Player Spotlight: Plaxico Burress (1 Viewer)

2007 Player Spotlight Series

Over the course of the offseason, we will be evaluating a multitude of players at every fantasy position. One such way we go about that is through the Player Spotlight series. Think of the Spotlights as a permanent record on some of the more intriguing players for the upcoming season. Each Spotlight will be featured in an article on the main website.

Thread Topic: Plaxico Burress, WR, New York Giants

Player Page Link: Plaxico Burress Player Page

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Back up your expectations in whatever manner you deem appropriate; avoid posts that simply say "I hate him" or "He's the best"
To be included in the final synopsis and consensus outlook, you MUST provide projections for the playerProjections should include (at a minimum):

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Plaxico Burress has great height, gets good separation and can make the circus catch. The downside is occasional lapse in concentration, a history of disappearing for weeks and a sometimes bad attitude. He is the #1 receiving option for a decent offense and has a good young QB.

Plax's two year NYG averages are 70 rec. 1100 yds and 8.5 TD. I see similar production again this year.

75 - 1100 - 9.

Plax should put up very good numbers in 2007. He will get a lot of Targets and should catch his share of TD's

1300/10

Plax is one of those players that the team might make an example of.. I see team suspension written all over him

Hes on my "stay away" list

Top 5 talent mind

I have him on my team but he doesn't excite me. From a talent standpoint he does belong being rated the 11 and 12 wr in the last 2 years but I guess I just find it hard to cheer for a guy you don't like.

# have been pretty consistent though in NY

72 catches 1150 yards 9 td's

:11:

Should be around the top ten again

Plaxico is not an NFL #1 WR and not a fantasy #1 WR. He is way too inconsistent and has too much attitude. Its gonna be a long year for the Giants. Their offensive line is a mess and their defense is bad. Their running game doesnt excite me either. That being said Plaxico is their #1 target and theres not much behind him except Shockey (and who knows if he stays in to block more). I think Plax will be a solid #2 fantasy WR.

75 rec, 1100 yds, 7 tds

Looks like everyone is expecting a 10-20% increase in yardage from '06....is there any justification for this?

LHUCKS said:

Looks like everyone is expecting a 10-20% increase in yardage from '06....is there any justification for this?

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He basically missed 2 games last year. He had 1200+ in '05.

gman8343 said:

LHUCKS said:

Looks like everyone is expecting a 10-20% increase in yardage from '06....is there any justification for this?

Click to expand...

He basically missed 2 games last year.

Click to expand...

Didn't realize that...I'll have to go back and recheck that.

LHUCKS said:

Looks like everyone is expecting a 10-20% increase in yardage from '06....is there any justification for this?

Click to expand...

I just took his two years in NY and predicted the average of the two, right around 1100.

With Barber gone you would think Burris would increase in just about every stat line.

The only problem is we are still talking about Burris. I expect Burris to end up just about the same as he has the last two years.

I see a strong start..disappear for awhile, and limp to the finish line.

Around 70 catches 6-8 TDs 1050 yards

The Giants will find themselves in a lot of high scoring games this year. Their defense just isn't that good and Buress is the best receiver the Giants have.

1100 yards 68 receptions and 10 Td's

That offense is not going to be able to sustain drives like it did with Barber in the backfield. I certainly don't predict an increase in Burress' numbers, but any decline should be offset by the offense's need to pass itself out of troubles that it didn't face with Barber there.

I think the average of his last two years is a fair way to predict his performance.

70/1105/8

Profile/Background: Burress is a real enigma of a player, being blessed with tremendous physical tools, yet not always willing to do what it takes to become one of the NFL's elite at the position. From a fantasy perspective, last year was a mixed bag for Plax. On one hand, he had a career high in touchdowns with 10 (tacking on two more in a playoff loss to Philly), and was much more consistent on a week to week basis, failing to hit double digit scoring in only four games, as opposed to 9 in 2006. He also compiled 988 yards despite missing one game in its entirety and being yanked early in one other, for reasons which still remain a bit unclear to this writer.

On the other hand, Burress apparently had personality clashes with the always pleasant Tom Coughlin, who returns for what could be his final season with the team. Plax also seemed to struggle at times to get on the same page as QB Eli Manning, resulting in some lost opportunities which could have increased his overall numbers. Even when one accounts for his missed time in 2006, Burress's overall targets were also noticibly down from the prior season (166 targets in 2005 in 16 games, or 10.3 per, versus 121 in 15 games, or 8.06 per in 2006). On the flip side, Burress did convert at a much higher clip on his targets (63 out of 121) in 2006 than he did in 05 (76 out of 166).

Key Changes in 2007: Undoubtably, the most important change in New York is the departure of potential HOF'er Tiki Barber, one of the league's all time great dual-threat RB. Barber was the recipient of 82 targets, which he converted for 58 catches and nearly 500 yards in 2006, and those targets/recs will have to be redirected elsewhere this season. Barber's replacements, Brandon Jacobs and R. Droughns, are nowhere near the receiver that Barber was, so it is reasonable to expect that Burress, the team's undisputed #1 wideout, may enjoy a slight bump in his targets as a result.

Free agent/draft wise, the Giants added some WR help in USC wideout Steve Smith. Though only a rookie, I think Smith will help bolster a WR core that includes the aging Amani Toomer and the unproven Sinorice Moss. However, Burress, along with Jeremy Shockey, will remain the focal points of the aerial attack.

Outlook for 2007: All in all, there's very little reason to suspect that Burress would suffer a sudden dropoff from the numbers he has posted the last two years in New York. The departure of Barber is reason enough to speculate that Burress could be featured a bit more than he has been in the past. To a degree, Burress's improvement or regression may be a reflection of the progress (or lack thereof) of Eli Manning, whose erratic performance has prevented Burress from putting up the numbers he may be capable of. There remain some character questions with Plax, and the possibilities for a flare up with Coughlin make him mildly more risky than some other WR out there.

In sum, if you're bullish on Manning, 1300 yards and 9-11 touchdowns seems like a reasonable projection. Those that believe that Manning will continue to struggle will probably feel more comfortable with a call of 1100 receiving and 6-8 TD. Personally, I come down somewhere in the middle.

Plaxico Burress 2007 projection: 78 receptions, 1,209 yards, 8 touchdowns.

shadyridr said:

Plaxico is not an NFL #1 WR and not a fantasy #1 WR. He is way too inconsistent and has too much attitude. Its gonna be a long year for the Giants. Their offensive line is a mess and their defense is bad. Their running game doesnt excite me either. That being said Plaxico is their #1 target and theres not much behind him except Shockey (and who knows if he stays in to block more). I think Plax will be a solid #2 fantasy WR.

75 rec, 1100 yds, 7 tds

Click to expand...

This was my pre-research thinking as well. However, he only had a handful of stinkers last year, and managed to put up double digits in all but four games. Whether or not this newly found consistency is a trend, or a one year thing, is a difficult question.

Having watched every Giant game last year, I saw a disturbing trend develop with Plax. Yes, his numbers were good, and he was fairly "consistent", scoring a TD in 10 games.

But that's all he scored. One TD a game for ten games. Not one multiple TD game. I could swear it seemed every game, he'd catch a long ball for a TD in the first quarter, and then vanish for the rest of the game.

I'm not nuts in that feeling - here are his 1st half / 2nd half stats:

1st half: 30 rec 612 yds 6 TD

2nd half: 31 rec 334 yds 3 TD

Half the yardage? Half the TD's? On one MORE reception?

It seemed to me from watching his games that he got his TD early, and basically said "well, I had a good day, the rest is gravy" and just didn't play the same. It's not like the giants were ahead all these games and tried to play conservative - in fact, it's almost the opposite.

I think Plax is in for a tough year, and the Giants will implode on their coach. 55 rec, 800 yds, 6 td's

Thom Yorke said:

Profile/Background: Burress is a real enigma of a player, being blessed with tremendous physical tools, yet not always willing to do what it takes to become one of the NFL's elite at the position. From a fantasy perspective, last year was a mixed bag for Plax. On one hand, he had a career high in touchdowns with 10 (tacking on two more in a playoff loss to Philly), and was much more consistent on a week to week basis, failing to hit double digit scoring in only four games, as opposed to 9 in 2006. He also compiled 988 yards despite missing one game in its entirety and being yanked early in one other, for reasons which still remain a bit unclear to this writer.

On the other hand, Burress apparently had personality clashes with the always pleasant Tom Coughlin, who returns for what could be his final season with the team. Plax also seemed to struggle at times to get on the same page as QB Eli Manning, resulting in some lost opportunities which could have increased his overall numbers. Even when one accounts for his missed time in 2006, Burress's overall targets were also noticibly down from the prior season (166 targets in 2005 in 16 games, or 10.3 per, versus 121 in 15 games, or 8.06 per in 2006). On the flip side, Burress did convert at a much higher clip on his targets (63 out of 121) in 2006 than he did in 05 (76 out of 166).

Key Changes in 2007: Undoubtably, the most important change in New York is the departure of potential HOF'er Tiki Barber, one of the league's all time great dual-threat RB. Barber was the recipient of 82 targets, which he converted for 58 catches and nearly 500 yards in 2006, and those targets/recs will have to be redirected elsewhere this season. Barber's replacements, Brandon Jacobs and R. Droughns, are nowhere near the receiver that Barber was, so it is reasonable to expect that Burress, the team's undisputed #1 wideout, may enjoy a slight bump in his targets as a result.

Free agent/draft wise, the Giants added some WR help in USC wideout Steve Smith. Though only a rookie, I think Smith will help bolster a WR core that includes the aging Amani Toomer and the unproven Sinorice Moss. However, Burress, along with Jeremy Shockey, will remain the focal points of the aerial attack.

Outlook for 2007: All in all, there's very little reason to suspect that Burress would suffer a sudden dropoff from the numbers he has posted the last two years in New York. The departure of Barber is reason enough to suspect that Burress could be featured a bit more than he has been in the past. To a degree, Burress's improvement or regression be a reflection of the progress (or lack thereof) of Eli Manning, whose erratic performance has prevented Burress from putting up the numbers he may be capable of. There remain some character questions with Plax, and the possibilities for a flare up with Coughlin make him mildly more risky than some other WR out there.

In sum, if you're bullish on Manning, 1300 yards and 9-11 touchdowns seems like a reasonable projection. Those that believe that Manning will continue to struggle will probably feel more comfortable with a call of 1100 receiving and 6-8 TD. Personally, I come down somewhere in the middle.

Plaxico Burress 2007 projection: 78 receptions, 1,209 yards, 8 touchdowns.

Click to expand...

Awesome work! I am excited to see more commentary from you in other Player Spotlights. Thank you.

gheemony said:

Thom Yorke said:

Profile/Background: Burress is a real enigma of a player, being blessed with tremendous physical tools, yet not always willing to do what it takes to become one of the NFL's elite at the position. From a fantasy perspective, last year was a mixed bag for Plax. On one hand, he had a career high in touchdowns with 10 (tacking on two more in a playoff loss to Philly), and was much more consistent on a week to week basis, failing to hit double digit scoring in only four games, as opposed to 9 in 2006. He also compiled 988 yards despite missing one game in its entirety and being yanked early in one other, for reasons which still remain a bit unclear to this writer.

On the other hand, Burress apparently had personality clashes with the always pleasant Tom Coughlin, who returns for what could be his final season with the team. Plax also seemed to struggle at times to get on the same page as QB Eli Manning, resulting in some lost opportunities which could have increased his overall numbers. Even when one accounts for his missed time in 2006, Burress's overall targets were also noticibly down from the prior season (166 targets in 2005 in 16 games, or 10.3 per, versus 121 in 15 games, or 8.06 per in 2006). On the flip side, Burress did convert at a much higher clip on his targets (63 out of 121) in 2006 than he did in 05 (76 out of 166).

Key Changes in 2007: Undoubtably, the most important change in New York is the departure of potential HOF'er Tiki Barber, one of the league's all time great dual-threat RB. Barber was the recipient of 82 targets, which he converted for 58 catches and nearly 500 yards in 2006, and those targets/recs will have to be redirected elsewhere this season. Barber's replacements, Brandon Jacobs and R. Droughns, are nowhere near the receiver that Barber was, so it is reasonable to expect that Burress, the team's undisputed #1 wideout, may enjoy a slight bump in his targets as a result.

Free agent/draft wise, the Giants added some WR help in USC wideout Steve Smith. Though only a rookie, I think Smith will help bolster a WR core that includes the aging Amani Toomer and the unproven Sinorice Moss. However, Burress, along with Jeremy Shockey, will remain the focal points of the aerial attack.

Outlook for 2007: All in all, there's very little reason to suspect that Burress would suffer a sudden dropoff from the numbers he has posted the last two years in New York. The departure of Barber is reason enough to suspect that Burress could be featured a bit more than he has been in the past. To a degree, Burress's improvement or regression be a reflection of the progress (or lack thereof) of Eli Manning, whose erratic performance has prevented Burress from putting up the numbers he may be capable of. There remain some character questions with Plax, and the possibilities for a flare up with Coughlin make him mildly more risky than some other WR out there.

In sum, if you're bullish on Manning, 1300 yards and 9-11 touchdowns seems like a reasonable projection. Those that believe that Manning will continue to struggle will probably feel more comfortable with a call of 1100 receiving and 6-8 TD. Personally, I come down somewhere in the middle.

Plaxico Burress 2007 projection: 78 receptions, 1,209 yards, 8 touchdowns.

Click to expand...

Awesome work! I am excited to see more commentary from you in other Player Spotlights. Thank you.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the kind words. I recently posted my thoughts regarding my boyfriend favorite wide receiver, Marques Colston, in his spotlight thread.

Thom Yorke said:

Profile/Background: Burress is a real enigma of a player, being blessed with tremendous physical tools, yet not always willing to do what it takes to become one of the NFL's elite at the position. From a fantasy perspective, last year was a mixed bag for Plax. On one hand, he had a career high in touchdowns with 10 (tacking on two more in a playoff loss to Philly), and was much more consistent on a week to week basis, failing to hit double digit scoring in only four games, as opposed to 9 in 2006. He also compiled 988 yards despite missing one game in its entirety and being yanked early in one other, for reasons which still remain a bit unclear to this writer.

On the other hand, Burress apparently had personality clashes with the always pleasant Tom Coughlin, who returns for what could be his final season with the team. Plax also seemed to struggle at times to get on the same page as QB Eli Manning, resulting in some lost opportunities which could have increased his overall numbers. Even when one accounts for his missed time in 2006, Burress's overall targets were also noticibly down from the prior season (166 targets in 2005 in 16 games, or 10.3 per, versus 121 in 15 games, or 8.06 per in 2006). On the flip side, Burress did convert at a much higher clip on his targets (63 out of 121) in 2006 than he did in 05 (76 out of 166).

Key Changes in 2007: Undoubtably, the most important change in New York is the departure of potential HOF'er Tiki Barber, one of the league's all time great dual-threat RB. Barber was the recipient of 82 targets, which he converted for 58 catches and nearly 500 yards in 2006, and those targets/recs will have to be redirected elsewhere this season. Barber's replacements, Brandon Jacobs and R. Droughns, are nowhere near the receiver that Barber was, so it is reasonable to expect that Burress, the team's undisputed #1 wideout, may enjoy a slight bump in his targets as a result.

Free agent/draft wise, the Giants added some WR help in USC wideout Steve Smith. Though only a rookie, I think Smith will help bolster a WR core that includes the aging Amani Toomer and the unproven Sinorice Moss. However, Burress, along with Jeremy Shockey, will remain the focal points of the aerial attack.

Outlook for 2007: All in all, there's very little reason to suspect that Burress would suffer a sudden dropoff from the numbers he has posted the last two years in New York. The departure of Barber is reason enough to suspect that Burress could be featured a bit more than he has been in the past. To a degree, Burress's improvement or regression be a reflection of the progress (or lack thereof) of Eli Manning, whose erratic performance has prevented Burress from putting up the numbers he may be capable of. There remain some character questions with Plax, and the possibilities for a flare up with Coughlin make him mildly more risky than some other WR out there.

In sum, if you're bullish on Manning, 1300 yards and 9-11 touchdowns seems like a reasonable projection. Those that believe that Manning will continue to struggle will probably feel more comfortable with a call of 1100 receiving and 6-8 TD. Personally, I come down somewhere in the middle.

Plaxico Burress 2007 projection: 78 receptions, 1,209 yards, 8 touchdowns.

Click to expand...

Keep up the good work Thom

I see Plaxico's numbers taking a slight dip this year. His numbers seemed to suffer a little with Toomer out of the lineup, which seems to indicate that NY did not have a WR2 that was able to step into the void. They drafted Sinorice Moss last year with plans to eventually make him the new WR2 in the offense and they drafted Steve Smith this year, probably with plans to make him a viable WR3 in the offense. Moss was bothered most of the year with an injured quadricep. If Toomer misses time again this year (or is released) will Moss and/or Smith be able to step in and provide enough of a spark to keep double coverage off of Toomer? Also to be considered is the loss of Tiki Barber to the offense. Tiki is replaced by Reuben Droughns, who has only averaged approximately 30 receptions per season as a starter, a downgrade from Tiki’s previous production. Also, Eli’s accuracy may also take a hit with more downfield passes and an inexperienced receiving corps.

68 Rec 972 Yds 6 TD

# of rs games where WR scored at least one TD in 06

Burress - 10

Current top 10 projected WR-

Chad Johnson - 4

Steve Smith - 7

Reggie Wayne - 7

Tori Holt - 7

Marvin Harrison - 7

Terrell Owens - 10

TJ - 8

Javon Walker - 6

Fitz - 6

Driver - 8

Burress is the under the radar guy to get as as WR2. He was consistently the red zone target last year. His off field issues make him a value as a 4/5 round WR. I will target him.

1100/9

In analyzing Burress's potential for 2007, I believe you must look at one name and one date: Randy Moss 2006. The situation in NY this year could very quickly get every bit as ugly as it was in Oakland last year. NY probably isn't going to be in contention this year and with a lame duck coach, who by the way isn't in Plax's Fav 5, "character" guys like Burress may be "sending it in" every Sunday after about week 8 or 9. As some may recall Plax quit on Cowher and the Steelers so it won't be terribly surprising to me to see him "quit" on NY and Coughlin. He's missed the OTA's, he didn't participate in minicamp because of "minor" ankle surgery and with this guy it goes on and on. There is no questioning his ability and potential but given more or less equal choices, I'll take the guy that I KNOW will bring it every week. And that sure ain't Plax. I believe both Plax and the Giants implode at some point this season and Plax ends up with numbers that resemble that implosion: 50-725-6. If you believe the Giants will be fine this year and Plax gives 100% he is a very worthy #2 WR.......but don't lose sight of that name and date, its not alweys about talent.