He has more receiving yards (582) and touchdowns (seven) this season than he had in his previous five NFL seasons combined.

Heading into Sunday's game against his former team, the New York Giants, Shiancoe is hot. He is coming off the best game of his career with seven catches for 136 yards and two touchdowns against Atlanta.

The Vikings control their destiny and would secure the NFC North Division championship with a victory over the Giants.

Vikings coach Brad Childress said Shiancoe's improvement this season is a result of several factors, including the tight end's thorough understanding of the offense.

"He understands the system forward and backward," Childress said. "It's not just the nuts and bolts. We've been able to expand the menu in what we are able to do with him offensively because he understands where he fits. So you see him playing full speed and you see him playing at a high level."

Shiancoe agreed that his mastery of the playbook is paramount to his success.

"I know the playbook so good now," he said. "Now I'm thinking, 'OK, how am I going to beat this defender within the play or within the route?' "

Shiancoe said the players have wiggle room within routes to make adjustments or changes. That allows them to add wrinkles to the plays.

"You can double-move somebody or maybe you can stretch them out a little wider," Shiancoe said. "We have room to work within routes."

Shiancoe's work habits after practice have been chronicled. He is often the last player to leave the practice field. But his preparation doesn't end there. He spends hours studying tape and talking with the coaches about the offense.

There's no secret to his success, Shiancoe said. It's just hard work during practice and off the field.

Shiancoe said he has felt comfortable all season with quarterbacks Gus Frerotte and Tarvaris Jackson.

"To me, it's just street ball," he said. "That same Football you used to play when you were younger, you beat the man across from you, and that's really all it is."

His performance against Atlanta was the second-biggest receiving day by a tight end in Vikings history, behind Steve Jordan's 179 yards against Washington in 1986.

The NFL predominantly has two types of tight ends: oversized receivers and run blockers. Shiancoe, 6 feet 4 and 250 pounds, is a big receiver, like Chicago tight end Greg Olsen. That provides a nice safety valve for a young quarterback such as Jackson, who can easily spot Shiancoe in the open field.

The more plays Shiancoe makes, the more trust he earns from his teammates and coaches.

"When you make plays, you earn the trust of the (offensive) coordinator, so they're going to feature him more," Vikings radio analyst Pete Bercich said. "Right now, he's one of the featured receivers."

Shiancoe is playing his best at the right time as the playoffs approach. He could be a decisive factor in helping the Vikings get there Sunday.

Perhaps it would be fitting if Shiancoe plays a major role against his former team, for whom he had 35 catches in four seasons. The Vikings signed Shiancoe in 2007 to be an elite tight end and now he's playing like it, living up to the five-year, $18.2 million contract with $7 million in guaranteed money.

He's putting to rest the reputation he developed last season, when he was remembered more for the plays he didn't make than the ones he did. He had only 27 catches for 323 yards with one touchdown last season and some critical dropped passes.

Now he's making tough catches in traffic and holding on to the ball despite taking hard hits, as he showed in the Atlanta game.

"He's made a lot of money," Bercich said. "He knows he's been talked about as a bust, and he's just gritted his teeth and started doing some things better. I was one of his harshest critics. But I'll be the first to say that he's done really well. He's surprised me with how well he's playing."