When he was hired in January, new Panthers coach Ron Rivera said that he would target a “do-it-all” tight end this offseason.

He can now call off the search.

Rivera found his tight end in former Saint Jeremy Shockey, who has decided to sign a one-year deal with the Panthers instead of the Dolphins, who were also interested in his services.

“Looks like I’m signing with Carolina,” Shockey wrote via his Twitter page.

Whether he wound up with the Panthers or Dolphins, Shockey presumably was going to have an opportunity to make plays next year. Carolina offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski has a history of utilizing tight ends, as does new Miami OC Brian Daboll (almost to a fault in Daboll’s case). But in the end, it’s not surprising that Shockey chose the Panthers seeing as how Chudzinksi was his former tight end coach at the University of Miami nearly a decade ago.

It’ll be interesting to see if Shockey winds up catching passes next season from Jimmy Clausen or if the Panthers will select a quarterback with the top overall pick in April’s draft.

Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton (L) is about to get sacked by Arizona Cardinals Clark Haggans (R) during the first quarter of the Cards Broncos game at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ December 12,2010. UPI/Art Foxall

New Orleans Saints’ Jimmy Graham (R) celebrates with teammate Jeremy Shockey after bringing in a 1-yard touchdown during the second quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Banks Stadium in Baltimore on December 19, 2010. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

Saints tight end Jeremy Shockey is recovering at the hospital after suffering what is being called a seizure on Thursday. According to the New Orleans Times Picayune, Shockey was working out in the team’s weight room when he suffered “seizure-like” symptoms and had to be rushed to the emergency room.

(Darren) Sharper, who was was present at the time, said it was scary to watch. He said it was clearly more than cramping and Shockey was struggling for about a minute while trainers helped him. He was up and walking on his power soon after, Sharper said, and later Shockey said he just felt a little light-headed.

It is not clear how long Shockey will be hospitalized. The Saints have not provided any information on Shockey’s status.

The tight end had this to say via Twitter: I am ok, thanks to everyone who has shown their concern don’t worry about me I will be fine.. WHO DAT

I’m not suggesting that the two symptoms are related, but Tony Gonzalez suffered a bout of facial paralysis known as Bell’s Palsy in early 2007 when he was a member of the Chiefs. That too was brought on when he was lifting weights at his house, so the correlation between the two incidents is interesting. (Again though, I’m not saying that Shockey suffered from the same thing.)

Glad to hear Shockey is okay and hopefully he has nothing to worry about long-term.

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As part of the ongoing coverage leading up to Super Bowl XLIV, here are five factors the Colts must overcome to beat the Saints.

1. The potential loss of Freeney.
Come kickoff on Sunday, there will be no bigger hurdle for the Colts to overcome than if defensive end Dwight Freeney can’t play, or is limited due to an ankle injury. He’s undoubtedly Indy’s best defender and is a game-changer in every sense of the word. If he can’t play, the Saints don’t have to worry about keeping extra blockers in to protect Drew Brees and can focus most of their attention on slowing down Robert Mathis. Pressure is the key to disrupting any offense and the same can be said for the Saints’ high-powered attack. As it stands now, Freeney wants to play and should dress. But considering he’s a speed rusher and has a tear in his ankle, how effective does anyone think he’ll actually be? Barring the ankle being completely healed, the Colts have a serious problem on their hand.

2. Slowing down Brees.
For all that is said about Drew Brees, he still doesn’t get enough credit for being able to read a defense and deliver timely, accurate passes. What makes him unique is that he has accuracy on all three levels, in that he can complete the short to intermediate route with as much ease as he can the deep pass. Another thing Brees does well is scanning the field and throwing away from the coverage. Over the last half of the season, nine quarterbacks threw for two or more touchdowns against the Colts, who gave up big plays in the AFC Championship Game to the usually offensively challenged Jets. Brees has a plethora of weapons to use at his disposal and Indy doesn’t have the personnel to go toe-to-toe with all the Saints’ receivers. The best way to slow down Brees is to pressure him, but as was noted above, that could be a problem for the Colts if Freeney is limited.

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In safeties Antonie Bethea and Melvin Bullitt, the Colts have two players in their defensive backfield that are steady, underrated and are strong against the run.

But the takeaway from the above sentence is “strong against the run.” That doesn’t mean that Bethea and Bullitt are key factors in pass coverage and in fact, they’re not. They’re adequate against the pass at best, which is why some teams have had success attacking the seams of the Colts’ defense with their tight ends.

The Saints have a playmaker at tight end in Jeremy Shockey, a player that, when healthy, is a mismatch in coverage because of his size, speed and pass-catching ability. He would definitely be a mismatch in coverage against Bethea and Bullitt, especially considering that the two safeties also have to defend the run and the rest of the weapons that New Orleans has in its arsenal.

But the problem is that Shockey can never stay healthy and at least for the moment, he isn’t healthy now. Over the past month, he’s battled toe and knee injuries and hasn’t been 100%. In fact, head coach Sean Payton said that Shockey was on a limited snap count in last Sunday’s NFC Championship Game and that’s why the tight end caught just one pass for nine yards.

If Shockey can get healthy over the next two weeks, he could be the kind of X-factor that the Saints will need to beat the Colts. David Thomas is a fine replacement at tight end of Shockey is limited again, but he’s not the type of game-changer that Shockey is when he’s playing at full strength. If he’s at 100%, Drew Brees might have success attacking the middle of Indy’s defense with Shockey being the main weapon in the Saints’ passing game.

But if he resembles the one-legged man again like he did last week, then the Colts will catch a break and will likely turn their attention to stopping Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem and the rest of New Orleans’ outside pass threats.

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After going through their first real practice on Thursday in preparation for the Colts and Super Bowl XLIV, they released a pretty lengthy injury report with several key names on it.

Starters Jeremy Shockey (knee), Darren Sharper (knee), Jonathan Vilma (knee) and Will Smith (groin) were all on Thursday’s injury report, as well as cornerbacks Randall Gay and Malcolm Jenkins, running back Lynell Hamilton, kick returner Courtney Roby and offensive lineman Zach Streif.

Head coach Sean Payton indicated that Shockey received good news from his visit with the acclaimed Dr. James Andrews earlier this week and that there hasn’t been a setback with the tight end’s knee. Shockey said on Thursday that he’s prepared to play with pain and that he’ll do everything he can, “even if that requires hurting myself.”

The injuries to Sharper, Vilma, Smith and the rest of the Saints appear to be minor and as of right now, there is no threat to them missing the Super Bowl. At least, Payton and the rest of New Orleans better hope so.

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How does a team beat an opponent that had not been beaten in its last 18 games, that had averaged over 36 points and over 410 yards of total offense a game?

The quick answer to the proposed question above is a potent pass-rush. Along with the last-minute heroics of Eli Manning and David Tyree, that’s how the Giants beat the undefeated Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII. And that’s also how the Vikings can beat the Saints this Sunday in the NFC Championship Game.

Brett Favre, Adrian Peterson and the rest of the Minnesota offense will get a lot of attention heading into this weekend – and rightfully so. Led by Favre and AP, the Vikings have the fifth best overall and the second best scoring offense in the league. But it’ll be the play of Jared Allen and the rest of Minnesota’s pass rush that will be crucial to the Vikings’ Super Bowl hopes.

The Vikings trail the Saints in terms of total offense and points scored. New Orleans has the best offense in the NFL, led by quarterback Drew Brees and a plethora of weapons ranging from Reggie Bush to Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey. There’s a reason why the Saints earned the No. 1 seed – they put points on the board, especially at home.

But the Cowboys proved in Week 15 that Brees and the rest of the Saints’ offense could be neutralized by a defense that can pressure the quarterback. In that game, DeMarcus Ware treated Jermon Bushrod like a revolving door to Brees, while racking up two of the Cowboys’ four sacks that night. Brees had limited time to throw and was often swallowed up by Dallas’ pressure.

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This season hasn’t necessarily been kind to Reggie Bush. On his way to rushing for only 390 yards (his lowest of his career) and 335 passing yards (his lowest of his career), he was criticized for his lack of toughness and one-dimensional style of play.

On Saturday, Bush reminded everyone why some considered him the best athlete coming out of the 2006 NFL Draft. He rushed for 84 yards and a touchdown on just five carries, caught four passes for 24 yards and returned an 83-yard punt for a score in the Saints’ 45-14 rout of the Cardinals in the Divisional playoffs.

Bush ran with the kind of determination and toughness that he lacked all season. He was explosive, made spectacular cuts on the fast Superdome surface and took advantage of yet another brutal tacking effort by Arizona’s defense. He also ran north and south instead of trying to dance around at the line of scrimmage. There haven’t been too many times where I’ve seen Bush put his head down and run through a tackle like he did today.

When a team racks up 45 points and 418 yards of total offense, more than one player contributed in the success. Drew Brees completed 23 of 32 passes for 247 yards and threw for three touchdowns, while Pierre Thomas rushed for 52 yards on 13 carries and Marques Colston hauled in six passes for 83 yards and a touchdown. Devery Henderson also chipped in 80 receiving yards and a touchdown on four catches, while Jeremy Shockey caught three passes for 36 yards and a touchdown.

But nobody ignited the Saints’ offense more than Bush. The move he made on an Arizona defender on his 46-yard touchdown run was sick and the burst he exhibited on his 83-yard punt return was impressive. He may not be able to consistently run between the tackles, but he proved his worth today.

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Jeremy Shockey isn’t buying the LeBron James-as-a-NFL-player idea and said as much via his Twitter account.

From the National Football Post:

James said Tuesday night that he could be “really good” if he put the time commitment into playing the game, and he was a talented wide receiver in high school.

“I think he should come on down,” Browns coach Eric Mangini said today. “I know he’s pretty busy right now, but if he wants to give it a shot, the guy is gifted. He’s competitive and tough. I’m sure whatever he applied himself to, he’d probably be good in baseball or soccer or swimming.”

But Shockey isn’t convinced.

“Everyone trust me Lebron James could not play in the NFL,’’ he wrote on his Twitter account. “ESPN is crazy to even think he could even make a practice squad. He;s a 4.9 40 time.’’

Shockey must not have seen the Browns performance on Monday night or else he wouldn’t be making such ludicrous statements.

LeBron could play receiver or tight end for the Browns; The Hamburglar could play receiver or tight end for the Browns.

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