Plaxico Burress is returning to the NFL from his “made an example of” prison sentence and the speculation of where he is going to go has been mind numbingly stupid. This is sport media now though, making predictions without any kind of basis or evidence. It’s highly likely the Eagles will sign Burress according to ESPN because Andy Reid likes rebuilding projects. He’s also been linked with the Giants and Jets. The Giants obviously because he played their and the Jets because a couple people in ESPN think he might sign there too. I don’t understand the point of this pointless speculation without actually interviewing or talking to anybody involved.
But this article by Ian O’Connor takes the cake. It’s an article that is essentially a warning to NFL teams to be wary of signing Burress. Is this an article that needs to be written? The guy just got out of prison and had some character issues on and off the field before that, I don't think we need to state that there is some risk in signing him. Thank god you and all your infinite wisdom realize this could be a potential risk for a team.
My biggest problem with this "no duh" column is the way O’Connor described why the Giants were unlikely to sign Buresss.
Burress already blew up their shot at a second consecutive championship, perhaps even a dynasty, when the loaded and unlicensed Glock he carried into the Latin Quarter that fateful November 2008 night went off and blew a hole in his leg.
Really? Burress blew the Giants shot at a championship that year and a potential dynasty? Did you watch the Giants in 2008? Plaxico Burress had 35 receptions in 10 games before he shot himself in the leg. Not exactly what I’d call Jerry Rice like. The reality of that season was that he was struggling and had been battling injuries all season. Not that losing Burress was a good thing for the Giants but he wasn’t a fixture of their offense at all. The Giants lost in the 2008 playoffs not because of losing Burress but because they no longer could rush the passer or run the ball, something they did better than just about everyone all year.
I mean a potential dynasty? This is the team that came out of nowhere to win the Super bowl in 2007 and you’re saying that they had a potential dynasty? You can even make an argument that in 2007 they got hot at the right time and beat three teams with better talent than them. So while the Giants were good in 2008, to say Burress, derailed a potential dynasty is just a ridiculous thing to say.
So here’s my hopefully accurate analysis of Plaxico Burress. He’s 6'5 with good hands, unreal leaping ability and is a pretty solid route runner. This comes with the price that he takes plays off, has a history of fighting with his teammates and organizations, is inconsistent from game to game, and is frequently injured. Having watched him his whole career to me he looked like a guy on the downside of his career and now has been out of football for 3 years. Unless prison rejuvenated him I can’t see him being a game breaker for a good NFL team. This isn’t to say he won’t be useful but he’s certainly going to get more attention than he deserves this off-season.
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