T-Rock's Take on the Giants

That's Mike Pope, tight ends coach, not the dude in Rome. We had access to the assistant coaches today and Pope was among the more popular targets since he's the guy who is in th ebest position to talk about Jeremy Shockey.

I'm writing this for the paper on Wednesday and it should be online shortly so I'll link to it then, bu here's what you need to know:

Pope thinks Shockey was disappointed that he wasn't on the team during the Super Bowl run.

Pope thinks it's "ludicrous" of people to think that Eli Manning got better because of Shockey's absence, calling it "demeaning to both players."

Pope expects Shockey to be here for all mandatory activities, including the minicamp next month and training camp at the end of July.

Pope said that Shockey has not indicated any displeasure in the Giants' offense or his role in the sysytem.

Pope said that the Giants are a better team with Shockey and he hasn't spoken to anyone who has indicated that he would not be welcomed back.

And Pope said once the team gets together and starts playing football, all of the outside distractions usually disappear.