Plaxico Burress, who you may recall, caught the game winning touchdown in the superbowl this year to help the New York Giants be victorious over the New England Patriots. As you also may recall, he has been battling an ankle injury for quite some time. In the post season he was also struggling with a sore knee.
With all of this in mind, training camp has begun in the NFL. The Giants training camp has been unproductive to say the least. Shockey and Burress are not taking part in the activity. Burress is my main concern here since he will be an underpaid receiver next season. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is in negotiations to get him a better contract even though there are still 3 years left on his current one. Being the team player that he is at heart, Burress showed up to the camp; but being the self-confident tough guy he is, did not play football.
Coach Tom Coughlin stated that Burress' knee was the reason why he was not playing; but Burress on the other hand, said that it was the lack of progress in the contract negotiations. Now this is quite the predicament! Coughlin just got a nice contract boost and probably does not want to look like an uneffective coach. Burress probably wants to look like a tough guy by saying he is refusing to participate, like Shockey. But his history of injury tells me otherwise.
My personal opinion: Burress' knee was sore. He probably could have gotten through some of the activities at camp but milked it. He would then use this as his "macho businessman approach," as I like to call it. This is where he appears to be the big bad football player who is bigger than the coach and organization, but really conforms well and just wants to make a little exra money, so he exaggerates his injury to portray his character. Coughlin wanted Burress to do what he could, but when he "thought" Burress needed to rest, let it slide to avoid confrontation and told the press his distorted truth. This is Coughlin being the "innocent bystander." He is like the witness to a car accident; he knows exactly what is going on, but chooses only to say what will get no one into any kind of trouble.
What do you guys think?
Keywords: New York Giants, Plaxico Burress, Training Camp
Comments
I've always disliked Plaxico Burress. He always seemed like Randy Moss, just as obnoxious, but not as talented. He's injured most of the time which causes him not to practice. Then he complains when he and Eli aren't on the same page, and everyone responds with "Dude. Practice sometime and maybe you can grab more than 3 balls for 18 yards."
So much for a Super Bowl solving all your problems.
Good read.