Shockey on the Shelf

Evenin'.

Looks like Jeremy Shockey and his bad ankle won't be on the field for the Giants pivotal game with the Redskins tomorrow night.

We gots ourselves a busy weekend to close out 2006 - at Washington tomorrow night to light the Giants funeral pyre. From there, we go to Philly Sunday morning for the Eagles and Falcons at 1 p.m. for a game that will either have implications for both clubs or just the Eagles trying to win the NFC East.

If the Giants win Saturday night, the Falcons are out of the playoffs and they are a team that - offensively at least - might lick the stamp and mail it in if they're not playing for anything. Hey, they might mail it in if they are playing for something.

Meanwhile, there's an interesting dynamic going on in the AFC where the Patriots have a chance to leapfrog the Colts and get the third seed. New England has to beat Tennessee in Nashville. The Colts are hosting Miami which is giving Cleo Lemon the start at quarterback.

If the AFC's top two seeds stay true to form, the fourth seed has the unenviable task of flying cross-country to play San Diego in the Divisional Playoffs (provided that fourth seed beats the No. 5 wild card seed). New England would likely prefer to stay on the East Coast and play Baltimore rather than take a six-hour flight to Southern California to play a team that's beaten them the last two times they played (2002 and 2005).

Bill Belichick and Nick Saban are old buddies but Saban - rightly - is putting the chance to see what he's got with Lemon ahead of worrying about doing New England any favors.

We'll check in when we get to Washington tomorrow afternoon, hopefully around 5 p.m.