"Take your job serious. That's really it," said Shiancoe, who's coming off a career-best game and is third among all players at his position in the league this season with seven touchdown catches. "It's knowing what you have to do and being on the same page with your quarterback and the whole offense, including the coaches where they can mix you in. There's a lot of communication going on."

Shiancoe's own confidence is not exactly inherent.

He wasn't highly recruited, or fully aware of his professional-caliber talent, until his senior year at Morgan State when NFL scouts started expressing interest. He chose the historically black college in Baltimore because it was "right down the street" from his home in Silver Spring, Md., and he "wasn't really ready for a big school" at the time.

"I'm a mama's boy," Shiancoe said.

The New York Giants drafted him in the third round in 2003, and he played in every game as a backup to Jeremy Shockey who saw little action in the passing attack over four seasons. The Vikings, though, liked his 6-foot-4, 250-pound frame and speed to run up the seam and expand an important element of their play-it-safe version of the West Coast offense.

They lured him with a five-year contract featuring $7 million guaranteed with a value as great as $18.5 million, a package that drew skepticism around the league for a player without much accomplishment to date.

The scoffs were more frequent last season while Shiancoe dropped several passes, a few in the end zone, and finished with only 323 yards and one score on 27 receptions. The coaches praised his improvement during the spring and summer, but he was still having trouble hanging onto the ball in training camp.

But early this fall, Shiancoe began to show why he was given so much money.

The drops and the fumbles stopped. The catches and touchdowns started adding up. All that extra time spent on footwork and hand-eye drills following practice was finally paying off.

"I think his confidence is high," coach Brad Childress said. "It's not just because he wants it to be high. He's really worked at his profession. He's a guy that spends a lot of time in the weight room and has spent a lot of time around here now. He understands the system, forward and backward.

"He's not having to think about anything. He's always had good hand-eye and he's always had good speed, and now he knows how to wiggle open and get in some of those holes and make those tight-spot catches."

Witness last week's loss to Atlanta, when he totaled seven receptions, 136 yards and two touchdowns - almost all of it in traffic. Only Steve Jordan, with 179 yards receiving against Washington in 1986, had more in one game as a tight end in Vikings history. Only Joe Senser, with eight scores in 1981, has accumulated more touchdowns at that position for this team.

"We are really happy for him," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said. "He is a guy that had outstanding talent and abilities. ... When he had an opportunity to be the number one guy and have some things focused around him, well, he has obviously responded."

With 582 yards receiving entering Sunday's regular season finale against the Giants, Shiancoe is fourth among NFC tight ends. He's third in the NFL with seven scores, behind Kansas City's Tony Gonzalez and San Diego's Antonio Gates - the gold standards at this position over the past decade.

"He is getting those matchups on those linebackers and just really abusing them," Vikings teammate Bobby Wade said. "He's catching the ball extremely well. He's been focused all season. I don't think he liked some of the comments that were made during the offseason about last year with him. I think this year he's really picked it up. ... He's been a big force in the red zone scoring touchdowns for us, and been kind of a safety net. Guys are really comfortable throwing him the football."

The Vikings lost four of their seven fumbles last week against the Falcons, but not one of them was Shiancoe's. In fact, he doesn't have a fumble all season, nor any notable drops.

"I learned from my mistakes," he said, "and that's what it's really all about."

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