TE Ballard's faith pays off for Giants

Last summer Tom Coughlin asked Jake Ballard to trust him. This year the roles have been reversed.

Ballard was an undrafted rookie tight end in training camp with the team in 2010 when he injured his hamstring early on. They wanted to give him time to recover, but when other injuries piled up, they had to make roster moves. Rather than waive Ballard injured and provide him with a financial settlement, the Giants simply waived him.

Coughlin told him the move was so that they could bring him back once the roster was settled in September.

"I pretty much took him at his word," Ballard said. "It's still a pretty big leap of faith. I'm sitting there after the final cuts like, 'Man, I hope they're calling me.'"

They did, adding Ballard to the practice squad.

Fast-forward a year later to this past weekend. Ballard was fairly confident that he'd make the 53-man roster, but he also knew that there could be a chance for the team to upgrade at his position. When other teams trimmed their teams, veteran tight ends would surely fall loose and the Giants would be able to grab one.

"In the back of my mind I was thinking maybe they'll get a tight end with more experience," he said. But they didn't. "I guess it shows the guys that are still here that they have confidence in us."

That confidence may not be as high outside the organization. Fans saw Kevin Boss leave in free agency a month ago and have been waiting for Jerry Reese to bring in his replacement. He has not, instead sticking with Ballard, Travis Beckum and Bear Pascoe.

"Kevin did a lot of great things here," Beckum said. "Thirty-five (receptions) doesn't sound like a lot, but he did a lot of things."

Reese said he thinks that Beckum can make up for those catches, even though he won't line up in a traditional tight end role because of his size. But Ballard, the likely starter, might be able to contribute to the passing game too.

At 6-6 and 275 pounds, Ballard is mostly a run-blocking tight end who was seldom used in the passing game at Ohio State and has never caught an NFL pass. But he did make two nice grabs in the preseason this summer and said that working on the practice squad last year, pretending to be Greg Olsen or Dallas Clark and running routes against the Giants' first-team defense, helped him refine his skills.

Early in training camp Coughlin publicly challenged the Giants' tight ends to improve, the threat being that changes would have to be made if they did not. How'd that go?

"He got better," Coughlin said of Ballard's growth as a blocker and a receiver.

So now it's the Giants' turn to take a leap of faith.