Shockey just isn’t having any fun

Thursday, Sept. 23, 2004 | 10:06 a.m.

SUN WIRE REPORTS

Playing tight end for Tom Coughlin has taken the fun and the big play out of football for two-time Pro Bowl tight end Jeremy Shockey of the New York Giants.

Although Shockey has seven receptions for 75 yards in two games, the things that made him the Giants' emotional leader have been absent.

There is no yapping at opposing players, no interplay with the crowd and not even a single first-down signal after a catch to help the officials. To be blunt, Shockey has been blah in an offense that features him more as a blocker and a motion tight end than game-breaking deep threat.

"I am not having as much fun as I had in the past, I'll tell you that," said Shockey, whose voice on Wednesday featured more a sense of discouragement than the normal swagger. "I don't know really what it is. I can't get into a rhythm right now like I had been in the past. Hopefully, that will change. I don't want to force something on myself to fake like I am having fun."

Shockey, who was the Giants' No. 1 draft choice in 2002 and set a team record for both rookies and tight ends by making 74 catches, can blame some of his slow start on injuries. He missed the opening weeks of training camp because of foot surgery in June, and a pulled hamstring later on slowed his progress.

However, he said the offense installed by Coughlin and new coordinator John Hufnagel has limited the times he lines up in the slot and runs downfield. Instead, Shockey either is being used as a lead blocker out of the backfield or being sent in motion to occupy the opposing linebackers.

"I just feel like I can be a lot better player than what I am doing," Shockey said. "I just feel like every little thing I do, when I come back and watch it on film, I'm not the same person as a year ago."