and have done a good job for us. We are looking forward to seeing what Travis can do. When he has been healthy, he has made some plays and hopefully he or Bear will do it.
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http://www.bigblueview.com/2011/12/29/2669640/kevin-gilbride-press-conference-12-29-11
 
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Giants' Jake Ballard ruled out for Sunday's game vs. Cowboys
Published: Friday, December 30, 2011
By Mike Garafolo/The Star-Ledger

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Chris Faytok/The Star-Ledger
Giants tight end Jake Ballard has been ruled out of Sunday's game against the Cowboys because of a knee injury.

Giants tight end Jake Ballard, who caught four passes for 52 yards and a touchdown in the team's comeback victory over the Dallas Cowboys earlier this month, has been ruled out of the rematch.

Ballard didn't practice all week and the team has designated him as "out" for Sunday's game against the Cowboys. Ballard is dealing with a partially torn posterior cruciate ligament (the one in the back of the knee). He said earlier this week he was told it'll be a 2-to-4 week recovery process, which means he might be able to return next week ? if there is a next week.

"It's extremely frustrating," Ballard said. "Sitting out last weekend was really tough. I thought there'd be a chance to get back for this game, but it hasn't turned out that way. This is a playoff game for us. We have to win and get in.

"It's killing me right now. Sitting and watching practice all week is driving me crazy."
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http://www.nj.com/giants/index.ssf/2011/12/giants_jake_ballard_ruled_out.html
 
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Ballard hopes to play next week
January, 1, 2012
By Ian Begley

Best-case scenario for Jake Ballard? The Giants beat the Cowboys on Sunday night and he returns to the field for their playoff game next week.

Worst-case? He is forced to watch the Giants' season end from the sidelines on Sunday night.

Either way, sitting out at such a critical juncture in the season has been "killing" Ballard.

"it's extremely frustrating. Sitting out last weekend was really tough and I thought there could be a chance I could get back for this game and it hasn't turned out that way. This is a playoff game for us. We've got to win to get in and it's killing me right now sitting there watching practice all week," Ballard said.

Ballard sprained his PCL against Washington on Dec. 18.

His workload likely will be picked up by Travis Beckum and Bear Pascoe, who combined for zero catches against the Jets.

"I'm just not ready yet," Ballard said. "[But] I'm definitely making progress. It's a two , three to four week injury and I'm right at two weeks. The team has to take care of the Cowboys and hopefully I'll play next week."
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http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/10229/ballard-hopes-to-play-next-week
 
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INJURY UPDATE: Tight end Jake Ballard missed his second straight game with a sprained PCL but said that it's a "great possibility" that he could play next week against Atlanta.

Ballard said he knew he wouldn?t have the chance to play again this season unless the team made the playoffs. He said he's going to need to see some things this week but sounded optimistic about returning for what would be his first career playoff game.

"I'm definitely getting better every day and going to go in there tomorrow and move around and see how it feels and definitely strive to play in this game and practice this week," Ballard said.
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http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/10300/notebook-nicks-injuries-stats
 
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Ballard returns, is limited in practice
January, 4, 2012
By Ohm Youngmisuk

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Tight end Jake Ballard, who has missed the last two weeks with a PCL knee injury, returned to practice on a limited basis on Wednesday.

"I was limited, moved around pretty well. I will get more reps tomorrow and go from there," Ballard said.

When asked if he is hopeful about playing on Sunday against the Falcons, the team's top tight end replied, "Yeah, absolutely."

Ballard, who has not played since injuring his knee against the Redskins three weeks ago, did some running last week before the team held him out of any more work the rest of the week.

"It wasn't very pretty," he said of his running last week.
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http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/giants/post/_/id/10388/ballard-returns
 
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