Frustrated Shockey Looks to Have Impact
Tight end hopes to contribute more to Giants success than he has so far this season.
By Michael Eisen, Giants.com

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October 12, 2006

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Jeremy Shockey is frustrated, and not just because the Giants are 2-2 heading into Sunday’s game against Atlanta.

The three-time Pro Bowl tight end has just 12 catches, the fewest he’s had in the first four games of any season in his career. Last year and in 2004, Shockey had 17 catches at this juncture of the season. Three years ago, the figure was 21, including 11 in a game against Miami. As a rookie, he had 15 receptions after four games.

Now he’d like to have an impact on the game.

“No matter how frustrated I am, it’s not going to make anything better,” Shockey said today. “I kind of have a new mentality now. I come to work and I go home and do my own thing, besides staying up three nights worrying about things and not sleeping at night. I’m used to getting hurt. I’m just going to try to be more relaxed. When I get my time off I’m not going to think about football like I’ve done in the past. I used to be - we’d lose the game or I’d get hurt, I’d stay up two nights in a row worried about my foot or worried about losing the game. I’m trying to take the mentality of this thing - it’s a long season and hopefully it will pay off.”

Despite being tied for seventh among NFC tight ends, Shockey has lost none of his confidence or faith in his ability.

“I’m going to go into this game like I’ve done every week,” Shockey said. “That’s expecting to be successful, expecting to win a game, and from a personal standpoint, hope to contribute a lot to help this team win. Unfortunately, I haven’t really contributed as much as I would like to, but it happens. I’m going to go into this game like any other game.”

Shockey, who has had foot problems in the past, hurt his ankle in the final preseason game against New England. He has missed some practice time, but has played every game, though exiting early has been the norm for him this season.

“It seems like I’ve been hurt ever since I got here,” said Shockey, who has never played a full 16-game season and missed the final seven games in 2003 with a back injury. “You've just got to deal with it.”

The tests done this week confirmed that a screw in Shockey’s foot, which was inserted to help prevent a potential stress fracture, is still intact.

“My foot has a (screw) in it - it is what it is,” Shockey said. “The (screw) didn’t break. I was very relieved when I saw that everything was intact. It is what it is. I got hurt early, what can you do? You’ve got to fight back. The bye week was there and now I’m doing everything I can to help this team win."

The Giants do not believe Shockey has a chronic foot problem.

“We hope not, but we have no reason to think that,” Coach Tom Coughlin said. “All of the tests were done, and they all were negative.”

Despite the injury, Shockey believes he can and should be doing more to help the team.

“Last game I felt great,” he said. “It’s hard to stay into it when you put yourself at such a high caliber contributing to the team, getting your opportunities, and then getting hurt and realizing you really aren’t as effective as you could be or you should be.”

Shockey worked again today and is listed as probable on the injury report.

“He practiced well,” Coughlin said.

Shockey and the rest of the Giants offense face a big challenge this week against a Falcons defense that is ranked sixth in the NFL.

“They have a lot of speed on defense,” Shockey said. “They have a lot of veteran guys that are very fast, very smart. So I think it’s going to be critical … when we get our shots down field to take advantage of opportunities. Because there’s not really going to be very much there, because they have a great defense. They have an outstanding corner and their linebackers are very good. They’ve got a fast football team and I think the offensive side is ready to step up to the challenge.”

NOTES

 Sunday’s game is a homecoming for Jay Feely. The Giants’ kicker played his first four NFL seasons in Atlanta. His 436 points for the Falcons are the third-highest total in franchise history. Feely also holds Atlanta single-season records for points (138) and field goals (38). He thought he would continue his career in Atlanta, but the Falcons let him become a free agent and he signed with the Giants.

“If they believed in me long-term, they would have been willing to make a commitment like the Giants did,” Feely said. “And they weren’t willing to make that. I think that comes from (general manager) Rich McKay. I had a great relationship with (head coach) Jim Mora, I had a great relationship with (owner) Arthur Blank, and (special teams coach) Joe DeCamillis and I are still very good friends.

“I understand football is a business and they have to decide where they’re going to spend money and where they’re not. I can accept that and not take it personally. At the same time, when you have a chance to revisit somebody in that situation, you look forward to it. You look forward to that challenge and doing the very best you can do.”

Feely joined the Falcons as a rookie free agent in 2001. He scored 115 points that season and his record 138 the next year. In 2004, Mora’s first season as head coach, Feely scored 94 points and helped Atlanta advance to the NFC Championship Game.

Every kicker dreams of booting a game-winning field goal. Feely would be particularly happy if he could live out that fantasy this week.

“I would love an opportunity to have a clutch field goal and to make a clutch field goal and get us a win,” Feely said. “I’ve been looking forward to this for two years. I have a lot of great memories, a lot of great friends still on the team. I loved my time there. I look forward to an opportunity to go back and have a great game. The people I want to beat the most whenever I compete against them are my brothers, because we’re close. When you have good friends and people you fought with and played with for a long time, you want to have a great game and you want to beat them.”

 Brandon Short’s addition as probable was the only change in the injury report. Because he has a surgically-repaired knee, Short often misses a day of practice. Because he did today, he had to go on the injury report. Safety James Butler (knee) is questionable, linebacker Carlos Emmons (pec) and wide receiver Sinorice Moss (quad) are doubtful and running back Derrick Ward (foot) is out.

 This will be the Giants’ second visit to the Georgia Dome. They defeated the Falcons, 13-6, on Oct. 8, 2000. Ron Dayne scored the game’s only touchdown.

The Giants have been a good dome team since playing their first indoors game in the Louisiana Superdome on Oct. 29, 1978.  They are 19-12 in indoor games and have won five of their last six games in domes since the start of the 2002 season. Their most recent indoor game was a 34-13 thrashing of the Vikings in the Metrodome on Oct. 31, 2004.