Aug/26/08 07:59 AM Filed in:
Jeremy
Shockey
METAIRIE, La. -- Tight end
Jeremy Shockey left the turf at Paul Brown Stadium
in Cincinnati following warm-ups in uniform
Saturday night assuming he'd make his first start
with the New Orleans Saints.
Before returning with his teammates a few minutes
later, Saints coach Sean Payton told Shockey to ditch
the helmet and pads and spend the Saints' third
preseason game again on the sidelines.
"I don't know if he had a plan for that," Shockey said.
"He's the head coach and that was probably the smart
thing to do. I prepared all week as I was going to play
the game. If I wouldn't have played, maybe I wouldn't
have prepared as hard."
Now with the starters likely to see barely one quarter
Thursday night when the Saints play the Miami Dolphins
in the Louisiana Superdome for the preseason finale,
it's possible Shockey may not take a single snap during
the preseason as the team could elect to sit him once
more.
Shockey practiced every day last week and was full
speed again on Monday. He wouldn't go into details on
whether he's nursing a separate injury besides the
broken leg he sustained late last season while still
with the New York Giants.
Payton said he'd like Shockey, along with cornerback
Mike McKenzie, running back Deuce McAllister and safety
Josh Bullocks to see some playing time since much of
their snaps were taken away because of their injuries.
The 6-foot-5, 251-pound tight end also downplayed the
significance of actual game time reps with quarterback
Drew Brees at this point. Payton said Brees probably
won't play Thursday anyway against Miami. The part
where tacklers are flying at him is what he said his
regular season preparation is missing.
"It's not really that important because I get reps with
Drew everyday in practice," Shockey said. "It's just
more of the game speed thing. That's just the really
most important thing. You see how the game goes and the
contact. You don't play any preseason games, you'll
probably get all sore the regular season games and you
body doesn't bounce back everyday for practice."
Brees said he figures every little detail between the
two players won't be perfect come Week 1 against Tampa
Bay. The Saints quarterback isn't too worried about his
lack of playing time with Shockey.
"I know he wants to get out there and I certainly want
to get out there with him," Brees said. "Even if we
don't get any time in a game, a preseason game prior to
the first game of the season, I'm not worried about our
chemistry. We're building that right now and I like
where we're at... the more we play together, the more
it will prove to be that way."
(sunherald.com)