We have already seen what Plax can do. We KNOW that the dude is money in the clutch. It’s easy to wonder about these things now, but come playoff time, Plax will be there and we will all be glad of it. Perhaps after the season we can wonder about this issue, but for now, it the NYG want that second SB ring, we will need EVERY weapon at our disposal, There is a team with stars on their helmets that is getting healthy and focused and I believe will give us BIG time problems from here on out and are looking to be what the NYG were last year. Would you like to take those guys on in the playoffs with no Plax? I think not.

First, I think that the Giants would be just fine without Plaxico Burress for the same reason I thought they’d be fine without Jeremy Shockey: They have better (yes, you heard me) weapons available. In addition to the reasons you cited, consider the play against Baltimore where Burress was credited with breaking up a potential interception. One of the replays they showed had the camera on him for most of the play. In that replay, it looked like Manning threw the ball to exactly where he thought Burress would be. However, Burress had quit on his route early, and the great effort was required to get to where he should have been. That’s something that has irritated me for several years: how many of Manning’s interceptions have come on passes intended for Burress and Shockey? If the ball is off-target, they seem to quit, indifferent to the outcome. Other receivers, like Hines Ward, work their butts off to play defensive back on poorly thrown balls.
Second, he doesn’t have the speed anymore to be a number 1 receiver. When was the last time you saw him beat a defensive back deep? I mean, the guy is only averaging 13.0 yards per catch, with a long of just 33 yards. His yards per catch since ’04, his last year with the Steelers: 19.9, 16.0, 15.7, 14.6, 13.0. On a related note, other teams seem to have receivers WIDE OPEN downfield several times each game, ala Kevin Boss this week on his 28 yard gain. How often are Giants receivers that open down the field? For that matter, prior to Amani Toomer’s TD last week, when was the last time you saw a Giants receiver pick up yards after the catch, or break a tackle? I would much rather see Steve Smith, Mario Manningham, and Sinorice Moss run some deep routes, and get a chance to make some plays. They are exciting young players with loads of potential. Let’s face it: gone are the days where Tim Carter and Willie Ponder were next on the depth chart.
Third, he drops too many balls . . . as does the venerable Amani Toomer, as much is it pains me to say. I can only add thru anecdotal evidence that the team seemed to have drops under control for the first 2 months of the season after leading the league last year, but seem to have gotten worse the past few weeks (if anyone has the stats on drops, I’d love to see them). Again, I would love to see what healthy Steve Smith, healthy Mario Manningham, and healthy Sinorice Moss can do (you know, since they’re new to the team).
Finally, the man often disappears in the postseason. He’s been nearly invisible in 4 of his 6 playoff games with the Giants. Sorry, but I’d be more excited than scared if he never suited up again.

You’ve made the extreme case against and pot has made the extreme case for Plax. I accept some of what pot says but embrace much more the case you’ve laid out. To me, Plax’s biggest problem seems to be that he’s a head case. It’s demonstrated by his selective effort on the field and most vividly by the fact that he’s hurting himself by causing suspensions that prevent him from activating the incentives in his contract. How do you reach a guy like that? God knows, management has persistently tried and seems to have failed so far. If things keep going the way they have, he’ll be worthless to the team even as trade bait.

Yes, he attracts double teams. But the truly great, playmaking, #1 receivers continue to be productive despite them.

It seems I’ve been defending Plax all season long to Giant fans and I’m getting pretty weary of it. At this point, I could write a book on the topic but I’ll keep this pretty short.

For starters, whenever Plax is on the field, opposing defensive coordinators have to account for his presence at all times. That usually means a safety over the top in addition to the corner that’s assigned to cover him. Now, we saw what this meant in the Cardinal game when the absence of Plax allowed Pendergast to put that that safety in the box. In fact, I’m convinced that the Giants’ relative lack of success running the ball on Sunday was due to more to Plax’ absence than to Jacobs’. Hixon is a nice player and a more than capable replacement for Plax when he is out. But there ain’t no defensive coordinators staying up late at night trying to figure out ways to stop Hixon in the way they have to do with Plax.

But what really chaps my hide is all this talk about how Plax is somehow “dogging it” this year because his numbers are down. To those who say that, I can only ask “What games are you watching?” On numerous occasions this season, Plax has made some huge downfield blocks on running plays. I’d even say that he’s far and away the Giants best blocking WR. He’s also a very smart player who’s always looking to get an edge any way he can. For example, there was that great play in the Sunday night game against the Eagles where he extended a drive by convincing the official to throw an illegal contact flag on Asante Samuel after pulling a flop that would have made Ginobli green with envy. It’s sad that many of today’s football fans are unable to look beyond the fantasy football mindset in which a player is judged solely by his stats.

Now, I’m aware of the argument that Plax should not be getting elite WR money to serve as a decoy or a downfield blocker. But you know what? That’s a business decision that’s best made by Reese, TC and the Giants, and not by a fan who evaluates player through the prism of fantasy football. And something tells me that the Giant coaches and front office know exactly how valuable Plax has been to this team’ success, even with his receiving numbers as depressed as they are. I don’t think he’s going anywhere unless some team makes Reese an offer that completely knocks his socks off.

we all have an opinion on this subject. I personally think that there is a list of things mr. Buress needs to improve on regardless of double teams, etc. And that when he does it will be hugely beneficial to the team.
But let us not forget that coach Coughlin, Jerry Reese and the boys in the locker room know this situation far better than we do. The best thing we can do as fans is the same thing our players did to win that superbowl title. Continue supporting the team. I think that support shows through in spades on this site.
gentlemen: in Reese we trust.

is very reminiscent of the ongoing debate as to whether or not Eli is an elite QB.

There are people who still point to, say, Romo’s stats and cite the fact that he has higher QB rating, passes for more yards and TDs as “evidence” that he is Eli’s superior. But those of us who watch Eli on a regular basis understand there are many other important things that Eli does (and Romo does not) that you’ll never see reflected in the stats. These things are no less impressive than a 70 yard TD bomb – things like drawing the Raven defenders offsides on two consecutive hard counts; or convincing TC to challenge that crucial illegal forward pass penalty against the Eagles; or any of the innumerable other “intangibles” that Eli Manning brings to the winning of football games week after week.

Now, it’s easy for us to notice these things because those of us who watch the Giants focus on Eli every offensive down. We don’t give anywhere near the same amount of attention to what the wide receiver is doing on those plays where he doesn’t have the ball in his hands. But my whole contention throughout this whole thread has been that Plax is every bit the student of the game that Eli is and similarly exhibits those critical “intangibles” that don’t show up in the box score. I cited a few of them upthread and won’t bother to repeat them here. But the bottom line is this: To downgrade Plax’ contribution based solely on his stats is as absurd as belittling Eli because his passing numbers aren’t as gaudy as Tony Romo’s or Kurt Warner’s.

Plaxico accidentally shot himself in the leg last night.

( http://www.newsday.com/sports/football/giants/ny-spplax1130,0,2537752.story )

I would venture to guess that his NFL career is finished.