Plaxico Burress, Giant no-more
Friday, April 3rd, 2009
First, I wanna say that I have all the trust in the world in Jerry Reese and the Giants‘ front office. I’m sure they know what they’re next move will be and where to spot a talent to try to replace Plaxico’s tremendous skills. However they go about it, free agency, trade or the draft, Jerry Reese has a great eye for pro talent and knows how to make good deals.
With that said, not having Plaxico is a very big deal. Even if the team is able to acquire another top receiver, be it Braylon Edwards, Anquan Boldin or whoever, Burress is not someone who can be replaced. Along with his great talent, it was more Plaxico’s physical attributes that seperated him from other receivers, and opposing defenders. With his down-field speed and long 6-5 frame, he was able to rise above defenders and reach out to catch uncatchable balls. Who else in the league can make the catches Plaxico has been making over the last few years (at 85% and no practice no less )? Larry Fitzgerald and maybe Randy Moss a few years ago.
Boldin is a catch and run receiver, not necessarily one that can spread out the defense across the field and open up for the powerful Giants’ running game. And Edwards, after a stellar 2007 season, led the league in dropped passes last year. The Giants already have Dominic Hixon for that (until he steps it up and fills his potential).
On top of losing Plaxico, the team has also let veteran leader Amani Toomer go. An interesting scenario I heard today would be signing Marvin Harrison to replace the highly reliable Toomer. Depending on the kind of money that Harrison is looking for, he could be a great addition to an offense with a lot of young faces filling in the receiver slots.
In this time of uncertainty for the New York Football Giants, one thing is for sure, it will be a very interesting off-season.
