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[Lughead]

SHOCKEY SURE IT'LL WORK OUT

 

PLAYS CATCH WITH ELI IN JERSEY

 

By STEVE SERBY

 

STOPPING BY: Jeremy Shockey, who spends most of the offseason working out in Florida, joined Eli Manning at the Giants' program late last week but said, "me spending time up there is not gonna make that big a difference."

 

May 23, 2007 -- Jeremy Shockey flew in from Miami under the radar like a stealth bomber late last week to participate in the Giants' offseason program, to the delight of quarterback Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin and his coaches.

 

"My only goal is to win a championship, and I can't do that injured," Shockey told The Post yesterday. "The No. 1 way to stay healthy is for me work on natural grass."

 

Shockey said he is in the best shape of his life after another winter of spartan workouts on the natural grass at his Miami (Fla.) alma mater.

 

"I hope the fans can understand my point of view," Shockey said. "I hope my teammates and coaches can understand my point of view. I'm not going to change my workout routine. I'm not going to change my philosophy of working out.

 

"You'll never see me report to training camp out of shape. If that ever happens, I'll be the first one to relocate my workout routine."

 

Shockey ran routes and caught passes from Manning with no defenders to incur the tight end's wrath. He said he is confident they will sharpen their timing when he returns for next month's veteran minicamp then training camp.

 

"[Giants] fans should not be concerned," Shockey said. "I thought we had a good connection last year; obviously, it could be better, but me spending time up there [East Rutherford] is not gonna make that big a difference now. It's just me running my routes and him throwing the ball to me."

 

As Shockey marches to the beat of a different drum, he would like all Giants to keep their music in-house.

 

"One of the problems playing in New York City is some people think they're obligated to tell the media everything," Shockey said. "I don't believe anyone is obligated to go out of his way in interviews to tell them they've spoken to Jeremy Shockey and 'He's gonna be on flight No. this and that.' What happens in the locker room is supposed to stay in the locker room. If you text message or e-mail somebody, I expect that to stay between me and the person I text message or e-mail. I don't like the fact that things get leaked in the media."

 

Shockey said he has learned from his own media mistakes, all of which he said have come from his burning desire to win.

 

"Sometimes I do get mad and frustrated and say things I shouldn't say ('We were outcoached and outplayed' in Seattle last season)," he said.

 

Shockey's plea for more team silence comes at a time when the Giants have to find a way to compensate for Tiki Barber's retirement.

 

"It's gonna be hard to replace that guy; those guys don't come around very often," Shockey said.

 

Then there is the matter of whether David Diehl - or someone else - can replace left tackle Luke Petitgout, now a Buccaneer.

 

"Luke Petitgout's a helluva tackle, man," Shockey said. "I was very disappointed when I learned I wouldn't be playing beside No. 77 anymore. But we can't start feeling sorry for ourselves. Everybody's gonna have to take a piece of the rope and pull."

 

Shockey acknowledged there will be more pressure on the passing game.

 

"I'm always up for a challenge," Shockey said.

 

"I won championships in high school and one in college; I'm not gonna quit until we get one for this city."

[Virginia Giant]

Well, working on natural grass has done wonders for his health thus far.

[Storm]

Well, working on natural grass has done wonders for his health thus far.

 

yah, i was just going to say...for a player that hasnt had as good a season as his rookie season, and has lately been playing like 10-12 games a season...it really doesn't seem like natural grass is helping him out at all.

[NeMesiS]

yah, i was just going to say...for a player that hasnt had as good a season as his rookie season, and has lately been playing like 10-12 games a season...it really doesn't seem like natural grass is helping him out at all.

 

Are you sure about that? Because in the years he's trained in Miami, he's averaged 14.7 games a season. And in the years he has trained in NY, he's averaged 12 games per season. Not to mention he has had his two best season as a pro (His rookie year and 2005) when he's trained down in Miami.

[*SDMF*]

We all know what we can expect from #80:

 

 

So just take it and accept it. He's here and thats what alot of people wanted. Dont turn it into an issue.

[Herc]

this is the most overblown story ever. he's right, catching a few passes from eli with no defenders in april is not going to mean jack shit next fall

[Sephiroth]

Well, working on natural grass has done wonders for his health thus far.

 

 

I was thinking the same thing.

 

 

I love Shockey's toughness, his determination and his desire to win.

 

 

I hate his big drops in big spots, his antics, his mouth, and his injuries.

[mws44]

As Shockey marches to the beat of a different drum, he would like all Giants to keep their music in-house.

 

"One of the problems playing in New York City is some people think they're obligated to tell the media everything," Shockey said. "I don't believe anyone is obligated to go out of his way in interviews to tell them they've spoken to Jeremy Shockey and 'He's gonna be on flight No. this and that.' What happens in the locker room is supposed to stay in the locker room. If you text message or e-mail somebody, I expect that to stay between me and the person I text message or e-mail. I don't like the fact that things get leaked in the media."

 

Shockey said he has learned from his own media mistakes, all of which he said have come from his burning desire to win.

 

I think this is an extremely over blown story also. I still think knocking a guy for not coming to voluntary workouts is wrong. I don't neccessarily like this comment from that article because it seems like a shot at Eli. Isn't that where the text message story came from?

[Storm]

We all know what we can expect from #80:

 

 

So just take it and accept it. He's here and thats what alot of people wanted. Dont turn it into an issue.

 

 

yah because we are all in a position to "turn it into an issue". What does that even mean?

[Storm]

this is the most overblown story ever. he's right, catching a few passes from eli with no defenders in april is not going to mean jack shit next fall

 

 

except the whole running routes completely and not giving up on them....and eli.

[Storm]

 

Are you sure about that? Because in the years he's trained in Miami, he's averaged 14.7 games a season. And in the years he has trained in NY, he's averaged 12 games per season. Not to mention he has had his two best season as a pro (His rookie year and 2005) when he's trained down in Miami.

 

 

then why do we all complain about his injuries? he might have been physically there, but he played most of what....2005(?) with a broken sternum and god knows how many games on a bad ankle.

[Herc]

except the whole running routes completely and not giving up on them....and eli.

 

that's an attitude problem though on plax's part. being here for minicamp won't fix that

 

and eli's been playing with burress and shockey for 2 and 3 years now respectively. a couple of days of half-assed minicamps is a drop in the bucket when you consider all the games, practices, and training camps they've gone through together and will go through

[Lubeck]

then why do we all complain about his injuries? he might have been physically there, but he played most of what....2005(?) with a broken sternum and god knows how many games on a bad ankle.

 

That isn't what you said you said he plays 10-12 games a season.

 

He has played for 5 seasons. 4 seasons he had 15 games. 1 season he had 9.

 

Really should check your facts before stating them.

 

And yes he is often injured, and his production is certainly impacted by playing injured...but he plays injured and even injured he is better than our #2 option.

 

I like the Boss pick because he is supposed to be a talented receiver and that opens up the options if/when Shockey is limited....Shockey can take some plays off and we don't have stonehands Shiancoe out there.

[BIGBLUE01]

this is the most overblown story ever. he's right, catching a few passes from eli with no defenders in april is not going to mean jack shit next fall

 

Pretty overblown, but I wouldnt say most. Like previously stated, Shocks gonna bring it, no matter where he comes from.

 

Its just nice that he's workin with Eli early. Apr doesnt set anything in stone, but it sure helps.

[fishgutmartyr]

Wasn't it Plax that mentioned text messages from Shockey, and not Eli?

 

Either way, complaining about it ending up in the press is baby-shit. Seriously, how many people did they lose when that top-secret information became public?

[Nas]

this is the most overblown story ever. he's right, catching a few passes from eli with no defenders in april is not going to mean jack shit next fall

 

That may not be entirely accurate. You can learn a lot about a player by actually playing with him. Timing.. rhythem.. etc.

[Herc]

That may not be entirely accurate. You can learn a lot about a player by actually playing with him. Timing.. rhythem.. etc.

 

but these guys aren't unfamiliar with each other. minicamps aren't that important in the grand scheme of things. if the guy was missing training camp or something i'd understand, but these guys have played 3 straight years together--they're pretty familiar with each other by now

[gateb]

One thing to consider regarding Eli and Plaxico's problems on timing may be due to the reasoning that Eli has no clue how hard Plax will run on a particular down. One route he may run full speed and Eli may underthrow him, and the next time they run it, Plax runs lazily down the field and Eli overthrows him, like his first INT in tennessee.

[mws44]

Wasn't it Plax that mentioned text messages from Shockey, and not Eli?

 

Either way, complaining about it ending up in the press is baby-shit. Seriously, how many people did they lose when that top-secret information became public?

 

I don't remember which one it was, I just remember reading about it. Either way, he's sending someone a message with that statement.

[Storm]

That isn't what you said you said he plays 10-12 games a season.

 

He has played for 5 seasons. 4 seasons he had 15 games. 1 season he had 9.

 

Really should check your facts before stating them.

 

And yes he is often injured, and his production is certainly impacted by playing injured...but he plays injured and even injured he is better than our #2 option.

 

I like the Boss pick because he is supposed to be a talented receiver and that opens up the options if/when Shockey is limited....Shockey can take some plays off and we don't have stonehands Shiancoe out there.

 

 

no shit sherlock, that's why i changed my statement. i don't dislike shockey. if you're injured and it's completely zapping your second half of the season production, it's like you aren't there for 4 games anyway.

[Storm]

but these guys aren't unfamiliar with each other. minicamps aren't that important in the grand scheme of things. if the guy was missing training camp or something i'd understand, but these guys have played 3 straight years together--they're pretty familiar with each other by now

 

 

every little bit can help though, dude...i just think the one on one time they get, throwing over and over again, running routes, working on timing and rhythmn

[Herc]

every little bit can help though, dude...i just think the one on one time they get, throwing over and over again, running routes, working on timing and rhythmn

 

but think about the hundreds of days they've played together, whether it's practice, games, training camp. what's a few more days in april when no one's even in football mode yet? it's not going to put them over the top or anything

[Nesta]

There's no doubt it won't have a direct affect on Shockey's game, but it may if nothing else give Eli a little more confidence, and maybe have him looking for Shock even more often this season.

[Hampton27 missed]

I'm sure Gilbride will have a different playbook than Huffnagel, so I think it's important even if it's voluntary for everyone to get on the same page.

[fishgutmartyr]

There's no doubt it won't have a direct affect on Shockey's game, but it may if nothing else give Eli a little more confidence, and maybe have him looking for Shock even more often this season.

That's exactly right. I remember Toomer doing that last season, and the number of balls passed to him between 2005 and 2006 increased noticeably before he was injured.