Jeremy Who?
An Interview with Kevin Boss
by Paul
Eide
Senior Writer
1/19/09
Heading
into 2008 Kevin Boss was known mainly as the Giants backup tight end
whose 45
yard reception in the Super Bowl was instrumental in the team’s
historic upset
of the Patriots in Super Bowl 42. The Giants thought so much of Boss’
progression during the team’s unexpected title run, they traded
charismatic All
Pro Jeremy Shockey in the offseason and entered 2008 with Boss penciled
in as
the starting tight end.
The former
fifth round draft pick from Western Oregon proved in his second year
that he
was up to the challenge, leading the team in TD receptions with six and
becoming Eli Manning’s “go to” target after the loss of wide receiver
Plaxico
Burress. Boss’ six TD receptions were second most amongst NFC tight
ends and he
was voted to the Pro Bowl as an alternate.
How did you go from being
a late
round draft pick from a division II school to the starting tight end
for the
New York Giants and Super Bowl champion?
“I went to
Western Oregon because they told me I could play both basketball and
football
which is what I wanted to do. At the time I was the same height I am
now (6-7)
but I probably weighed about 195 pounds, so I wasn’t recruited a whole
lot for
football mainly for basketball. I had a couple of good seasons there
and
started getting some scouts and agents at practice during my season
year and I
ended up being invited to the Combine. It was a great chance to get
some
exposure. I did pretty well there, had a good Pro Day and got the
attention of
a couple teams and the Giants picked me in the 5th round. It
was a
nice little rollercoaster and I’m happy with how it turned out.”
What was it like to work
with Jeremy
Shockey? Is the media perception of him accurate?
“Jeremy was
real good with me, took me under his wing and showed me the ropes. He
was a
great mentor for me. I watched him in college and he was one of my
favorite
tight end’s to watch. I was excited to say, “This is my teammate” when
we were
playing together. I was thrilled to have the opportunity to work with
him and
we still keep in contact today.”
So Shockey gets hurt in
the game,
did Tom Coughlin turn to you and say, “Boss you’re in”? Is it that
simple?
“Pretty
much. He got hurt and I had to go in. It
was a moment I had prepared for each week though out the year because I
constantly looked at it like I was one play away from being the starter
and
that is ultimately what happened.”
Going back to 2007 and
your
improbable run to the Super Bowl, was there a moment you can look back
on and
say you guys came together and gelled as a team?
“I would
say the New England game, the final game of the season. In the locker
room a
lot of guys thought we were going to see this team (NE) again. Even
though we
lost, we felt really confident heading in to the playoffs.”
Take us back to the
huddle in the Super
Bowl prior to your huge 45 yard catch. Did you know you were getting
the ball?
“Yes, I
did. It was a play we had designed right there on the sideline before
the 4th
quarter started. The coaches noticed that Rodney Harrison was beginning
to
cheat up. So we ran a little play action pass and I was able to sneak
by
because Rodney bit on it. Eli threw me the ball and I had a little room
to run.
For a second, I thought I was going to score but then Rodney caught up
from
behind. It was an amazing feeling.”
Do you ever get tired of
talking
about the Super Bowl?
(Laughing)
no, never. Something like that never gets old. Definitely not.”
Click here
to listen to Paul Eide and Michael
Cooper’s complete interview.
