Shockey Speaks

Not to us, of course. The former Giants tight end doesn't like the New York media, probably because we chronicled every one of the many missteps he made here during his six-year Giants career. Now that he's become a productive player in his second year with the Saints, having caught 18 passes for 162 yards and two touchdowns, he's blabbing about how we overstated everything he ever did here.

You can read his comments to the New Orleans Times-Picayune right here.

Those of you with long memories might recall how his downfield antics used to upset Eli Manning so. Throwing arms up in the air when the ball didn't come to him when he was open, and then Manning would force one to him and he'd drop it. Tom Coughlin didn't especially love him like a son, as the understanding late owner Wellington Mara did. And Jerry Reese downright went to war with the tight end over his desire to spend the offseason on his own, in Miami, with Plaxico Burress, instead of with his teammates in the offseason conditioning program.

It's all old news. Old enough, apparently, that both Manning and Coughlin forgot what it was like to play with him.

"There were no ill feelings," Manning said. "Shockey was a tremendous player. I am sorry to see him go. We had a good relationship when he was here and everything was fine."

Shockey's injury down the stretch of the 2007 Super Bowl championship season resulted in a more relaxed Manning. But if the quarterback remembered it that way, he wasn't letting on to the press for fear of providing the Saints with bulletin board material.

"No, I don’t think so," Manning said. "Shockey was and is a tremendous player, a great talent, and a great teammate of mine for a number of years. He scored a lot of touchdowns, made a lot of big plays for us.

"When he got hurt we struggled for some time without him. Eventually we started playing better football, but we just kind of played better as a team. If we would have had him during that stretch, we could have been even stronger and been even better."

Coughlin also was nothing but complimentary toward his former player.

"Jeremy Shockey is an excellent football player," Coughlin said. "He was an outstanding player here. When I first came here, I don’t think that the world was aware as they should have been of the quality of the player he was, in terms of the all-around player. I thought he was an outstanding blocker. We all know about his vertical abilities and the seams and all the other things he does so well. Jeremy Shockey is a heck of a football player."

Forget the sentiments. Betcha a nickel the defensive coaches are telling their units that, if Shockey invades their territory, don't be afraid to knock his little head off.

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The NFL announced that the kickoff for the Nov. 1 matchup in Philadelphia has been changed from 4:15 to 1 p.m. to accommodate the possibility that the Phillies might be in the World Series. At least that'll leave you time for a cheesesteak at Pat's afterward if you're making the trip to the Linc.

EP