It appears as though the honeymoon is over with the Giants and wide receiver Plaxico Burress, and the other bad news is that there simply isn't anyone to replace him — and the problem may become exacerbated this Sunday when they travel to Detroit to face the resurgent Lions.
This takes some explaining.
All season, their star wideout has missed practice all week because of a "severely sprained ankle," according to no less than Dr. Robert Anderson of Charlotte, N.C., a nationally respected orthopedic specialist in the foot and ankle. He prescribed "total rest," but because Burress is a pro football player, the compromise has been not to practice all week and then play on game days.
It has worked reasonably well. But last week, Plaxico decided to try to practice on a Wednesday, came up sore and swollen and was of almost no value in the Giants' key division matchup against Dallas, a game they lost, 31-20, ending their six-game winning streak and falling two games behind the Cowboys in the NFC East.
Now there are rumblings that Burress might have hit the point of diminished returns, and while head coach Tom Coughlin tries to put that thought aside, he has to address it. "Every week, at the beginning of the week, is very difficult for him. He's very sore, that kind of thing. He is committed to play by the end of the week, and usually feeling better. So now we are in the same position with him as we always are, trying to get him there as fast as we can."
The problem, the one that compounds the potential loss of this 6-5, 225-pound superstar, is that there is virtually no depth. Last year's second-round pick, Sinorice Moss, has been an almost total disappointment. This year's second-round pick, Steve Smith, has spent most of the season injured and the word is that he would be "highly questionable" this week.
That leaves veteran Amani Toomer and — well, who? — on the other side. At the moment, it would be Moss, who has caught seven passes for 59 yards all season, or special teams star David Tyree, who is at best an ordinary receiver.
It is possible that offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride might jury-rig another formation, utilizing one of the running backs (like rookie Ahmad Bradshaw?) as a receiver, or using just one but putting in two or three tight ends. It is not a healthy or hopeful scenario at best.
Would the situation be better, Coughlin was asked, if he had someone behind Burress? "Well, that's not a reality question. He wants to play. He certainly has demonstrated that he can, under most circumstances. And that is the way it is."
Burress has caught 41 passes for 588 yards and eight touchdowns so far, but had only four for 24 yards in the first half last Sunday and nothing after that.
Tight end Jeremy Shockey, who caught 12 passes for 129 yards last Sunday, is the next viable alternative — but using him without having Burress would beg for double-teaming.
It's a problem, and if the 6-3 Giants have to face a world without Burress, it might not be a happy place for them.
—WR Plaxico Burress (sprained ankle), seemed testy to the continual questions about his injury. "It's the same old story," he said. "You guys ask me the same question every day. It is sore. It is hurt. I play hurt. And I go out and perform the best way that I can. I just go day-to-day."
The Giants may be on the verge of installing a slightly modified passing offense game plan since TE Jeremy Shockey caught 12 passes last week vs. Dallas. He did so for two reasons — the Cowboys don't have a safety who can stay with him, and they were busy double-teaming WR Plaxico Burress, although they deny that. With Burress perhaps more hobbled than usual with his sprained ankle — he doesn't practice during the week but plays on game day — it is possible that Shockey will be used to take up the slack.
