Dan Connor played for the Dallas Cowboys in 2012 and played for the Carolina Panthers from 2008 to 2011. Connor is 27 years-old, 241 lbs, and 6’2″. He was a third-round pick from Penn State in 2008. Connor is most comfortable in the middle linebacker position which makes me wonder about the future of Chase Blackburn who is a free agent.

Louis Murphy could be a nice addition to the receiving corps. It looks like he’ll be competing with Jerrel Jernigan for the number fourth receiver spot. However, Domenik Hixon and Ramses Barden are both free agents and first-round tender has been placed on restricted free agent Victor Cruz. Murphy will give the Giants some negotiating room and also serves as a solid back up plan if they lose a few receivers to free agency.

Louis Murphy was a fourth-round pick for the Oakland Raiders in 2009. He is 25 years old, 200 lbs, and 6’2″. He played in Oakland for three years and was with the Carolina Panthers in 2012. In 2010, Murphy had his best year with 41 receptions and 609 yards. What I really like about Murphy is his speed. He has a career average of 14.5 yards in his 115 receptions.

Tight end Brandon Myers will visit with the New York Giants. Myers is 27 years old, 250 lbs, 6’4″. He was the sixth-round draft pick from Iowa in 2009. He’s played all four years of his NFL career with the Oakland Raiders. Myers had a breakout season last year with 4 TDs, 79 catches, and 806 yards. This is a guy who I believe is ready to be a top-tier tight end and exactly what the Giants need to overcome their red zone problems.

I like what Jerry Reese is doing here. He’s bringing on young, hungry players with 4-5 years experience in the league and giving them one year to prove themselves worthy of a longer contract to play out the remainder of their careers. After a breakout season last year, Brandon Myers is probably looking for a longer contract and probably deserves it. I suspect that if he signs with the Giants he’ll have a two-year deal, but not a three or four-year deal.

Chase may not be signed with the intention of him being the starter, but that is certainly a familiar spot for Blackburn.  He has earned his spot each and every time, and of course has come from out of football to a starting spot before.  One of the stories Coach Tom Coughlin told in his new book “Earn the Right to Win” was about Chase and how he stayed prepared even after the Giants had released him at the end of training camp in 2011.  Coughlin laughed at how the announcers would say “Chase came from sitting on the couch to starting a game in the NFL”….Chase wasn’t sitting around on any couches…he did his workouts, he studied his position, and he studied the league for his next opportunity.  There is no wonder Chase is a coach favorite, and I would bet might even become a coach himself someday soon.

Chase’s agent stated that will review the offer from the Giants and take a look at all their other opportunities…but again here is a guy that never got a look from another team through ten weeks in 20111, and then wins a Super Bowl…I’m betting Chase would rather be in New York as a Giant than anywhere else.

“I can’t say he’ll stay there permanently, but right now Chase is our guy and no one’s clearly beaten him out for the position,’’ defensive coordinator Perry Fewell said. “Chase has some distinct advantages over some of the other guys. I said to the defense in our meeting, if I want to rewrite my playbook, I would get Chase’s notes and rewrite our playbook. When I ask a question or when I talk about a defense in there, he puts the addendums in. So he has been the best extension of me so far because he probably knows as much about our defense and how to make the calls and run our defense as any of those linebackers, with the exception of Michael Boley, right now. That’s pretty good.

The have many names for the MLB position on the roster currently. They also have second year player Mark Herzlich and to a lesser extent Keith Rivers and Greg Jones. The Giants will be looking to continue to add depth to the LB’s during the offseason and there are many unknowns regarding the long-term derability of Chase Blackburn. However, no one can argue that he is a great story, plays a solid MLB and brings a leadership to the defense that was needed to lead us to the Super Bowl. No matter who you are you have to be pulling for Mr. Blackburn.

Remember you can follow your GmenHq writers on twitter @tom_brant @gmenhq @erobertsny @Pessimets_

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/giants/blackburn_tops_offseason_depth_chart_1Kfoty3yOdEWaGUdCkX1VM#ixzz1y3gglEDN

Aug 2, 2010; Albany, NY, USA; New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell holds up a play card for his players during training camp in Albany. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

As OTA’s get started and training camp right around the corner, what are the keys to watch for this season? For the Giants to get a playoff birth and make another run at the title they will need to fill the holes of outgoing players and upgrade at a few other areas.

1. Who will be the Victor Cruz of 2012? When Steve Smith departing last offseason there was a huge question mark at the WR position. Thankfully out of virtually no where Cruz emerged and had a monster season finishing behind only Calvin Johnson in recieving yards in the NFC.  With Mario Manningham gone to the left coast and now a question mark on Hakeem Nicks season the WR position has yet again become a problem area. So, who will step up? As of now we have Cruz, Domenik Hixon coming off injury, and rookie Rueban Randle as the likely top 3. After that it’s  Ramses Bardan and Jerrel Jernigan both of which have yet to show any promise. Hopefully Nicks can return to form by week 4 or 5.

2. The linebacker position seems to be the opposite of last year at this time. With Chase Blackburn being re-signed and emerging as a force in the middle and the signing of Keith Rivers from Cincinnati really will solidify the LB corp with Boley and Kiwi flipping between LB and End. And the experience that Williams, Jones and Herzlich gained last year filling in now makes this a strength and no longer the weak link of the defense.

3. The running game had an extremely lack luster year in 2011. Being non existent for most of the year only emerging in the latter part of the regular season and the playoffs, mainly due to the respect for Eli and fear of the big play, needs to be better. With Jacobs joining Manningham in SF and DJ Ware and Da’rel Scott showing very little last season it was clear that Bradshaw would need help. The Giants turned to the Draft and picked David Wilson. With Bradshaw always fighting injuries from his running style and Wilson being a rookie it would appear the G-Men will probably go to a 3 headed running attack with Bradshaw, Ware and Wilson. But this area will be a question with only 1 back That is battle tested.

4. The Offensive Line had an up and down year in 2011, giving good protection in the passing game and poor run blocking. The one constant on the line has been and will be Chris Snee at right guard. With Kareem McKenzie not being re-signed mean that Will Beatty and James Brewer fighting for right tackle, off season signing Sean Locklear with provide depth. The left side appears it will be David Diehl at LT and Kevin Boothe and Mitch Petreus battling for RG. Petreus would add needed toughness and help for the running game. David Baas had a rough start, but seemed to settle in at the center position nicely.

These questions should be answered by the end of training camp and will be key areas that will need to be solid for the Giants to make another run to the playoffs and possible championship.

I don’t think college football allows you to have a big, anchor middle linebacker anymore because of the way college football plays,” Fewell said. “And I don’t think the NFL requires that as much anymore because a lot of things change with one-back spread teams that throw the ball all over the place.”

Fewell went on to say, “We don’t have a third-down middle linebacker. What is a two-down Mike? We may have to redefine that a little bit as we continue to evaluate what offenses are doing in the National Football League.”

Fewell said the linebacking corps will be “an area of interest” for the team this summer in large part because it has so many potential personnel combinations.

The position of linebacker continues to evolve in the NFL, and the Giants will look for creative ways to adapt ahead of the curve.

This week the Giants travel to Texas to take on Jerry Jones’s Dallas Cowboys.  The Giants are sporting a four game losing streak, although the last game against the Packers is being viewed optimistically. The Giants showed alot of fight in the loss, and came within a minute of forcing an overtime against the undefeated Pack. The Cowboys lost a heartbreaker to an inferior Cardinals team that could have been avoided. Basically, the Giants have to win three out of their next four to have a shot at the playoffs. Four wins would guarantee them the playoff slot, but that might be too much to ask for. The G-Men are choosing to look at the loss to GB as a flashback to their loss to the Patriots in 2007. They are hoping that the loss showed that they can come up big when things are on the line, and are viewing the next four games as playoff games.

Offensively, Eli manning is having another great season, and has developed a rhythym with his receivers. He also plays well against Dallas, with 26 career TD’s against the ‘Boys, the most of any opponent. In three of the last 4 games against them, he has thrown for over 300 yards and 2 TD’s, and has had four 300 yard games against Dallas, with three of those games coming in Texas. The Giants are 2-0 in the Jerry Dome, and Manning is 5-2 when playing in Dallas. The return of Ahmad Bradshaw seemed to rejuvenate the Giants’ rushing game to a serviceable level. The running attack doesn’t need to be great, just good enough to make the opponents think twice before committing to an all out rush against the Giants’ overmatched O-Line. Stacy Andrews is out with blood clots, Will Beatty has a detached retina, David Baas is plagued with headaches, everyone knows the drill. Mitch Petrus played well in the loss, and David Diehl slid outside to his natural left tackle slot. This matches him up against the first of Big D’s defenders, Demarcus (big D) Ware. In previous matchups Ware has handled Diehl effectively, so Bradshaw might be called on to help out in protection. The receiving corps looks relatively healthy, so this should be a strength for the G-Men. (more…)

This one hurts alot. To come so close and come up short…Well, let’s take a look at the various components of the Giants’ effort last weekend. On offense, the G-Men did ok. Manning was able to hook up with his receivers and exploit the Packers pass defense. Other than the pick six that he threw, Manning had a good game. His receivers were open, and he hit them consistently. Travis Beckum showed up with a 67 yard TD reception and run that had me comtemplating the headline Bend It Like Beckum. Victor Cruz and Hakeen Nicks were open all day, and the patch work line kept Eli upright. The refs blew the TD call with Ballard, and the running game got untracked. Bradshaw’s return was a huge benefit.Defensively, the Giants rushing defense showed up, but the pass D took a breather. Chase Blackburn’s INT pretty much cancelled out Eli’s INT, but the defense should be able to find a way to stop their opponents and force OT with only 58 seconds on the clock. (more…)

Luckily, the Dallas Cowboys also lost to the Arizona Cardinals so the Giants remain only a game behind them in the NFC East, making next week’s showdown that much bigger.

A few observations from the game:

-Congratulations to Victor Cruz for reaching 1,000 receiving yards! Cruz came into the game with 957 receiving yards and his 43 yard reception in the first quarter put him over the 1,000 yards mark. He now has 1,076 on the season. Not bad for  a guy who went undrafted, huh?

-Cruz hinted earlier this week that he was planning on using double moves to take advantage of Woodson aggressiveness and draw penalties and it showed.

-Speaking of Woodson, it seems like he can’t tackle any of the Giants running backs without getting run over. Every time I see him, I think of Brandon Jacobs bowling him over in the infamous 2008 NFC Championship game in Green Bay, and Bradshaw knocking him over in the fourth quarter was eerily similar.

-We all know that the Giants have had to overcome a ridiculous amount of injuries again this season, and with David Bass and Will Beatty hurt, today’s game marked the fifth different offensive line combination used this season. That just makes the season that Eli Manning is having that much more impressive.

-Chase Blackburn solidified his welcome back with a huge interception of Aaron Rodgers deep in Packers territory. He looked pretty good in pass coverage too, an area where most of the Giants linebackers have struggled this year. But between Michael Boley and Blackburn’s returns to the lineup, they looked much better in that respect than they did last week (not that that was hard to do).

-What was up with those two plays that Coughlin challenged? It was very clear that neither of those plays were getting overturned and he wasted both of his challenges and two timeouts. Coughlin is normally one of the best coaches in the NFL when it comes to winning challenges, but he’s now lost his last four.

-Kenny Phillips left the game with a sprained knee- the same one that cost him his season last year- and did not return. Is it too much to ask for the Giants to make it through one game without someone getting hurt?

-Another monster of a game from Jason Pierre-Paul. New York needed him to set up in a big way with Osi Umenyiora out and he did just that. It’s hard to believe that he doesn’t even have two full NFL seasons under his belt. Imagine what a dominate player he’ll be in a few more years.

Through the draft the Giants added two players, fourth round selection Phillip Dilliard and sixth round pick Adrian Tracy. Add that to the current linebackers on the roster, Chase Blackburn, Michael Boley, fan favorite Zak DeOssie, Jonathan Goff, Brian Kehl, Clint Sintim, Gerris Wilkinson, and Kenny Ingram (who has never entered a game). None of those names ring out like those old Giants linebackers of lore. But who knows what we will think of them after this season?

The race for the Mike or Middle Linebacker boils down to 4 players: Goff, Dilliard, Wilkinson, and Blackburn. Whoever wins the competition will be expected to quarterback the defense the same way Antonio Pierce did under previous defensive coordinators, which could be too much to throw on rookie Dilliard’s plate immediately. Many fans were playing Rolando McClain was going to fall to the Giants in the first round, but that obviously didn’t happen. The Giants obviously expect a lot from Dilliard, but how much they can realistically expect from a first year player remains to be seen. Of all the races profiled thus far this one seems the most wide open. Jonathan Goff has been getting most of the reps so far with the first team, with Dilliard mostly with the second, but really none of the four options have been ruled out yet, and while it could very well be Goff’s to lose, it would be just as easy for Dilliar for even Blackburn or Wilkinson to win it.

Michael Boley spent parts of last season hurt, but when he did play he did so servicably. He should remain as the starter at one of the outside linebacker spots. The other outside spot most likely belongs to Clint Sintim, who has seen a few reps in the middle himself. If the season ended today, it would most likely be Boley and Sintim on the outside with Goff anchoring the middle. The Giants know more or less what to expect from Boley, as long as he stays healthy. It is Goff and even more Sintim that are the players to watch. Of course, if the front four do their job, they will help cover up any weakness in the young linebacking corps.