Shockey may not see any preseason action

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)