Shockey’s play ‘speaks’ for itself

By Andy Targovnik  |   Friday, October 27, 2006  |  Comments( 3 )

New York Giants
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Maybe Jeremy Shockey should send a thank you note to Tiki Barber.

Because of the controversy surrounding Barber's supposed plan to retire after this season, the media has concentrated almost solely on Barber the last couple of weeks; and, for all intents and purposes, have been ignoring Shockey. And now, this saga looks like it's going to drag on even longer. Barber made news on Thursday, calling ESPN analysts Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin as well as New York Daily News columnist Gary Myers "idiots."

For Shockey, this is a blessing in disguise. Why? Because without a microphone in his face, it's hard for the outspoken tight end to put his foot in his mouth. He has too often made headlines for what he says, instead of how he performs on the field. Over the last few years, Shockey has been fired from a weekly talk radio show for not showing up, has thrown a derogatory slur at Bill Parcells and has publicly criticized Tom Coughlin.

But what made all of this worse was that Shockey was dropping a lot of passes thrown his way. And while he wasn't the only one with butter fingers, he was certainly the only one who was not afraid to give his opinion on everyone and everything.

But after watching Shockey play the last two weeks, you can understand why the Giants put up with him. In the last two wins against the Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys, he's caught eight passes for 78 yards -- three of those catches have been for touchdowns. Now this is the tight end the Giants thought they were getting when they drafted the former University of Miami star in the first round five years ago.

When Shockey's on, he makes the Giants' offense downright scary.

Kerry Collins once said this of him: "He has that blend of size and speed and catching ability that's unique. There's only a handful in the NFL that really truly have that. His talent is off the charts."

At times, he has been that star player but it hasn't been often enough.

Does the fact that Shockey's been quiet have anything to do with his outstanding performance the last two weeks? I guess we'll find out soon because the "Retirement Gate" story will eventually die down and the reporters will find Shockey again. And when they do, I'm sure he will only be too happy to tell them what's on his mind. But if I were Shockey, I would just say two words: "No comment." And then let my play do the talking for me.

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