Two Bills Drive

‘Shockey, the Giants’ voluble tight end, spent practice getting treatment on his injured left knee, a setback from last Monday when Shockey appeared ready to bolster the Giants’ thinning corps of receivers against Tampa Bay. But his knee swelled badly after his pregame workout, and he was not ready to play. He hopes to return Sunday at home against Buffalo.’

‘”Once I got clean,” he continued, “I remember thinking, `I got sober for this?’ But somebody told me: `Take one problem at a time. You can’t handle all your problems at once. Take one, knock it down. Another one, knock it down.’ That’s what I did. I never thought I’d get rid of ’em all. But one case got settled, then another got settled, then another, and it was over. I didn’t have to worry about nobody stopping me.”‘

‘The Giants have completed 28 passes for 20 yards or longer, as opposed to the 42 they have allowed. Only four of those gains have come in the last three weeks. To date, they’ve hit nine passes of 30 or more yards.’

‘Fassel said Shockey’s status is now day-to-day for Sunday’s game against the Bills, a far cry from the optimism of earlier in the week when Fassel sounded all-but assured that Shockey was ready to return.’

‘”You know, I think once you lose that aggressiveness, then you really have problems,” Collins said. “There’s no question I made some bad choices, but at the same time I go into a game, I try to see it, throw it. Obviously there was a couple of times what I saw wasn’t what I needed to see. It’s kind of like at times, damned if you do, damned if you don’t. You’ve got to stay aggressive and I’ll continue to do that.”‘

‘Shockey said he wanted to play against the Bucs because he knew one more loss would essentially end the Giants’ playoff hopes. But he said he still wants to play down the stretch. “We have really nothing to play for, but I love playing with these guys,” he said.’

‘It has been a startling fall for the former Heisman Trophy winner, who is major college football’s career rushing leader and was the 11th pick in the 2000 draft. He has not dressed for a game this season.’

‘The last time the Giants played at home, they were booed. Coach Jim Fassel had his name turned into a chant, “Fi-re Fas-sel!” They lost, overwhelmingly, to an Atlanta team riding a seven-game losing streak.’

‘”The last couple games with William, we just haven’t had the production,” Fassel said. “I know he’s only getting a limited look, but sometimes that’s all you can give them. If you have six plays or nine plays or 10 plays, you have to make the most of those. I expect the most because if you’re only going to play 10 plays, you’ve got to be at the top of your game. You ought to be able to go in there fresh as a daisy and go in there and really do some damage.”‘

‘Said RB Tiki Barber: “You play because it’s your job and it’s what you’re paid to do. You play because you’re always looking to gain a level of respect as a player – take pride in what you do for a living. Those things weigh more heavily on your mind than playing for nothing.”‘

‘The Buffalo Bills, who come to Giants Stadium Sunday, have had a season that closely mirrors the Giants. Both teams have offenses that have failed to live up to expectations, particularly inside the 20-yard-line. But the Bills’ red zone defense has been much better than the Giants’, and that could be the deciding factor in this interconference affair.’

‘”If it was an injury where I didn’t think I could do it, I wouldn’t play. But I felt I could play. I felt it important for me to play because we’d have had a chance if we’d won it. Now, watching from the sidelines, and obviously losing it, it’s really made it hard on ourselves.”’

‘Shockey aggravated the injury Monday before a 19-13 loss to the Buccaneers in Tampa, Fla., putting the knee through a hard workout after being told he was not going to play by coach Jim Fassel. “I think we overdid it,” Fassel said. “There was some swelling.”‘

‘Had Spikes not shuffled off to Buffalo, then defensive tackle John Thornton, middle linebacker Kevin Hardy and James – three defensive gems – wouldn’t be here. And the Bengals wouldn’t be sitting on top of the AFC North Division with a 6-5 record.’

‘Shockey left his knee brace off during his self-imposed workout before the game, so there was nothing to protect his sprained posterior cruciate ligament. “I thought I could play last week and got the word I wasn’t going to,” Shockey said. “I went out there and did some stupid things that right now I’m kind of regretting.”‘