Giants Already Miss Jeremy Shockey

I fully expected the New York media, after months of lambasting Jeremy Shockey all the way out of town, to embrace the embattled tight end at some point after he departed. I just didn't expect it to happen a few weeks after the Giants traded him to the Saints.

But here we are, one game into the preseason schedule, and their are already concerns about the tight end position. Maybe that's a stretch -- I wouldn't say the media are "embracing" Shockey, but there's no mistake that the Giants miss his veteran presence (sans all the ranting and raving, of course).

There were missed assignments, missed blocks, miscommunications, incorrect routes and a slew of other mental errors. For most of the last six years, with Shockey on his side, those were things [tight ends coach Mike] Pope didn't have to worry about. Now he does.

"My biggest mistake as a coach is I make assumptions that these guys might know or have been through some of these experiences and that happened a little bit (in the preseason opener)," Pope said. ... "Primarily, in theory, we're basically starting over at this position."

If it's any consolation, Shockey's not doing much blocking for the Saints, either; he sat out last weekend's game with hammy issues. And to be fair, I don't think any of this a revelation to the Giants coaching staff. They had to have an idea that they were losing something at the position when they sent their Pro Bowler packing.

That said, it's not like Shockey was some great blocking tight end. He tried hard, but his loss is a bigger problem for the passing game than the running game.

On the upside, the Giants like Kevin Boss, and the players behind him -- Michael Matthews, Darcy Johnson and Jerome Collins -- are 25 years old or younger. There's little chance any combination of these guys will replicate Shockey's numbers in New York, but they don't necessarily need to.