The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... Ballard's fourth-quarter injury in the Super Bowl might wind up costing him the entire 2012 season. Jeff Roberts of the Newark Star-Ledger reports that Ballard underwent microfracture surgery in addition to surgery on his torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Diehards Line:The microfracture procedure could add six weeks or more to a recovery that already figured to put Ballard on the physically unable to perform list to start the season. It's possible Ballard won't make it back this year and he'll surely miss half the season. The team will keep Ballard on the roster, but they have replaced him with Martellus Bennett from the Cowboys. Travis Beckum, who also tore his ACL in the Super Bowl, could be back by Week 1. As NFL.com's Gregg Rosenthal notes, the lack of a great tight end threat looks like a weakness for the Giants' passing game, but that's also what we thought last offseason. Remember when the loss of Steve Smith and Kevin Boss was supposed to crush the Giants' receiving corps? And what about Bennett? He'll definitely be a player to watch this offseason.