Ballard hopes drops are out of his system

NEW ORLEANS -- Antrel Rolle gave Jake Ballard the nickname "Clutch" earlier this season when he was a virtual unknown and catching nearly everything that was thrown his way.

Monday night against the Saints, it was up to "Clutch'' to find a new gear.

For the first time in his young career, Ballard needed to rebound from a poor performance. Against the Eagles last week, the second-year tight end caught only one pass for 13 yards. What's more, he dropped three, including one in which he was wide open on the second play of the opening drive.

He said that potential catch was "almost so easy, it was hard."

"It just seemed like it took forever to get there and I turned my head before the ball got there," Ballard said. "That was just a major drop."

It was not something the Giants were used to seeing. Ballard had caught 15 of the first 17 passes thrown in his direction this season and was a key player as the team rallied for a comeback win over the Patriots earlier this month.

The Giants had seen him as a blocking tight end and admitted they were surprised by his ability to get open and catch the football. Last week, the big surprise was that he didn't.

"It wasn't good," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said. "It wasn't like him. He's made some spectacular catches . . . I hope we got it all out of our system."

Ballard figured to have opportunities Monday night against the Saints, a team that blitzes from its secondary and thus leaves openings for a quarterback to hit hot routes. With linebacker Jonathan Vilma (knee) inactive, the Saints also were weakened in the middle, and with Mario Manningham (knee) sitting out as a game-time decision, the Giants were down to only three legitimate options at wide receiver.

The Saints entered the game having allowed opposing tight ends to catch 50 passes for 568 yards and six touchdowns this season. Only the Bears (eight) and Chiefs (seven) had given up more scoring plays to tight ends.

Ballard had to leave last week's game to have X-rays on his wrist, which he injured when he made a cut and put his hand on the turf awkwardly. He returned to the game when those images were negative. He also suffered a knee injury in the game. But this week, he was not on the injury report.

"He's a tough kid and has been practicing, hasn't missed anything," Gilbride said. "I'm sure it's sore. A lot of guys are beat up, but they just keep going. And knowing the way he is, I'll be shocked if he allowed this to affect his play."

Ballard entered Monday night's game with 27 catches for 443 yards in the first 10 games and had become a security outlet for Eli Manning, earning the trust of the quarterback.

Was that trust broken by the drops? Hardly. On the Giants' final offensive play last week, the one from the Eagles' 21 in which Manning was sacked and fumbled, he said his primary target on the play was Ballard down the middle.

Notes & quotes:New Orleans native Chad Jones, the Giants' third-round draft pick in 2010 who was involved in a horrendous automobile accident before his rookie season, met with the team Sunday night and was with them on the sideline for the game Monday night. He even skipped and jogged out of the tunnel with the team, waving his arms. "The best part is just seeing this," Jones said before the game. "Just to be right here in front of my teammates . . . The hotel atmosphere, pregame atmosphere was all great, a natural feeling. It's something to work toward, work harder tomorrow when I'm working out. It makes things feel much better." . . . Manningham (knee) was able to run some routes on the field before the game, but he was listed as inactive. He did not practice at all in the past week, and although he had said he intended to play, the Giants ruled him out before the kickoff . . . The other Giants inactives were four players who did not make the trip -- Derrick Martin (hamstring), Ahmad Bradshaw (foot), Michael Boley (hamstring) and Will Beatty (eye) -- along with James Brewer and Jimmy Kennedy.