Should the New York Giants Trade Jeremy Shockey?

D'Angelou, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Feb 19, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

The New York Giants won the Superbowl without their best player from last year, running back Tiki Barber. Tiki opted for charging into the press box instead of into the boxes of the numerous defensive fronts he ran through during his career with the New York Giants. The Giants ability to not only get better without Tiki, but to win the Superbowl, left Tiki subject to serious ridicule by the media and even his former teammates. And while it may hurt that he may have gotten out of the NFL just one year too early, it is cushioned by the fact that he left on his own terms and is now a part of a new occupation that brings him a different satisfaction.

But what about Jeremy Shockey?

Jeremy Shockey is still on the team. Yet when he went down in mid-season with a season-ending injury, the Giants just seemed to get better and better. As noted, they went on to win the Superbowl, and they did it in spite of Shockey's absence. Does this render the great tight end expendable?

Of course it does. The Giants just beat what was being considered one of the greatest teams of all-time en route to winning a Superbowl. They did it without Shockey, and thus have no reason to believe that they can't do it without Shockey again if need be. But just because a player is expendable, doesn't mean you should expend him, does it?

That is the question throughout Giants Nation. Whether or not that is a question the General Manager of the Giants, Jerry Reese, is asking, remains to be seen. However, Reese does have to at least consider the possibility if he at all believes that the Giants' newfound success can be somewhat attributed to Shockey's absence during the latter part of the season.

While there is merit to the Trent Dilfer school of thought that high-maintenance players can detract from a team's success no matter how good they are, I think it is ludicrous to think that the Giants would be better off trading Shockey, as some fans and writers have suggested.

Just look at what Shockey is capable of doing. In the 83 games that he has played up to this point in his career, he averages 4.5 receptions per game, 51 yards per game, 11.4 yards per reception, and a touchdown every 3 games. Those are great numbers. And frankly, outside of some of the injuries he had, they would be much better if the Giants would get him the ball more. Yes, that's right! The Giants have done a poor job of getting Shockey the ball. He has mismatches against every linebacker and safety in the NFC East who guards him, and they don't target him nearly enough. And for those of you who think he is on the decline, his career averages are the same as his stats in the last two years of his career.

So while trading Shockey may seem like the trendy thing to do since the Giants won without him and he can be labeled a cancer to the team. However, they will have a lot more talent if he is on the squad. And if the Giants learned anything from the Patriots while kicking their butts in the Superbowl, it's that adding controversial and outspoken players that are "so-called" cancers to an offense, can actually make you really, really, good on that side of the ball.

Published by D'Angelou

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