Shockey Not In Glendale; Former Teammate Says Giants Better Off Without Injured Tight End

January 31, 2008 6:59 p.m. EST

Glendale, AZ (AHN) - Injured Giants tight end Jeremy Shockey is better off not on the field. At least that's what he-and a former teammate-believe.

The famed Shockey is not making the trip to the desert, where his Giants square off with the unbeaten New England Patriots for Super Bowl XLII. Tight end coach Mike Pope said the veteran, who is suffering a broken leg, is "devastated" he's not on the big stage but prefers to stay off the limelight so as not to be a distraction to his teammates.

Shockey is still in crutches and the closest he can be with the Giants is through an inspirational message, now well-viewed in the team's locker room.

While his presence will be missed, not a few and even an ex-teammate are saying it's all fine without Shockey in Glendale. Former Giants quarterback Tim Hasselbeck said in a radio show on Wednesday that Shockey has become more of a distraction rather than a supporting figure on the sidelines.

"People there are relieved he's not around. There's this big stink about he's on injured reserve," he said. "How come he's not on the sideline supporting his team? Let me tell you something, they don't want him there."

"They're going to say all the right things, 'Oh yeah, we'd love to have him around' and all that stuff because he's their teammate, he's under contract next year and you can't do that," he added. "But when they're talking to people and it's not necessarily being reported they don't want him around. He's a distraction."

The absence of Shockey in the offensive line has also worked wonders for Eli Manning, who Hasselbeck says has become less-pressured in offensive plays.

"Eli is playing better without him because he doesn't feel like he has to force the ball to him," said Hasselbeck, who played four games with the Giants in 2005. "I was in the offensive meetings where they said 'Listen, we need to get the ball to Jeremy early to keep him involved so he doesn't start going crazy.' Any time you have to start forcing the football to somebody to keep them happy it's not good and bad things happen."

Shockey suffered the injury on December 16 in the Giants' 22-10 loss to Washington. He has since been replaced by rookie Kevin Boss, and New York got on a tear from there, going 4-1 in its last five games, with three straight wins on the road in the playoffs.