In Defense of Jeremy Shockey

Early in his carreer, Jeremy Shockey appeared to potentially become of the most dominant TE's in NFL history, rivaling to re-define the position like John Mackey did with the Baltimore Colts in the 1960's. Basically a country boy, he parlayed his considerable size, strength, and talent with all out effort to All American at Miami and 1st draft choice of the Giants in '02. He also played with a discernible nasty streak, the kind more frequently seen on defense. Swift enough, the Giants would often wide him out, where he would impose his will on defensive backfields, deadly at 10-20 yards down the field, gutting for extra yards after the catch.and snaring jump balls for touchdowns. He didn't shy away from following through on crunching blocks, either. In his rookie season, he had dominated a playoff game out at old Candlestick against the 49'ers, only for the Giants to have a comedy of errors in deep snap kicking, which ultimately led to them blowing a big lead and the game. The playoff performance by a TE was reminiscent of Kellen Winslow's marauding effort against the Dolphins in double overtime a few decades ago. Unfortunately, both gems by the two players resulted in losses for their teams. The sky seemed the limit for Shockey, whose role was being orchestrated at the time by Sean Payton on the Giants offensive staff. He quickly became the talk of the town in Manahattan, a Generation X' er with an old school style of play - but with elite talent. Former Giant TE Mark Bavarro was a bull and similarly stoked the fires of the frenzies in NY, but did not have Shockey's range as a receiver. Shockey's career subsequently shifted down from overdrive but remained productive. Sean Payton moving on to assist Bill Parcells in Dallas, the Giants having mediocre teams, them shifting his role from primary to alternative target, in addition to the wear and tear accumulated on his body from his physical style of play, were all factors. It bottomed out for him in NY during the Gmen's unlikely Super Bowl at the end of the '07 season. Being injured and missing the playoffs, he watched his replacement, a kid named Boss, make a big catch and run down the field against the Patriots, an instrumental play in the upset, seemingly detached from the team - in the press box. A year ago, it was no secret Sean Payton thought Shockey still had plenty of gas in the tank - him being a few years shy of 30, in addition to the coach feeling his TE position on the team was being manned by pedestrians (though Billy Miller is an adequate playmaker). At first the asking price was too steep but the Saints ultimately obtained him for a # 2 and a # 5 in this year's draft. Training camp was abuzz with what he could add to the potency of the Saints offense. Would there be enough balls to go around? Perhaps Shockey never got over his last injury - it nagged him throughout '08 - and came back a bit too soon. He had some trouble adjusting to Drew Brees' tendencies and obviously had some rust to shake, resulting in some untimley drops and fumbles. In the forever increasing quickness of the pro game, that happens to players coming off layoffs. The trade to obtain him became questionable last October before the trade deadline, particularly when "still the king" of TE's, Tony Gonzales, was said to be available in Kansas City, where Herm Edwards maligned "rebuilding" plan went awry in a hurry. It is regrettable to remind Saints fans that Mike Ditka could have drafted the King here instead of journeyman OL Chris Naole. Shockey bristled, was noticably frustrated, but did not dog it and did not appear to be a problem in the locker room. That's no minor feat in this brittle ego era of pro football (latest, see: Jay Cutler). In that sense, he was something of a microcosm of the entire team last season. Throw Shockey a mulligan for '08 and knock on wood that he comes to camp - and stays - healthy. At the top of his game, he can raise the bar for the whole team, inciting the defense on the sidelines and generating electricity for the home crowd. Payton would be wise to get back to getting him the ball on intermediate routes beyond the LB's as opposed to the short curls and outs the TE mostly saw last year. Shockey matches up best against corners and safeties. Draftniks will be actively monitoring if the price paid for Shockey was too high when the Giants make their selections and they take the field. If all goes reasonably well, the price paid for # 88 could still prove to be a bargain. Shockey would inevitably savor a ring here more than the one he received in New York, having had to earn it, in part, watching from the press box when it counted. Stay tuned. Next post April 22.