Saturday’s Giants News: Shockey Upset With Role
Today, everything is about Shockey. One article is about an interview with his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, and the other article is about how unhappy Shockey is with his role under Coach Coughlin. I’ve had enough of this guy already. He just watched Big Blue win a Super Bowl without ‘me’ players like Tiki and himself. If the guy wants out then trade him already. At least I don’t have to hear these guys whine anymore.
The Star-Ledger:
Shockey wants new role or trade - Mike Garafolo put together a great article about Jeremy Shockey here. Garafolo wrote, “Shockey told the Giants in December he wanted a changed role in the offense or a trade to another team, according to a person familiar with discussions between Shockey, the Giants’ coaching staff and front office. The person, who requested anonymity because he isn’t authorized to speak on behalf of Shockey or the Giants, said Shockey threatened to sit out the upcoming season if neither request was granted.” Now that doesn’t sound like a team player to me. As you can see, this was back in December so it was before the Giants actually even began the Playoffs. Mike then wrote, “Shockey, 27, who suffered a broken fibula in a Dec. 16 loss to the Redskins, feels his career is being cut short by all the blocking he has been asked to do since Tom Coughlin became coach of the Giants in 2004.” Again, that doesn’t sound like a team player to me. Garafolo then wrote, “In addition to neutralizing his receiving ability, Shockey believes the number of injuries he has suffered over the past few years can be attributed to all the blocking he has done. He has battled several ankle sprains, including one that nearly sidelined him for the game against the Redskins in which he broke his leg.” That may be true, but blocking is part of a Tight End’s job so I don’t see what the problem is. All he does is complain. In 2007, he had 57 receptions for 619 yards with an average of 10.9. The one thing I wanted to track down was the amount of dropped passes Jeremy had because he dropped plenty. If he started with catching the passes throw to him then maybe the coaching staff would continue to go his way. Also, his stats would be better too. Shockey is a guy who saw that the Giants can and did win a Super Bowl without him. He should trust and buy into what the GM and the Coaches are trying to accomplish. He should be humble and stop whining already.
Rosenhaus on Shockey - Mike Garafolo found out that Shockey’s agent Drew Rosenhaus was on ESPN’s “NFL Live” yesterday afternoon. Garafolo was able to get his hands on the transcript of the interview:
TREY WINGO: Here’s the question: Does he want out of New York or does he want to stay?
ROSENHAUS: You’re probably going to hear a lot of this from me in our interview, Trey: That’s going to be between Jeremy and the New York Giants. One thing I’ve learned, unfortunately the hard way - and I can tell you with all sincerity - is that I prefer to do my business with a team off camera. I appreciate you guys inviting me on, but in terms of Jeremy’s feelings as relating to the Giants, that’s something that we’ve communicated to the Giants and the ball’s going to be in their court.
WINGO: Okay, so what is the beef, then? Why would we be having a trade conversation, or the possibility of a trade? What’s the beef?
ROSENHAUS: Trey, you’re good. And what happens is, as you lead up to the draft, there are always a number of key players who are the topic of trade discussions. And we’ve had discussions with the Giants about Jeremy. I’ll leave it at that. And you hear what Jerry Reese had to say. It’s going to be up to the Giants to decide whether or not they want to trade Jeremy. The bottom line is Jeremy’s an outstanding football player and he’s going to have a great season next year.
WINGO: Is he completely healthy?
ROSENHAUS: Yes, he is. Now, this is something I can talk about. Jeremy has been cleared. His ankle is now 100 percent. The fracture has healed, the ligaments have healed. He’s running, he’s doing everything, so that is good news. Jeremy has been cleared by doctors and he is ready to play. He needs to obviously continue to rehabilitate, but he’s going to be ready for any of the challenges that are coming up in the spring.
