While I wait to hear the paid-for wisdom of Michael Strahan on WFAN, it seems the Giants may be without Jeremy Shockey on Saturday.
It'd be a blow, for sure, because as much as he hates it, Shockey's an excellent blocker and the Giants running game needs him too. But if he's half-speed -- and that's about the best he could offer after not practicing all week -- then maybe it's OK not to have him. Eli will have to look elsewhere for passing targets, like maybe to Sinorice Moss, which could open up some new wrinkles in the Giants' ho-hum offense.
If they lose, then missing Shockey will be a nice excuse as the coaching staff packs up and the players clean out their lockers.
Rich Seubert won't play, but that doesn't mean Battlin' Bob Whitfield will be back at left tackle. The Giants went with David Diehl at LT and Grey Ruegamer at LG today, so that's how it'll probably be on Saturday.
Lastly, a bit of amusement: We (the reporters) were hanging around in front of the Giants locker room today and the OL meeting room door was open... On the board was a list of players with fine totals in a number of categories. Some were obvious: FS for false starts, sacks, penalties.
There were two that confused me: ME and UE.
I asked one of my pals on the O-line.
"Mental Errors," he said, "and Unit Embarrassment."
I can't tell you who leads in each category, but let's say that the fines -- $25 for practice and $50 for a game -- totaled into the four digits.