Spurned by NFL, Blackburn relishes another chance with Giants http://www.ohio.com/cmlink/1.254847?print=1

Click to Print Spurned by NFL, Blackburn relishes another chance with Giants Ex-Zip Blackburn relishes second stint with Giants By Marla Ridenour Beacon Journal sports columnist Published: January 13, 2012 - 12:00 AM A flashlight-wielding dog walker can attest to ’s dogged determination to return to the NFL. Their unusual encounter came one November night in Avery Park in Dublin, Ohio, when the unemployed NFL from the University of Akron was working out alone. Blackburn’s now-17-month-old son Landyn was tucked in bed and wife Megan was feeding newborn son Bentley when Blackburn finally found time to get away. He was running special teams and position drills he remembered from his six years with the when the man and his dog arrived.

“He said, ‘What are you doing? Are you really just conditioning?’ ” Blackburn recalled in a telephone interview Thursday. “Not too many times you’ll see punt-set and covers at 9 o’clock at night.” Blackburn’s weight-lifting sessions at the Dublin Recreation Center and drills at the park eventually paid off. The injury- plagued Giants called on Nov. 29 and signed him for the remainder of the season. Five days later, he was intercepting an pass that set up a in the Giants’ 38-35 loss to the defending champion . He’s started at middle linebacker in the Giants’ last five games, including last weekend’s 24-2 wild-card victory over the . Blackburn tied for the team high with nine tackles, including a third-and-1 stop on running back Michael Turner in the third quarter, and received special mention from Giants coach . “He played very well,” Coughlin said of Blackburn Monday, according to Yahoo Sports. “We’re giving everybody a game ball, but I did recognize certain players for the contribution they made and he was one of them.” Seeking their second Super Bowl victory in five years, the Giants get another chance at the Packers on Sunday at 4:30 p.m. in a divisional playoff game at Lambeau Field. When rookie linebacker suffered an ankle injury Nov. 28 against the and the Giants called Blackburn, he was on the verge of becoming a substitute teacher. His freshman football coach at Marysville, Rich Baird, is the principal at Sells Middle School in Dublin. A math teacher was going on maternity leave after the Christmas break, and Baird said he could have requested Blackburn for the spot if his paperwork and certification was in order. “We’re very fortunate it never got that far,” Baird said by telephone Thursday. “I’m sure he’ll make a great math teacher somewhere someday. Just knowing what kind of worker and what kind of guy he is, he’ll be fantastic with kids. “He’s made such an impact [with the Giants]. Who knows where they’d be without him? It’s so fun to watch.” Blackburn hadn’t given up on finding a new team, but he was prepared to get an early start on his next life at the middle school. “Whenever football ends, life goes on,” he said. “You can’t sit around and live in what was. I have a wife and kids. At some point football is not your life, it’s not who you are, it’s what you do for a living. It doesn’t define you as a person.” Blackburn, 28, is still mystified as to what was keeping him out of the NFL. He’d led the Giants in special teams tackles in each of his six seasons and served as special teams captain in 2010. He knew they’d added four rookie

1 of 2 1/13/12 8:40 AM Spurned by NFL, Blackburn relishes another chance with Giants http://www.ohio.com/cmlink/1.254847?print=1

in the offseason, but was confident someone else would call. Several teams did. He had tryouts with the Giants, , and St. Louis Rams, but no one wanted to sign a 6-foot-3, 247-pound linebacker who could play multiple positions. “Some people thought I was injured,” Blackburn said. “I was caught off guard. Not just about the Giants, but also around the league that no one was really interested. All I could do was stay ready and hope God gave me another opportunity. He gave it to me and I’m trying to make the most of it.” Blackburn stayed as prepared as he could be, and not just with position drills in the park. When he and Megan moved back to Ohio, they kept some of their things packed in an enclosed trailer his father used for his motorcycle. “I knew once the lockout ended it was going to be a pretty quick turnaround and I didn’t know where we were going to go,” Blackburn said. “We had baby stuff, an extra Pack ’n Play crib, clothes. “As it kept going and going and I found out I wasn’t going to be anywhere for a little bit, we finally unpacked it.” But he kept a suitcase filled for himself with a suit and tie, jeans and shirts, ready to leave at a moment’s notice. The Rams wanted him to be on a flight in an hour, which he couldn’t make, but he caught the next one. “Whenever I went to work out, you never knew if I was going to sign and go,” he said. “I had to be ready. It was crazy.” Blackburn has no idea what next season holds. He hopes he’s played well enough that if the Giants don’t want him back, other teams will take notice. He’ll surely get his teaching papers in order, just in case they don’t. But he’ll likely keep the packed suitcase in his trunk, just in case they do. Marla Ridenour can be reached at [email protected]. Read her blog at http://marla.ohio.com/. Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/MarlaRidenour. Follow ABJ sports on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com /sports.abj.

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