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I am wondering if you feel the same way that I do about the Giants bringing Chase Blackburn back. I feel that he is a VERRRRRY important player, and it's NOT by chance that the Giants win the Super Bowl when Chase Blackburn comes back to the Giants. Chase Blackburn for PRESIDENT.... He gets the JOB DONE
Dear Bob:
*It's good to hear from the president of the Chase Blackburn Fan Club. I have to tell you, though, I can' support him for President at this time. Get back to me later in the year. As for Blackburn returning to the Giants…everybody likes Chase Blackburn. He's had a great career for someone who joined the team as a lightly-regarded free agent from Akron. And he was an important player down the stretch after re-signing the week after Thanksgiving, including coming up with the big interception in the Super Bowl. I'm sure Chase can still contribute on defense and on special teams. But they have Mark Herzlich, a younger player who can perform many of the duties Blackburn has handled. It was Herzlich's ankle injury that led the Giants to bring back Blackburn. The Giants want to be faster and more athletic at linebacker. They can try to do that through free agency and the draft. How well they fare could well determine if Blackburn has an opportunity to go to training camp with the Giants.
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I have been a Giant Fan for 50 years and this past season was the most surprising and exciting that I can remember. Will the LSU defensive back drafted two years ago ever play football again? He was in an extremely serious car accident.
Dear Kevin:
*Your reference, of course, is to Chad Jones, who suffered severe injuries in an accident in June 2010 two months after he was drafted in the third round. Jones has had a long and arduous rehabilitation. He is running and doing football drills. Jones believes he will be in training camp with the Giants this summer. But it's a big mystery how he will perform after missing two full seasons. Jones will show up with many questions that cannot be answered until he steps on the field.
*I grew up in CT and New York and became a Giant fan. But I have lived in Dallas since 1977. You have no idea how delightful it has been over the past few years to be a Giant fan in the land of Jerry Jones. Since 1996, the Cowboys have an overall losing record. And they have won exactly one playoff game. I constantly remind my friends who are Cowboy fans of these facts!!!! My question, for you Mike, is a request for a prediction. Which Giant player do you believe will have a "breakout" season in 2012?. That is, which player who had a good 2011 season will have an outstanding 2012 season? My prediction would be Linval Joseph. But what do you think, Mike?
Dear Steve:
*I think Linval Joseph had a breakout season in 2011. He started all but one game, he steadily improved throughout the season and he was a consistently good run defender who provided an inside pass rusher. Joseph should be a fixture in the middle of the defensive line for many years. My choice for a 2012 breakout player would be Prince Amukamara. He had no offseason work because of the lockout and missed all of training camp and the first nine games of the season after breaking his foot. When he returned, Amukamara had to learn on the fly. With a full offseason and training camp, Amukamara will have an opportunity to demonstrate the talent that made him worthy of the 20th selection in the draft last year. I look for Prince to have a big sophomore season in 2012.
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