Trade is best for everybody
by Ed Valentine on Jul 22, 2008 7:00 AM EDT
in New York Giants News
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If you are bumming today because you own a No. 80 New York Giants jersey and you don't know what to do with it, all I can say is 'sorry.' Maybe you can cut it up and use it for rags.
The Jeremy Shockey headache now belongs to Sean Payton, Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints.
My take on Monday's trade of Shockey to the Saints for 2nd and 5th-round draft choices? Simple. This was the best outcome for everyone.
It's the best outcome for the Giants. Shockey is a great talent, but his histrionics, his obvious unhappiness and his dropped passes hurt the Giants as much as his talent could occasionally help them. Shockey was once my favorite Giant, but we all know the Giants can win without him. They have talented players who can handle tight end, and now they get to move on without the distraction Shockey would have caused.
It's the best outcome for Shockey. The emotional tight end was obviously stung by the Giants winning the Super Bowl without him, never quite accepting that he wasn't as important as he thought. He was also never going to be happy with his somewhat secondary role in the offense. Now, he gets to go to a place where they love to throw, have a great quarterback and have a coach who was with the Giants when Shockey was at his best.
It's the best outcome for the Saints. They get a talented, if enigmatic, tight end with tons of talent and a very large chip on his shoulder. It shouldn't surprise anybody if Shockey hits the field with a vengeance and has the best season of his career in 2008.
Here is what Giants co-owner John Mara had to say about the trade.
"I had a couple of long conversations with Jeremy this spring and summer,'' Mara said. "From those conversations, it was apparent to me that a fresh start was the best thing for us and for Jeremy."
You can make a compelling argument that the Giants would have been better off keeping Shockey. I know many fans, and media members, feel that way.
I happen to agree with the view espoused by SI.com's Michael Lombardi.
The one thing the 2007 season taught us is the Giants can win without Shockey in their offense. And with this trade, the Giants play into their strength, which is being very solid at drafting players. Acquiring the second-round pick -- even though it likely will be late in the second -- will enable the Giants to add more youth and talent to their team. When you draft well, then adding more picks is always a smart idea.
There is really no pressure at all on starting tight end Kevin Boss. He is not a main cog in the offense, so he can just go about doing his job, which is to block and catch the ball when thrown in his direction. The Giants needed some complimentary players for their offense, ones who accept their role and do the dirty work. Boss did all those things very well last year and will improve even more this season.
The Giants did the smart thing being patient with this trade. They held firm and got their price. Whether the Giants make a return visit to the Super Bowl has little to do with this trade. With the smell of success all around the Giants this camp, they can look to the future and not have to worry as much about proving themselves this year.
Boss, Darcy Johnson and Michael Matthews will do a fine job handling the tight end duties this season.
The draft choices the Giants accumulated will help General Manager Jerry Reese continue what he has started, building a team that is set up for a long run success in the NFC.
It would have been nice if Shockey could have been part of that. It wasn't to be, however, and I can't spend time feeling badly about it. Shockey didn't really leave the Giants with a choice.
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I don't completely agree
I do think it was a smart move. It frees cap and brings up younger players over the mid term, and Shockey wanted the team to change its offensive philosophy for him, which is unacceptable. So it was probably the right move. But I don’t think it improved the team. Shockey was a force like few TEs and the Giants aren’t better on the field without him. Not that there will be a big collapse. There might be no fall-off at all. But it’s not an improvement, any more than the Eagles got better when they shed TO. Might have made them feel all huggy and warm in the locker room, but they declined offensively.
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
cap room will be nice
plus, as Goodell likes to point out, 1st round draft choices are becoming a worse investment each year. a 2 and a 5 might be a value than a 1.
I think the Giants will be better w/o Shock than with him because Eli will be better.
Ron Jaworski analyzed twenty interceptions thrown by him last year and attributed seven to Shock running the wrong route or failing to complet a route. Having a more reliable TE to throw to immediately makes Eli better. The absence of Shock’s whining, finger pointing and dissing of his QB can only have a positive, if intangible, benefit as well.
Exactly
It will be a better offense because they now have 4 good WRs who can spread the defense out. Now they don’t have to force feed the ball to Shockey and can throw to their TEs when they are open (what a concept!). And on George’s point, Eli is a more confident QB without Shockey showing him up all the time. I think this offense will improve rather than regress. Shockey’s talent can not be denied, but his negativity and dropped passes hurt this team just as much as his talent helped it.
BTW
Terrell Thomas signed yesterday as well. Not surprisingly that news is getting lost in the Shockey drama. Now only Phillips is left to be signed. Let’s hope he does it by Friday.
Thomas
I saw that, but it was a small thing w/the shockey stuff. It would be really nice to get all the picks signed on time.
by Ed Valentine on Jul 22, 2008 9:02 AM EDT up reply actions
Loved him as a player...
...even though there are a ton of reasons I probably shouldn’t have (drops, penalties, attitude). It’s unfortunate that it didn’t work out, that he couldn’t be part of the run last year. But once they made that run w/o him, it was over. I’m not optimistic, but I hope he’s classy on the way out the door. He deserves a big ovation the next time he sets foot in Giants Stadium – as long as he doesn’t trash the organization now that he’s gone.
Had to be:
Coughlin and Gilbright’s use of Shockey was sub-optimal: previously Shockey was pointed at the secondary flanking outside or driving past the short coverage, a gorilla among the chimps; Coughlin put him in the interior, a wildebeest among the buffalo . I think this is the cause of Shockey’s ankle injuries, tight cuts into the interior, @ school my legs definitely got less abuse at DE than DT. This is Eli’s Team now, we don’t need a bitchy receiver.
But What Could Have Been:
I Had Dream:
Of an overwhelming two TE offense consisting of Boss at TE, Shockey at H-back, and Brandon at tailback. Defense doesn’t key the tailback in the 2 TE, the OLBs have to plant and defend, the short safety gets in the box.
Play #1) Shockey goes in motion, counter-tray fake to Jacobs, Shockey flattens the interior blitz, result; long post to Plaxico.
Play #2) Shockey goes in motion, counter-tray hand-off to Jacobs, who follows Shockey thru the line. result; yardage and defensive pain.
Play #3) Counter-tray fake to Jacobs, Plax takes off; Shockey does whatever he wants while the D flinches at Jacobs; result Shockey with the ball in the secondary,
Rinse and Repeat:
Offensive goal; shell shocked MLB and SS. Shockey gets to believe its all about him.
The question would have been are Jacobs & Bradshaw good at read the blocking schemes for this kind of offense, your have to run to hole confident it’ll be open when you get there.
But that’s why they call them dreams.
Playbook© copyrighted by The Pale Scot© 2008
One closer to 80
I’ll miss the Shockey from his rookie season. Shockey the whiner … not so much.
I’m looking to seeing Eli’s maturation and what he’ll do with those seven interceptions he won’t have without Shockey. I’m looking forward to the best receiving corps in Giants history, with five wide receivers who could all start on other teams. I’m looking forward to Jacobs-Ward-Bradshaw resurrecting memories of Miami’s Csonka-Kiick-Morris backfield. I’m looking forward to Madison Hedgecock and Mike Matthews adding their bulk to the O-Line blocking.
I think it’ll be a good year.
What if you have a Boss jersey already?
Yep. Got in in April, complete with Super Bowl XLII logo!
I’ll miss Shockey, I guess, but I think this is a big long-term win for the Giants. Obviously yes, they can win without him: They played their best football without him. I only wish this happened before the draft so that what we got in return would be of more immediate value. However, I trust the judgment of the guys in charge of this franchise. If they thought, three days before training camp, that he needed to go….well, they’ve earned the benefit of the doubt from me.
Let’s hope that Boss can get his hands on the ball 45-55 times this season with a few TDs. I won’t be rushing to grab him in any of my fantasy leagues, but he can be an incredible productive player on this team.
A forward thinker
Gotta love that. Better get yourself a Darcy Johnson jersey, too.
by Ed Valentine on Jul 22, 2008 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions
Well, not that forward.
The two things I love most in life: The Giants and Bruce Springsteen. Boss jersey was elementary, even if he never played another down.
Boss is a better player, can block as well
always thought Shockey was overrated, so you Giants fans should be happy IMO.
In Romo we Trust
Uh oh!!
If you’re endorsing the deal, maybe we should re-consider. LOL!!
by Ed Valentine on Jul 22, 2008 4:40 PM EDT up reply actions
I thought Cowboy fans would celebrate ths trade.
Shockey had some big games against them. It is worrisome that Terry approves.
Speaking of big games....
and maybe this is a subject for another post altogether, but speaking of TE’s – do you guys think maybe someone will [GASP] cover Jason Witten this year?
It is bizarre
that a guy that big seems to lose people in traffic…
Never wrestle with a pig. You both get dirty and the pig loves it.
it's funny that you say that
cause i was just going to say that Boss reminded me a bit of Witten. they are around the same size (6’6, 250+).
if Boss even comes close to being that good, this trade will be an afterthought.
by SBakerTheTouchdownMaker on Jul 22, 2008 5:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Roy Williams
Should send the Giants a case of champagne!
We're only gonna score 17 points?
by big blue wrecking crew on Jul 23, 2008 6:27 AM EDT up reply actions
One last thought re Shock:
He’s obviously not the brightest bulb in the box. It explains his inability to run proper routes consistently and his personality excesses. He’s a bit dim, so he’s not quite in touch with how much of the world works. This frustrates him, so he acts out. I don’t believe he understands enough to try to change. He can still succeed in NO if Payton keeps things simple for him and designs plays geared toward his physical talents. NO might get better, but that’s not the way to win a championship.
Yep
“He’s a bit dim”
The word you’re looking for is “cracker”, jeez, the man prefers Gainesville to NYC. Gainesville is like uh., Philly without the tall buildings or tourist traps.
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