The mantle that Kevin Boss carried in the Super Bowl – starting tight end for the New York Giants – is his once again after Monday’s trade shipped four-time All-Pro Jeremy Shockey to the New Orleans Saints for a pair of draft picks.
As the Giants reported to training camp in Albany today with practice opening tomorrow, Boss said he welcomes the challenge of sitting atop the depth chart for the defending world champs.
“I feel like I am in great shape and I am excited to get out there,” Boss said. “[Shockey] has played in this league for six years and proven to be one of the best tight ends in the league so I definitely still have a lot of growing to do and I am looking forward to creating my own identity.”
Boss, a second-year pro out of Western Oregon, started the final two games of the regular season and all four of the Giants’ playoff games following Shockey’s season-ending leg injury a year ago. He had just five catches for 90 yards in the postseason, but his lone grab in the Super Bowl was a pivotal one – a 45-yarder that set up the Giants’
first go-ahead touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
“I think that playing in that last stretch of the season there gave me a lot of confidence to be able to go out there and feel like I belong out there,” Boss said. “It even carried over into mini-camp and I am excited to get back out there.”
Boss showed signs of having slimmed down in the offseason, saying that his weight was in the 250-pound range after spending parts of last year in the 270 range. The shedded bulk could help Boss become more of a threat in the passing game as he tries to fill the shoes of Shockey, who topped 500 receiving yards in all six of his seasons in New York and four times registered more than 60 catches. Quarterback Eli Manning is looking for continued improvement from Boss to fill the void in the Giants’ offense.
“Obviously Kevin has a big role to fill and he’s still got a lot to learn in becoming a big playmaker for us,” Manning said. “Hopefully a whole lot won’t change and we’ll still use a lot of tight-end formations. Kevin will have to step up.”
Despite Shockey’s penchant for off-field controversy, Manning said the team will miss his unique talents.
“Well, the less distractions the better I guess, but, [Shockey] is still a tremendous player,” Manning said. “He’s able to set up mismatches in games which cause opponents to make gameplans for him to try and take him away.”
Manning and Boss will get their first preseason reps together tomorrow morning. Practice at the University of Albany kicks off at 8:40 a.m.