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Tight end Jeremy Shockey had one catch against the New England Patriots, a 15-yarder on a possession that ended in New Orleans’ only punt of the first half. It was his lowest total of the season, but while the Patriots covered him well, they could not slow down anyone else.

After the game, Shockey talked about the Saints’ easy 38-17 victory.

What’s it like playing for a team that has so many good receivers?

“If you don’t catch a ball in the first three plays of a series, you’re not going to. We’ve got Devery (Henderson), (Marques) Colston, (Robert) Meachem, damn. I had one on the first drive and thought I was going to have a good game, but the next thing you know, no balls were thrown my way. But that’s a good thing. Those guys are going to get covered and the defense is going to try to stop them. It’s just a matter of time until a breakout game happens.”

Did you sense a level of frustration on the Patriots’ part?

“Yeah, I saw it. They were out there and big (nose tackle) Vince (Wilfork) was talking, ‘don’t run to this side,’ and the next thing you know we through a screen pass to Pierre (Thomas) and he tried to chase him down and he was huffing and puffing after that. They played hard. They were in the game, and Mike McKenzie made some great plays for us. He’s a true friend from Miami. I’ve known him for years, and I’m glad we brought him back. It’s a smart decision. It just shows you how smart (general manager) Mickey (Loomis) is and (coach) Sean (Payton is). They are giving the guy a chance. He’s been working out hard, and he helped this team win.”

Did you show New England something they hadn’t seen on tape?

“No. they’ve seen 10 of our games before. We just executed and we didn’t turn over the ball and we had the momentum and we made some big plays. They made some bad plays and they lost the momentum. Any time that happens, it’s very hard to come back. We put ourselves in a hole in the Miami game. Halftime we were looking at ourselves like what the hell is going on, and then we got the momentum back and they made some bad plays and we ended up making good plays and we ended up winning the game. That’s how this league is. Our goal today was to start fast, and we did.”

How did they defend the offense?

“They had a good game plan coming in, but there are so many weapons. You are going to guard this guy one time and leave this guy alone? We’ve got great players and we’re running the ball hard. It’s hard to stop. If we can continue to protect the ball and not hurt ourselves, we’ll be OK.”
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Do you just get a special feeling when the offense is rolling?

“As an offense we keep coming together. It’s good to see everyone having fun. I could be very selfish and say I want more balls. Obviously as a competitor you want more balls, but in the same sense when you review the film from the last couple of weeks, other guys are open and Drew (Brees)’s going to throw it to the guy that’s open, clearly.”

Did this remind you of the Giants game the way you rolled over a team in a heavily hyped game?

“This reminded me of the Super Bowl I never got to play in when I was with the New York Giants, in Scottsdale (Ariz.), so it was great beating these guys. It was great beating the 10 teams prior to this game and it’s going to be fun beating the other teams. It’s in our hands, but we can’t be lackadaisical in any way. We have to look at our next game as our last.”

I haven’t seen too many guys running free for 75 yards against the Patriots. Is this how just you guys function?

“I don’t know. They choose to double-team some people, and Drew is a very smart quarterback. He’s going to find the open receiver, and we have very big, tall, fast receivers that can run, and the DBs are usually little. Plus, we’re running the ball. People aren’t realizing that we’re running the ball and we’re scoring more points than anybody in the fourth quarter. The Patriots were number one by far in scoring points in the first half, and we held them to 10. We knew that coming out of halftime, if it was going to be even, and we were ahead anyway, that we always score the most points in the NFL in the second half and especially in the fourth quarter, and we did that.”

What concerned you the most when you were preparing for the Patriots’ defense?

“They have a great team. They’ve won a lot of Super Bowls in this decade, so obviously they are a dangerous team. We knew that if we didn’t turn over the ball, we had an extremely good chance to win, and if we came out and stuck to the game plan our coaches gave us, we were going to win. They don’t have Richard Seymour anymore. They don’t have the (Teddy) Bruschi’s the (Rodney) Harrisons. It’s not the same defense you guys have seen. They have (strong safety Brandon) Meriweather. He’s a very good player. They have a good team and they have a lot of resolve and I’m sure they will win a lot of games this year.”

For two straight games, the offense has not turned the ball over. Is that the key for this team?

“That is the key in football, period. It’s turnovers. Not just this game. Every game.”
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From the locker room: Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey

Ashley

man i'm glad to have him on this team ! good read thanks