Shockey Trying To Keep Lid On Ahead Of Giants Reunion

It appeared great lengths were taken Wednesday to muzzle Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey from making any toxic comments about the team's upcoming game against the Giants.

Shockey treaded lightly walking into the locker room coming back from the weight room. He grabbed a Gatorade before working toward the hoard of media waiting at his locker to question the combustible tight end about facing his former team on Sunday.

Then a member of the Saints media relations staff asked Shockey to join him in the hallway outside the locker room where he laid out a few ground rules. He basically discouraged Shockey from saying any disparaging remarks about the messy divorce he had with the Giants and any other inflammatory comments that could show up on a Giants billboard.

In other words, play nice or pay the price.

Shockey returned after the quick powwow. He did the best he could to deflect the attention away from him and to place it on the matchup pitting two of the top teams in the NFL.

"It's not about me, all right? So no more questions," Shockey said. "It's about two teams going against each other. I want to make that clear. There's already been some references about vendettas and stuff like that. It's about two teams. It's two great teams playing against each other."

When asked about his relationship with Giants quarterback Eli Manning, Shockey started his answer with a lengthy "uuuuhhhhhh" before giving a politically correct answer saying he loved playing with all his former teammates.

(It's slightly different than when Shockey made a small, quick, unprovoked jab at Manning last season when comparing Drew Brees to another certain quarterback he played with in New York. The tight end said he was always used to the moping style of Manning and he enjoyed playing with and being around Brees because the Saints passer was as high energy as Shockey.)

And then inexplicably, a screeching siren sounded throughout the locker room followed up by an automated voice from the ceiling: "May I have your attention. May I have your attention. An alarm has been activated in the building. Please use stairways and exit the building, do not use the elevators."

Something or someone just happened to trigger the fire alarm. It was such an emergency that no one ran for their lives screaming in agony. The interview rolled on despite the nuisance.

A reporter asked, "Did you plan this?"

"Me," Shockey said. "It's always me. There's the question again. No, I did not plan this."

It also had to be mere coincidence that the alarm was silenced immediately after Shockey stopped fielding questions. The fiery tight end still sets off alarms whether he means to or not.

The mention of his name still drew venom from Giants coach Tom Coughlin as he quickly grew weary of the questioning concerning Shockey during a conference call.

When asked about the thought process of trading Shockey, Coughlin replied, "You'd have to go somewhere else with that one. Jeremy was an outstanding football player. What I expressed was that I was impressed with his blocking ability. People always wanted to talk about him as a receiver. I thought he was an all-around player and a very good one. I think it was a matter that the decision was made on the value-for-value opportunity that was there."

It took question No. 3 about Shockey to completely irritate Coughlin. "Does anybody have anything else they'd like to talk about?" Coughlin asked.

Later in the call, Coughlin had no issues discussing kicker John Carney -- another former Giants player currently on the Saints roster. Coughlin praised Carney saying the 45-year-old kicker was a "great guy" and a "great pro."

Not exactly the same glowing recommendation he gave Shockey. It's really all you need to know as to why Shockey is now with the Saints as his tribulations in New York have been well documented.

Shockey's ups and downs followed him to the Saints when they acquired him for a couple of draft picks just before last year's training camp commenced. As frustrating as the end of his run in New York unfolded, last season may have been the most frustrating for the former Pro Bowl tight end.

He fought back from a broken leg he sustained while with the Giants late in the 2007 season that forced him to miss Super Bowl XLII. He later injured himself during training camp while with the Saints last season. His groin injury was misdiagnosed and turned out he needed to undergo a sports hernia procedure that basically wiped out the first eight games with the Saints.

Shockey saw just how high energy Brees actually was during a heated public exchange between the two players during a 34-20 loss to the Falcons in Week 10 last season. It was a microcosm of Shockey's first season in New Orleans. He caught 50 passes for 483 yards and no touchdowns. It was the second lowest amount of catches and career lows in yards and touchdowns.

He vowed to change his ways, and it appears he's lived up to his pledge. Well, up to a point.

Shockey spent much of the offseason in New Orleans as opposed to not attending the team's conditioning program and "optional" organized team activities. Shockey did have one hiccup as he was hospitalized in May after a bout of "dehydration" at a pool party in a Las Vegas hotel.

When the partying stopped, Shockey decided to put the work in. It's apparent as Shockey's rapport with Brees has grown exponentially. Shockey enters Sunday's game against the Giants with a team-high 18 catches for 162 yards and two touchdowns, the first two scores since being traded to New Orleans.

It's probably the longest span Shockey has been completely healthy and completely happy in an NFL locker room since, maybe ever.

Brees said Shockey always lobbies for touches, so pitching for the football this week is no different than any other week. But Brees knows better.

Whether Shockey covered his mouth by choice or force, Brees spoke for him.

"For guys playing against your old team for the first time, I think any competitive person is going to have that little extra juice or that little extra fire," Brees said. "Jeremy Shockey's a guy who doesn't have any shortage of energy during the week or on game day.

"For him, it's just going to be about kind of staying poised and composed while playing the kind of football he's been playing. He's got somewhat of a wild man mentality, but very much within the scheme of what we're doing and I'm confident he's going to be just fine."

And slightly muted, for now.