Blackburn again trying to prove he belongs

ARLINGTON, Texas -- Chase Blackburn spent the first six years of his career showing teams that they were wrong to have passed on him when he first came into the league. He plans on spending the rest of this season showing them that they were wrong not to bring him back sooner.

The veteran linebacker was signed by the Giants last week and made an immediate impact on both the defense and special teams. He had an interception against Aaron Rodgers and provided leadership and a tackle on kickoff coverage. Last night, he again was on the field in both capacities against the Cowboys in a critical game for both teams.

Blackburn showed up and it looked as if he had never left. It begs the question: Couldn't he have done that earlier in the season? Earlier in the four-game losing streak?

It's a question even Blackburn wants to answer.

"I'm going to try and prove that it was a mistake for me not playing earlier this year," he said this week. "I was sitting on the couch before I got picked up my rookie year. I waited a long time. I was just trying to get the opportunity and take advantage. That's what I've tried to do again, the same situation. I didn't have a spot on any team, no one was wanting to take a chance on me. Now I'm just trying to prove it was a mistake."

When Jonathan Goff was injured, the Giants brought in Blackburn for a workout before the opener, but they decided to go with a mix of rookies and added responsibility to Michael Boley. It worked out OK, but when Boley missed two games with a hamstring injury and Mark Herzlich injured his ankle, they needed Blackburn. Fortunately for them, he still was available.

"Chase is Chase," Tom Coughlin said. "He said he had his bags packed for quite a while before he actually got the phone call . . . He jumps right in there and no matter what you ask him to do, either side of the ball, he's ready to go."

When he was a rookie, Blackburn almost literally was the last player the NFL turned to. He went undrafted and signed with the Giants as a free agent the day before training camp started. Brought in to fill out the numbers on the roster, he wound up making the team.

He climbed the ladder from those meek beginnings to become a special-teams captain last year. When his contract expired after last season, though, he was a victim of the lockout. Teams were in such a frenzy to slap their rosters together and get their training camps started in late July that Blackburn fell through the cracks. Again.

Blackburn said even if the Giants hadn't called and he had sat out the entire season, he would not have given up. He planned to keep training and try to make a team next summer. Instead, the Giants needed him.

"I was glad Chase was available for us," defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. "I thought he did a very commendable job being here for three days and recalling what we installed and put in. My hat was off to Chase."

Notes & quotes: RB Ahmad Bradshaw violated team rules and did not start the game. D.J. Ware started at running back. Bradshaw entered the game at the start of the second half . . . . Although the Giants entered Sunday night's game with a chance to take the lead in the NFC East, their wild-card chances took a significant hit during the day. Wins by the Falcons and Lions put those two teams in a tie for the two wild-card spots at 8-5. When they kicked off against the Cowboys, the Giants (6-6) were 1 1/2 games behind that logjam and a half-game behind the Bears (7-6) . . . A loss to the Cowboys would not have eliminated the Giants from contention for the division title, but they would need help. They'd need to win their final three games against the Redskins, Jets and Cowboys and have the Cowboys also lose to the Eagles in Week 16 . . . This was the last regular-season game of the season for the Giants not at MetLife Stadium. They host the Redskins and Cowboys and will be the visiting team against the Jets on Christmas Eve.