Saints vs. Falcons: Jeremy Shockey Says Atlanta Is the Better Team Today, But...

The Giants' team psychiatrist told them not to draft your crazy ass.

He said you were out of your mind and he even came up with some legal mumbo jumbo bullshit about why they couldn't draft you.

You pissed off Tom Coughlin back in those days by throwing him under the bus after a loss against Seattle...

You made it a point to find a reporter and tell him, "We got outplayed and outcoached."

Then, you pissed off Eli Manning at the time he was trying to assert himself as the team leader by ignoring his phone calls when he implored you to join him and other teammates in offseason workouts.

You returned for the offseason workouts all right and promptly threw Eli's ass under the bus with the media upon your arrival.

Accorsi and tight end coach Mike Pope watched you and the other Miami players like Clinton Portis and Ed Reed workout at a private preview session. Miami players always snubbed the NFL combine back then. They all had attitudes...chips on their f**kin' shoulders.

Portis and Reed and all those bastards did.

What an asshole you were but what a player, Accorsi thought to himself!

He's the most eccentric football player on a team that prides itself on the team concept.

So back in the summer of 2008, the New Orleans Saints' decision to trade second- and fifth-round draft picks to the New York Giants for the flamboyant tight end Jeremy Shockey was certainly a bold stroke.

After all, Shockey had become an agent provocateur in New York.

"I was a little bit Shocked—no pun intended." Drew Brees told reporters at the time, "Shockey's reputation is that of kind of a wild guy, but I know he's going to incorporate well into our team and I know he's got a lot of great years left in him."

Critics of the move questioned how much more Shockey would add to an offense that was rated in the top-five in the league last year. Proponents of the trade said Shockey was a playmaker in a league where those types of performers are difficult to come by.

And those who knew him best said Shockey was the ultimate teammate.

"He was the consummate professional in the locker room and on the practice field," former New York Giant Tiki Barber told The Times-Picayune, "He never took a day off in practice. He practices hard, he plays hard, he parties hard. That's just the way he lives his life. He's kind of a throwback. Fifteen to 20 years ago, that's how players were."

While it is debatable whether Shockey was worth a second-round pick, Saints fans rarely question the move.

Shockey's two-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl gave the Saints a lead over the Colts they would never surrender.

And that catch alone makes the trade one of the Saints best trades of all time.

Tight ends don't always make those easy catches in the Super Bowl. Any of you old-timers remember Jackie Smith's tragic drop in Super Bowl XIII?

The former first-round draft pick of the Giants is now 30 years old and while the end of his career probably isn't just around the corner it may be down the street.

When Shockey ultimately does depart the Saints, it looks like he will pass the torch to a fellow Miami Hurricane named Jimmy Graham.

Sean Payton and Drew Brees smile when they talk about the rookie Graham as they see their Shockey of the future.

While this season may go down as Shockey's worst yet statistically, he is still one of the Saints' most lethal offensive weapons when healthy and he could be a difference-maker as the Saints make a determined run from behind for a second consecutive Super Bowl.

On Monday night, New Orleans will be looking for a little payback against the Atlanta Falcons at the Georgia Dome.

They got outplayed by the Falcons at the Superdome in September as Michael Turner ran right through them in the same manner that Baltimore's Ray Rice did last Sunday, yet, the Saints could have stolen it had Garrett Hartley not missed a chip-shot field goal in overtime.

While Shockey will not say the Saints are the better team, he told Sports Illustrated's Dan Patrick that he looks forward to one more shot at the Dirty Birds.

When asked by Patrick if "the Saints are a better team than the Saints right now, today?" Shockey said, "I don't like to get into that "today" stuff...the playoffs won't start today. That's the fact."

"The fact is, the Falcons have a better record than us and they beat us. The fact is, we get to play them again."