Now that last night's conflagration known as the superbowl has died down to the warm embers of pleasant memories known as the Giants victory, my mind has settled on another satisfying tangent. Has anyone else noticed the lack of Jeremy Shockey's presence on the TV screen also just happened to coincide with the rise of the Giants and the assertiveness of Eli Manning as leader of, if not the team, surely the offensive side of the ball?
Full disclosure here: I had my psyche formed in the '50's so I have always found it repugnant when athletes fawn, preen, and self promote their on field accomplishments. So, in spite of Shockey's formidable on field skills, I have never liked him.
Shockey's pouting, brooding, and outrageous sideline behavior has been well chronicaled since his emergence in the NFL. Now if I can see that through the TV camera projected onto my TV screen, I can't help but wonder how utterly distracting and deflating his presence is in the locker room and in the huddle. Last year Tiki unloads on Eli questioning his ability to lead. This year, Shockey goes down to injury early on in the year and as these two dark clouds recede to the distant horizon, out comes the sun and lo and behold, Eli can lead this team!! It's just that Eli plays the game the way it is meant to be played. He's humble, and goes about his business in a professional manner. If you thinks he's not tough, you try to play football or any other sport in NYC and then get back to me.
In the end, the Giants can turn this situation into a huge positive. While I am not sure of the contract terms, the Giants could sure hang Shockey out on the open market to see what they could get for him. There are several teams that might be dumb enough to take this pariah off the Giants hands for some nice high draft picks. Hey Snyder, you interested?
