Shockey takes pride in success of Vikings' Visanthe Shiancoe

New Orleans Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey said he's been excited to watch Minnesota Vikings tight end Visanthe Shiancoe break out over the past two years in Minnesota. Shiancoe spent his first four seasons with the New York Giants as Shockey's backup before he left in free agency.

Shiancoe (6 feet 4, 250 pounds) had a career-high 56 catches for 566 yards and 11 touchdowns this year, then added an 11-yard touchdown catch in last week's playoff win over Dallas.

"That was from me. That was from being my backup for a couple years," Shockey joked. "He's a great guy. It's good to see the success he's had. He had a Pro Bowl year in my opinion, even though he didn't get voted in. He's developing into one of the best tight ends in the league.

"It broke my heart (when Shiancoe left New York). But I'm proud of the success he's had. He deserves it."

As for his own success since leaving New York, Shockey said he didn't want to dwell on the past.

Shockey didn't exactly enjoy his last Super Bowl run, when the Giants won the NFL championship two years ago. Shockey suffered a broken leg late in the season, then began to feel alienated from the team during Super Bowl week. He felt slighted for having to purchase his own flight and not being able to join his team on the sideline during the game. The rift continued to grow from there, and he was eventually traded to New Orleans before the 2008 season.

"I'm past that," Shockey said when asked if that experience adds motivation to get back to the Super Bowl with the Saints. "I don't really want to talk about the past. I could sit here and talk to you for hours about whining or giving you excuses or what happened. You guys will all read it one day in a book, the truth. But I don't really want to discuss that.

"We need to concentrate on this game. We're not in the Super Bowl yet. Everyone's mentality in this locker room is this is the Super Bowl for us. ... The preparation on this team is as good as I've ever been around from a ballclub. That's key. Everyone is in it. Everyone knows how much is at stake. Most importantly we need to do this for our fans, our owner, this city that desperately deserves a world championship. We're doing everything we can to make that happen."

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(nola.com)