ALBANY — If you listen to pre-training camp media reports about the New York Giants, it’s almost like the defending Super Bowl champions lost their entire roster in the offseason and were preparing to rebuild from scratch.

Nearly all the questions posed to the Giants’ coaching staff at Wednesday’s annual media day in SEFCU Arena on the University at Albany campus focused on how the team would replace retired defensive lineman/sack machine Michael Strahan and talented yet troublesome tight end Jeremy Shockey, who was traded to the New Orleans Saints Monday for a couple of draft choices.

The Giants’ coaches were prepared for the media blitz, but you could tell that they would have preferred to skip the inevitable questions about their two former stars.

New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin talks about life without stars Michael Strahan and Jeremy Shockey.
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“It was deemed in the best interest of the team to start anew and start fresh,” said Giants head coach Tom Coughlin when asked about the departed Shockey. “That’s all I’ll say on the subject.”

When the reporters pressed him, Coughlin gave them a little more on Shockey, who caught 57 passes for 619 yards and three touchdowns in 14 games before being placed on the injured reserve list. Shockey didn’t appear in the playoffs.

“We wish Jeremy Shockey nothing but the best. He was a person who loved to play the game. He was a good, physical blocker, and he could make things happen,” Coughlin said.

New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin pays tribute to traded tight end Jeremy Shockey.
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Coughlin was even more succinct when asked about Strahan, who recorded nine sacks last year and finished as the club’s all-time leader with 141.5 before ending his 15-year career and moving to the broadcast booth.

“He chose to retire and move on,” Coughlin said.

Practice opens Friday at UAlbany with morning and afternoon sessions.

Although Coughlin preferred to talk about the future rather than the past, his assistant coaches filled in some of the blanks about the team’s two biggest losses and some of its main concerns about the 2008 season.

“The best way I can describe the loss of Jeremy Shockey is what happened when we lost Tiki Barber,” said offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride of the franchise’s all-time leading rusher who retired at the end of the 2006 season. “I don’t know how we’re going to fill his shoes, but I’m excited that we’ve got some young guys who will be given the opportunity to fill the role.”

Although several players will vie for Shockey’s spot on the roster, the player Gilbride has the most confidence in is Kevin Boss, a

6-foot-6, 253-pounder from Western Oregon who as a rookie caught nine passes for 118 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the regular season before adding five catches for 90 yards and two more scores in the postseason.

“Kevin Boss emerged as a

viable passing threat. He’s got to work on other aspects of his game,” Gilbride said. “There may be some adjustments we have to make in terms of blocking assignments, but Kevin has gained 20 pounds. The best thing is that he catches the ball, he can run with it, he has good hands and he is very dependable. He’s got to grow and develop as a blocker.”

Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo explained the loss of Strahan and his leadership in about the same way that Gilbride discussed Shockey.

“You don’t replace a Hall of Famer with one guy,” he said. “There are always spots that are open or voided on your roster. Someone else will step up and do the job.”

The common theme for Coughlin and his staff was teamwork.

“We emphasize team over self,” Coughlin said. “We’re moving forward. We want to continue the

momentum of our playoff run.”

Coughlin was asked how it felt to be considered only the second- or third-best team in his own div­ision behind the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles after winning the Super Bowl the prev­ious season.

“Perception is not necessarily

reality,” he said about the preseason rankings. “We had doubters all of last season. There are still doubters, and that’s fine and healthy. Our div­ision is extremely competitive. It will be a great challenge for all of us to win [the Super Bowl] again.”

He also is guarding against complacency.

“We are the world champions, and expectations are high,” he said. “I’m depending on the quality of our leadership as Super Bowl champions to make sure we don’t have any slackers.

“The fire is the same and the drive is the same for us. We know it is difficult to stay on top, but we take the position that there is a higher mountain for us to climb.”

Coughlin was reminded that most Super Bowl champions don’t fare that well the next season, espec­ially in this era of free agency.

“We’ve studied the numbers on past Super Bowl champions,” he said. “The players and the coaches are ready to go.”