Why The Falcons Won't Get Jeremy Shockey

In our roster breakdown about Falcon tight ends, new poster KillaBMF took one look at the three-headed stuffed animal that is Ben Hartsock, Martrez Milner and Keith Zinger and said "no thanks:"

Im still trying to figure out why we r not trying to get Shockey. HE is a huge play maker that you can always count on, he is not happy in New York, and I dont think New York really wants him now that Kevin Boss has stepped up . Come on, are we blind? This is our shot to fill that huge hole we have. Plus we all know all we have to do is throw some money at him, and he will come with open arms. PLEASE, lets not screw this up!

While Shockey's talent is undeniable and this is an intriguing prospect, I can't see the Falcons making a serious play for him. There are a number of reasons for this, and I'll run through them now. I'll add in the obvious disclaimer that if the Falcons could get him on the extreme cheap, I'd love to have him catching passes (even though I think he's an asshat).

1. Why waste draft picks on a tight end? While I'll agree that this crop of tight ends is far from a sure thing, it's pretty clear that Mike Smith and Mike Mularkey care a lot more about blocking tight ends. Shockey blocks reasonably well, but Hartsock has him in spades in that department. If you're not going to fully utilize a guy like Shockey, it's not worth the second or third round pick the Giants are surely going to demand.
2. Shockey's very passionate about winning, which I do like. At the same time, is he going to really want to stick around through a rebuilding process? No, probably not. Even if Milner bombed out (50/50 chance) and he was the undisputed King of Tight Ends in Atlanta, Shockey would probably like a chance to win a championship again. He also seems to enjoy the spotlight, which makes New York a logical place for him.
3. 

   via thebestsportsblog.com

   Anyone who remembers this moment--an exultant Shockey cheering, cheering...Jay Feeley, oh no....oh noes!--knows exactly why I'm not a fan of Shockey. He's got a real attitude problem that's seen him spar with teammates, his coach, his general manager and roughly half of New York. I admire his intensity, but I doubt the higher-ups want anybody like Shockey getting near our youngsters. I think there are cases where talent clearly outweights minor off-the-field issues, but I'm not sure Arthur Blank and Thomas Dimitroff would agree on this one.

So long story short, I wouldn't be too upset if we signed Shockey, but it doesn't seem like a particularly great fit here for him. I have severe doubts that the Falcons would even consider trading for him, and so we're likely to go into the season with the tight ends we have.

Hey, it could be worse. We could still have O.J. Santiago.