Since Plaxico Burress signed with the NY Giants back in 2005, he has been fined for a multitude of team infractions. Last year marked the biggest infraction of them all when he accidentally shot himself in the leg with an unregistered handgun in a posh NYC nightclub. While Plaxico's wounds were not serious, he checked into a hospital under the alias "Harris Smith" to receive treatment. When Mayor Michael Blumberg found out about the incident, the Mayor called to make an example of Plaxico. Should the Giants follow suit?
There is no question that the distraction of Plaxico's legal troubles was a major factor towards all of the losses in last year's season. The Giants were 12-4 at the end of the season, but I believe that they could have been 14-2 or even 15-1 had Plaxico not shot himself.
Tom Coughlin has not said outwardly that he would welcome Burress back to the NY Giants in 2009 provided he gets away from the legal system with merely a slap on the wrist. Five years probation and a stiff fine would be a huge sigh of relief for the troubled reciever. But in a league in which NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell is starting to impose more and more strict rules, there is no reason Burress will even get to that point. Should Burress get by the legal system, he still has to then
face Roger Goddell and any punishment he dolls out. Only then, does Tom Coughlin really have to make a decision - that is unless Giants GM Jerry Reese trades Burress away for another wide receiver or draft picks.
Tom Coughlin is a "Team First, Talk Is Cheap" kind of guy, but I do believe that he is big into the "family man" mentality. Judging from the outspoken proclamations by fellow teammates Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, and Brandon Jacobs; Burress is a wanted part of the Giants family. Will Coughlin listen? Or, will he be swayed by forces out of his control? Who knows. I do know that whatever punishment the state of NY decides to bestow upon Burress will be with or with Coughlin's consent.
I, for one, am a little torn between keeping him and welcoming him back. It's a tuff decision because he is a very talented reciever. But I do lean one way more that the other. I am very disappointed at Burress for his antics that sank last season. I have had it with the countless run-ins with the law and various problems with Coughlin's team rules. He has not showed respect to Coughlin, yet he was given a huge salary. Why should the Giants support him now after the way he let down his teammates last season and disobeyed Coughlin's rules time and time again? However, on the other hand Burress was a warrior the year before. Playing through a hurt leg injury the entire season, and leading the WR corps as the #1 reciever that demanded single and double coverage. He was, and can be, that guy that defenses have to game plan against. This double coverage has opened the windows of opportunity for secondary and slot receivers such as Toomer, Smith, or Boss to get open in the middle of the field.
In my experience, having coached in the pee-wees, middle , and high school levels, I have always tried to coach my kids to do the right thing - cheating is bad, play fair, work hard, respect your coaches, etc... So to me, the fact that Burress receives all that money and still snubs his teammates and coaches, really gets under my skin!
Burress is a professional who doesn't act like one.
The Giants won the Superbowl 2 years ago, and Burress was a major part of that amazing run. I will never forget it. But he let the team down, he let the coaches down, and he let the fans down when he broke the law doing something that may very well get him labeled an idiot for the rest of his life.
The Giants are a class act team. The only way I would accept Burress returning to the Giants is if the Judge were to do something out of the ordinary. Just for giggles, imagine if the judge were to force Plax to admit his idiocy in court, and then order him to donate 2/3 of his annual salary to inner city schools for the entire 3.5 years (the mandatory minimum time that should be spent in jail for violating the law that Burress broke in NYC) that he otherwise would have spent in jail, or else he were to actually GO to jail. Then, I would welcome Burress the idiot millionaire back to the Giants with a large, all-is-forgiven grin on my face. But unless something out of the ordinary like that occurs, I fear that Burress will never learn, and I don't want an ungrateful dope representing the team that I have loved ever since I was a child.
There is no question that the distraction of Plaxico's legal troubles was a major factor towards all of the losses in last year's season. The Giants were 12-4 at the end of the season, but I believe that they could have been 14-2 or even 15-1 had Plaxico not shot himself.
Tom Coughlin has not said outwardly that he would welcome Burress back to the NY Giants in 2009 provided he gets away from the legal system with merely a slap on the wrist. Five years probation and a stiff fine would be a huge sigh of relief for the troubled reciever. But in a league in which NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell is starting to impose more and more strict rules, there is no reason Burress will even get to that point. Should Burress get by the legal system, he still has to then
face Roger Goddell and any punishment he dolls out. Only then, does Tom Coughlin really have to make a decision - that is unless Giants GM Jerry Reese trades Burress away for another wide receiver or draft picks.Tom Coughlin is a "Team First, Talk Is Cheap" kind of guy, but I do believe that he is big into the "family man" mentality. Judging from the outspoken proclamations by fellow teammates Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck, and Brandon Jacobs; Burress is a wanted part of the Giants family. Will Coughlin listen? Or, will he be swayed by forces out of his control? Who knows. I do know that whatever punishment the state of NY decides to bestow upon Burress will be with or with Coughlin's consent.
I, for one, am a little torn between keeping him and welcoming him back. It's a tuff decision because he is a very talented reciever. But I do lean one way more that the other. I am very disappointed at Burress for his antics that sank last season. I have had it with the countless run-ins with the law and various problems with Coughlin's team rules. He has not showed respect to Coughlin, yet he was given a huge salary. Why should the Giants support him now after the way he let down his teammates last season and disobeyed Coughlin's rules time and time again? However, on the other hand Burress was a warrior the year before. Playing through a hurt leg injury the entire season, and leading the WR corps as the #1 reciever that demanded single and double coverage. He was, and can be, that guy that defenses have to game plan against. This double coverage has opened the windows of opportunity for secondary and slot receivers such as Toomer, Smith, or Boss to get open in the middle of the field.
In my experience, having coached in the pee-wees, middle , and high school levels, I have always tried to coach my kids to do the right thing - cheating is bad, play fair, work hard, respect your coaches, etc... So to me, the fact that Burress receives all that money and still snubs his teammates and coaches, really gets under my skin!
Burress is a professional who doesn't act like one.
The Giants won the Superbowl 2 years ago, and Burress was a major part of that amazing run. I will never forget it. But he let the team down, he let the coaches down, and he let the fans down when he broke the law doing something that may very well get him labeled an idiot for the rest of his life.
The Giants are a class act team. The only way I would accept Burress returning to the Giants is if the Judge were to do something out of the ordinary. Just for giggles, imagine if the judge were to force Plax to admit his idiocy in court, and then order him to donate 2/3 of his annual salary to inner city schools for the entire 3.5 years (the mandatory minimum time that should be spent in jail for violating the law that Burress broke in NYC) that he otherwise would have spent in jail, or else he were to actually GO to jail. Then, I would welcome Burress the idiot millionaire back to the Giants with a large, all-is-forgiven grin on my face. But unless something out of the ordinary like that occurs, I fear that Burress will never learn, and I don't want an ungrateful dope representing the team that I have loved ever since I was a child.
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