Eli Manning, N.Y. Giants / Image: Zuma Press

First of all, no NFL player is worth that kind of money. But if I had to give it to someone, I wouldn’t give it to Eli Manning. I don’t think he’s the NFL’s best player (assuming the best player should make the most money). Sure, he led the Giants to a Super Bowl win two seasons ago (and he was that game’s MVP), but he needs to do that a couple times to get this kind of money. And he hasn’t. And probably won’t again. I’m not knocking the guy’s talent. He helped the Giants to the playoffs all four years he’s been in New York (somehow) and he’s coming off his first Pro Bowl season. And he is a franchise QB and one of the game’s best (ok, top five) at his position. But, if I’m handing out $97 million over six years, I’m giving it to Tom Brady.

Source: NFL.com

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Eli Manning is NFL’s Highest Paid Player

Giants GM Jerry Reese made the following statement announcing the decision:

“I am an optimist, and I believe most situations can be worked out. We hung in there as long as we could in hopes that there could be a resolution to this situation other than the decision we made today to release Plaxico. It wasn’t to be, so now we have to move on. Like everybody else here, we want nothing but the best for Plaxico, and we are appreciative of the contributions he made to this franchise.”

While Plaxico could be (and has proven to be) one of the better receivers in the National Football League, his off the field behavior and unwillingness to cooperate with team rules over the years has rendered him unemployed. Certainly, a talent like Plaxico’s is coveted by every NFL team, but when you factor in his legal problems and poor attitude, he’s certainly no longer a hot commodity. I mean, he’s currently facing a felony weapons charge that could put him in prison for over three years if he’s convicted. His case was adjourned this past week while his attorneys and prosecutors worked on a possible plea agreement. And he’s not due back in court until June 15. So, I can see why the Giants didn’t want this hanging over their heads this offseason. It was, as Mr. Reese said, time to move on. And that’s just what the team is doing.

Source: Giants.com, Photo: Newscom

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Giants Release Plaxico Burress

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New England Patriots receiver Wes Welker was penalized for making a snow angel after scoring a touchdown in a 47-7 win over the Arizona Cardinals this afternoon. I really think the NFL should change the rules to allow snow angels. Currently, the unsportsmanlike conduct rule states that “players are prohibited from engaging in any celebrations while on the ground.” There should be an exception to that rule stating, “Players are prohibited from engaging in any celebrations while on the ground unless there is sufficient snow to make a snow angel.” It would be a simple amendment and I am going to put it on my to-do list for discussion with Commissioner Goodell this offseason.

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Wes Welker Snow Angel

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We already know that N.Y. Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce was with Plaxico Burress when Plax accidentally shot himself in the leg at a New York City nightclub last week. But what exactly was his involvement? That’s what police are trying to find out in an ongoing investigation.

I wonder where Antonio was while it took Plaxico roughly 90 minutes to get treatment. Obviously a cover-up was the plan because Antonio eventually drove Plaxico to the hospital after it was finally decided where “discreet” treatment could be obtained. And the doctor (Dr. Josyann Abisaab) that finally treated Plaxico is expected to be called-in for questioning next week because neither Dr. Abisaab nor Antonio called the police to report the shooting. Antonio’s attorney, Michael Bachner, said Antonio “had no idea Plaxico had a weapon.” That most certainly could have been the case beforehand but it still doesn’t excuse the failure to do the right thing after the fact — which was report the incident to police. So, yes, it appears Antonio Pierce will suffer some sort of punishment because of his teammate’s stupidity. And his own apparent loyalty to that teammate.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Antonio Pierce Involved in Shooting?

N.Y. Giants receiver Plaxico Burress was suspended for the rest of the 2008 season today. The Giants fined and suspended Plaxico four games for conduct detrimental to the team for multiple and repeated violations of club rules. He was placed on the non-football injury list, officially ending his season. Plaxico accidentally shot himself in the right thigh over the weekend at a Manhattan nightclub. He was arrested and released on $100,000 bail yesterday. Giants president John Mara said:

“As we have said since Saturday morning, our concern is for Plaxico’s health and well-being. This is an important time for him to take care of his body and heal up and also deal with the very serious legal consequences and other issues in his life. When I spoke with Plaxico he expressed great remorse for letting down his teammates.”

This is undoubtedly the right move. Plaxico had become too much of a distraction and with the dark cloud hanging over him after this most recent incident, I don’t really think the Giants had any other logical choice. With the childish behavior of Plaxico Burress out of the way, the Giants can hopefully get back to doing what they do best without the additional interference.

Source: Giants.com

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Plaxico Burress Suspended

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N.Y. Giants receiver Plaxico Burress was taken to court in handcuffs, then posted $100,000 bail on weapons possession charges today after accidentally shooting himself in the leg at a nightclub last week. He was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, which could result in a sentence of at least 3.5 years in prison. As Plaxico awaits his next court date March 31, the Giants aren’t sure what action they will take against him. The NFL said it was monitoring developments. And NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said it would be an outrage “if we didn’t prosecute to the fullest extent of the law.”

Here’s what actually happened on Friday evening. Police said Plaxico and Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce arrived at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan with three other people around 11:30 p.m. I have no idea who the three other people were but they apparently weren’t members of the N.Y. Giants. Plaxico had been allowed to bypass security (even though they knew he was armed they wanted to be cool with the pro athlete) according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity. Around 12:05 a.m., as Plaxico was being escorted to a VIP area (ooh sounds so exciting) with a drink in one hand, he somehow ended up fumbling his gun and it discharged, hitting his thigh. Antonio was with him when that occurred, police said. Plaxico then spent about 90 minutes looking for a hospital that would treat him discreetly. He even used a different name — Harris Smith. He ended up at New York-Cornell, where he gave the phony name and said the incident had occurred at an Applebee’s. It was about this same time when he realized it was probably a bad idea to take a gun into a New York City nightclub.

I know some NFL players have licensed guns for protection at their homes, but few are stupid enough to stick one in their pants and take it to a nightclub. What was he planning to do with it? Giants running back Brandon Jacobs said he spoke with Plaxico on the phone after yesterday’s win over the Redskins and they actually laughed about the situation:

“I called him and made a few jokes about the situation and his laugh is what I wanted to hear. If he didn’t laugh I knew he was going to be down, which he shouldn’t be down. It’s a mistake that happened, something that shouldn’t have happened and that’s that.”

Well, that’s very sweet, but that’s not that. This is more than a mistake. Plaxico is looking at three and a half years in jail. There’s nothing funny about it. I know a fair amount of NFL players that think they’re invincible, but one look at Michael Vick should clear up that misconception. My feeling is that Plaxico Burress is headed for a similar fate.

Sources: NFL.com, New York Post, Photo: Newscom

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Plaxico Burress Posts $100K Bail

In an update to yesterday’s post, N.Y. Giants receiver Plaxico Burress plans to turn himself in to police tomorrow morning in New York City and plead not guilty to criminal possession of a weapon after accidentally shooting himself in the leg Friday night. The law supposedly calls for a mandatory minimum sentence of 3.5 years for illegal possession of a handgun in New York City.

Source: Yahoo! Sports

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Plaxico Burress Will Be Charged

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N.Y. Giants receiver Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the right thigh yesterday evening and spent the night in a New York City hospital as a result. Thankfully, the injury was not life-threatening, but that good news only opens the door to what could be a lot of bad news for Plax and the Giants. Not that there hasn’t been enough of it already.

Obviously, it’s been a tumultuous season for Plax. Take a look at his lowlights since catching the winning score in the Super Bowl back in February:

• He skipped offseason workouts and a minicamp over a contract dispute.
• October 5, he was suspended one game for a violation of team rules.
• October 19, he verbally abused officials and was fined $45,000.
• October 26, he was fined and benched for missing treatment for an injury.

This latest incident increases the frustration for an organization that embodies the “team first” concept. And Plax clearly doesn’t get what this concept is all about. The Giants have managed a league-best 10-1 record largely without his services (35 catches and four TDs), so the thought of giving him his walking papers has to be a viable — and money saving — option. The distractions he brings to a team that is very much a favorite to repeat as Super Bowl champions has to be nearly intolerable.

Plax is already forfeiting a $100,000 bonus for every game he misses. He is listed as out for tomorrow’s game against the Redksins with a hamstring injury, so this doesn’t change anything for that game. But it will most likely force him to miss more time and cost him more money — a lot more money — as the legal process unfolds.

What could unfold is an eventual suspension if Plax is ruled to have violated the NFL’s Personal Conduct Policy. I wonder what he was doing with a gun in the first place? Was it his gun? Was he licensed to have it? And what was he doing with it out in public, presumably at an NYC night club? New York has some of the toughest gun control laws in the country so it will be interesting to see how this plays out. Many questions remain until the police get to the bottom of exactly what happened last night. But the Giants have to start thinking about life without Palxico Burress. It might give them their best chance to win the Super Bowl again.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Plaxico Burress Injured in Shooting

N.Y. Giants receiver Plaxico Burress had an expensive Week 7 against the San Francisco 49ers. He was fined $20,000 for comments to head linesman Phil McKinnely after he was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in the second quarter; another $20,000 for inappropriate comments on the officiating after the game; and $5,000 for throwing a football into the stands after catching a touchdown in the third quarter. Doing some quick math, that’s $45,000 in fines for one game. Coupled with his $117,500 fine for missing a team meeting back in September (which came with a complimentary one-game suspension), Plax is really piling up the financial losses this season. He has admitted to being fined 20 to 30 times by the Giants for violating team rules since joining them in 2005. If he wasn’t such a good receiver, I’d say he wasn’t worth the effort.

Source: NFL.com

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NFL Fines Plaxico Burress $45K

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N.Y. Giants receiver Plaxico Burress was rather flippant in his response to being suspended by his team for one game. Today was his first day back with the Giants since he decided not to show up for work one day and was suspended and fined as a result. But rather than admitting any wrongdoing and accepting any blame, Plax was simply in denial:

“It was just a situation I had to deal with that morning, and I made the right decision. I don’t have any regrets about the decision I made at all ….. My emotions were that they suspended me. That was the decision they chose to do. I’ll take it at that. I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. I got me some rest and was able to get away for a while and chill out and relax. Things like that happen. I’ll keep moving forward and get back to doing what I do: catching footballs, scoring touchdowns and get back to work ….. There are some things that you guys don’t know. So you can’t say it wasn’t an emergency on my part because you don’t know everything that was going on ….. Coach said I was suspended because I needed to be more responsible. I was being responsible, I just put my child first.”

OK, here’s the deal. And it’s pretty simple. Plaxico doesn’t get it. Of course he has a responsibility to his family first and foremost, but he also has a responsibility to his teammates and his employer. Because without his employer, he probably wouldn’t be able to take care of his family financially.

Plax was wrong for simply not showing up and the team was right to suspend him for one game and take a game check from him. If there were an excuse — an emergency — that prevented him from making a quick telephone call to let the team know he wasn’t going to be able to make it to work on time, all he had to do was tell them about it afterward and I’m positive the team would’ve sympathized with a legitimate emergency. When he doesn’t call and then covers up by saying we (the media, the public) “don’t know everything that was going on,” that’s unacceptable. We (the media and anyone outside the team) don’t need to know everything that was going on. The Giants do, though. And if it were a legitimate emergency, there would not have been a suspension or a fine.

Plax tried to justify his actions by saying he was putting family first. So anytime a “family matter” comes up, apparently he feels he can just drop everything and do whatever he wants. See, that’s just Plaxico not getting it. Of course family comes first. Duh. But there’s a common sense code of conduct in handling things that come up in life. Anybody with any common sense at all knows you don’t just not show up for work unless you want to get fired. But because of who he is — the superstar receiver for the Super Bowl champions — he felt he could get away with it. And that it wouldn’t really matter because he ultimately thinks he’s bigger than the team. Really, that’s what it boils down to. But the team showed him that he’s not bigger than anyone else on the team. And I respect that decision.

Judging from Plax’s words during his first day back today, I think he’s kind of a punk. He’s just being defiant and immature. Yes, he is one of the best receivers in the NFL. I’ll give him that. He plays through injuries and he is just plain good at what he does on the football field. But he doesn’t get it.

Source: NFL.com, Photo: Newscom

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Plaxico Burress Unapologetic