Buzz: Does Burress’ Continuance Change the Jets Course of Action?
While many news outlets are reporting that Plax got a continuance until September and wondering about whether or not he’ll be able to play this season. Mike Florio (an actual lawyer, mind you) is writing that he thinks Plax will be clear for the season.
So while there are no absolute guarantees that Burress will be available for all of the coming campaign, it’s looking more and more likely that he’ll be able to avoid a trial before the middle of February, 2010.
Meanwhile, we need to take issue – strongly – with the reported belief in league circles that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell might suspend Burress after he signs with a new team … Goodell said during the annual Super Bowl news conference, in response to a question from Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star-Ledger, that no action will be taken against Burress until the criminal case is resolved, given that Burress is a first-time offender.
Florio goes on to quote Goodell’s statement, which basically undermines the thought that the league would take actions before the courts do. Since it looks like the case won’t happen until at least 2010, then there’s no reason to think that Burress couldn’t help a team during their season.
At the same time, I understand that this is all speculation and uncertainty that the case might not go to trial before then. On top of that, there are the questions about how Burress would behave and play this season.
“You got to find out more. What does this mean? This definitely puts a cloud on it. You sign him, you take him to camp, then we go into September and we can lose him? I would rather not have him than know I’m going to lose him. How about him? How does this play in his head? It’s just bad karma. That’s the way I’m looking at it. The way the mayor is talking, he doesn’t want to do this guy any favors. I don’t think the commissioner does, either … it’s buyer beware. You are going to have to go forward and sign him and wait for the commissioner to rule on it. He’s not going to tell you ahead of time. This one is a mess.”
Strong words from a GM who won’t put his name to the article. For all we know, it could be one of the very GMs who wants Burress and is trying to drive down the price and/or competition.
What do you think? Would Burress be a help to the Jets even if he’s got all this baggage? Does the circus surrounding Burress case more problems than his play helps? Should the Jets make a play for Burress, or leave this one alone?
Bob Glauber just tweeted that Plax is late to his own court appearance …
Also, ESPN is reporting that Burress came and went and his case was continued.
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I would love Plex on the Jets, but not with jailtime floating over his head. He will not be the same player while he is thinking about jail.
Three Words Get Burress Now!
He would help Franchez develop and make us a playoff team.
I mean at least his teammates like him.
Going after Plaxico is a tough call. Rex Ryan has talked about building team unity and Burress is definitely not a help in that regard. He skips meetings. He skips workouts. He skips practices. He is also always banged up. I dont think the looming trial affects his play, though. Maybe it would have when it first happened, but I think by now its out of his head especially since Im sure he figures he is getting off. Certainly the Ravens players who were involved with some crimes never saw drop in play and I think the star athlete really blocks it all out.
We are desperate for a WR and you have to assume that someone like Burress really would help a young QB feel comfortable, but I think I would pass on him. If we had a veteran QB like we did last year Id say he is worth the 1 year rental, but with a rookie QB we are probably better off letting Dustin Keller and Chansi Stuckey develop without PB taking the majority of the passes.
He would help on Sundays, but not mon-sat. This is not the way to build a team, unless you play fantasy football.
A talent like Plax is worth making a few phone calls.
If the report is correct that he wants to go to the Jets to stick it to the Giants, then we shouldn’t touch him with 10′ pole. This just shows what type of person he is, he’s not looking to return to redeem himself, or start fresh, no, he wants to come back for revenge. If he was a clear, rationale thinking person he would see that he put the Giants in the position to release him, with his past behavior, and then the shooting incident. He thinks he did nothing wrong, but was wronged by the Giants. If that is not the height of arrogance I don’t know what is! He will be a cancer, and a destructive force to the team that signs him.
How could anyone seriously want him on their team? And no, the risk is not worth the reward.
Don’t listen to ramble he is just rambling. How would he get back at the Giants? By playing good and staying on the field to do it making him come the practices, meetings, gatherings etc.
He isn”t a “CANCER” if everyone loves him and as long as everyone loves him and hes coming to practices whats the freaking problem.
Get Plax.
Nice tackle, Andre…
Get him. Period. He can REALLY help Mark in his first year, or Kellen.
I never heard that everyone “loves” him. I know he was railroaded out of Pittsburgh because they couldn’t stand his act. Tom Caughlin absolutely despises the guy, and the Giants as a team were always having to sit him down and tell to cut the crap.
The problem is he doesn’t always go to practice, and hwen he does he’s usually late. He missed a practice and claimed he had to take his kids to school.
Burress is a total jerk off, he has his head so far up his ass that he is not aware that anyone else on a team matters but him. All he will do is use us to get himself to the next place we wants to be in the NFL.
Bent- Ha I was thinking the same thing. I hated that game.
And to support my contention that he is a complete moron, Bob Glauber is reporting that Burress showed up late for his court appearance. I’d rather sign Matt Jones or Amani Toomer.
Burress is a talented player if he is available, and if the Jets are interested then why not roll the dice?
He is not going to be suspended until after the trial anyway!
What’s the worst case scenario…3 games suspension? So what that’s nothing and that time can be used to help the development of the other receivers!
More importantly “if” Burress is forced to take time off before the trial conclusion, then the team should bring their lawyers to Goodell office to have the suspension overturned. Remember Goodell said on record and in the public media many times that he wouldn’t do anything until after the trial anyway. I’m sure that Goodell does not want to look like a hypocritical jack ass and the possibility of having the league never trusting him again.
FYI, Unless the Commish was under oath (that’s a joke son) he can still suspend Plax. Certainly his previous statements are less of a limit on his actions than the arbitrator who will rule if there is a suspension.
Kewpie to Ramble (is that your first?) for his accurate and knowledgeable posts.
One other thing. GMs sometimes get urgent due to short term problems and their responses are worse than the original problems.
Not signing Plax might mean we are available to make a late summer trade with a team with a disgruntled WR that during training camp finds a rookie is a cheaper, more than adequate replacement, or pick up a FA, or leaves us in a position to draft someone special next year.
An example from another sport is the trouble Omar Minaya has gotten himself into for being played like a violin by Boras in the 3 year deal for Perez or the stupid contract he gave to Castillo that is the anvil that might end his tenure there.
Harlan
I’ve gotten a few others over the years (kewpies), thanks for this one.
Speaking of our WR’s I thought this little tidbit from Rod Boone’s live chat on Friday was interesting:
“…I think Stuckey has the No. 2 spot at the moment, but it depends on if they want to have him work on the outside rather than the slot. Brad Smith has been getting a lot of time in the three wide receiver sets, so those appear to be the top three guys right now. I think Wright has also thrown his name in there and probably has passed Clowney on the depth chart. His hands have betrayed him of late and he’s stayed after practice catching extra balls…”
Surprised to hear Clowney is (for now at least) down to #5 on the depth chart, considering how nice it would be to have a fast guy in the 3-WR sets.
We’ve got enough of a circus on the horizong without adding this into the mix. Between the expectations on Sanchez, the no-net trapeze act that is Rex’s mouth and the ramped up expectations for our defensive unit; I can’t help but think that Plaxico and his ongoing legal battle would be too much for the team to handle.
Never mind the possibility of giving Sanchez a go-to guy who could be axed at any moment.
Let’s build a solid team with reliable pieces, then add in Plax if he clears up the legal mess and can keep his head (and ours) in the game where it belongs.
Clowney’s obviously doing his best to fill the McCareins role. His hands were the reason GB cut him loose. Come on David, sort it out.
If you have been keeping up with the situation you would of seen numerous times where Plax’s teammates said they loved him but I can’t even defend him on being late to court. But I will defend that he isn’t a cancer and that he will help more than hurt.
For many reasons the idea of having this guy on my team makes me very uncomfortable. Remember, the two teams that would never take him are the Giants and the Steelers. They learned.
What concerns me the most about Plax isn’t the off-the-field stuff, since he’ll be on a short leash (and a one-year contract) if he comes here. What concerns me most is that he’s become less of a downfield threat every year. Here are his YPC the last five yrs:
19.9
16.0
15.7
14.6
13.0
I don’t like that trend, esp. for a guy who’s turning 32 during training camp. Sure, he would still help our red-zone offense, and I’m fine with getting him if it’s cheap, but just know we’re probably not getting the monster target of a few years ago.
Get this guy in camp….even if he cant take over a game a fade route to him in the end zone is money in the bank
Let’s start out with the proposition that virtually every quality no. 1 WR in the NFL is a diva, with enough negative baggage to make him a risk. TO, Moss, Ochocinco, Marshall, Steve Smith. Is anyone here saying that Steve Smith, who has a habit of sucker-punching teammates, wouldn’t be welcomed with open arms? Plax is 6-5, commands double-coverage and has 33 TDs in his 55 games with the Giants.
Now, with the fact that it’s a given that he’s a million-dollar talent with a 10 cent head as a given, next let’s answer whether he would help the Jets’ offense. IMO, he changes everything. You just can’t fail to have the safety cover deep on Plax because he will always create separation because of his height–he’s probably, at least, 6″ taller than most CBs. Forget 8-men in the box…won’t happen because it’s suicide, even with a rookie QB. With Plax occupying a CB and a safety, Keller roams free underneath and Jericho draws the no. 2 CB and he’s had a nice career of exploiting the no. 2 CB. With the defense not playing 8-men in the box, the running game is more effective, Leon can roam the flat better, etc.
Now, let’s do risk analysis: is the benefit of Plax to the Jets outweigh his negative lockerroom presence? C’mon, are we serious here? On “Jets Nation” Cimini (the Jets’ voice of doom) said that the team is overwhelmingly in favor of getting Plax. Sure, they’re football players and they know a guy who can make their team better than we, as fans, do.
Plax is going to be 32 and does get banged up (which is probably the reason behind his declining YPC, but the Giants have not exactly had a great WR/TE/RB receiving corps around him recently. Shockey and Barber gave opposing defenses a lot more to worry about, kinda like Leon and Keller). To me, this is a no-brainer. The Jets sign Plax and see if he turns into Randy Moss, the Pats’ version. No risk, no reward.
and there go the stats lol
Mark it down, men, at least one front-line receiver will be cut by another team this summer due to cap problems; everybody will be ’shocked,’ and the Jets can be in a position to pick one up at a decent price. And this without the baggage that comes with Plax. As for the rest of the group, they’re a solid bunch of guys, but the key word is ’separation.’ Plax is outstanding at it, granted, but among the guys in camp Wright might just have the best capacity for creating separation among the lot (or perhaps Brad Smith). Good hands comes right after that, and that’s a problem with Clowney. But again, watch for Wright to emerge as the summer goes on.
By the way, anyone notice that the sny shop ad at the top right of this blog post is still featuring #4 Favre jerseys? Painful.
JFIO, a choir boy, bona fide no.1 WR likely isn’t the type of WR that would be cut. Ochocinco, maybe. Plus, the Bears are dying to get more weapons for Cutler, so it’s not like the Jets will be all alone trying to improve their WR corps. And, with a rookie QB and Schott’s complicated offense, it’s better to get someone in for training camp. If not, I’m crossing my fingers that one of Stuckey, Clowney, B. Smith or Wright can step up and be the WR that gets separation. Plax would be a lot better solution.
Seeing that picture makes me sick to my stomach. Andre Dyson was the Jets best corner, and for a short period of time was a legit lockdown corner for us. But after Plaxico stiff armed him for that TD, Dyson’s career was over.
JR – Are you angry at Dyson for falling apart or the coaching staff for losing faith in him? Just wondered.
On a lesser scale, there was a similar situation with Drew Coleman, who showed promise when he made it into the starting lineup and then slipped on a crucial play against the Bears. He was never the same after that one play either.
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Bent,
Thats a good question. I’m not sure if he did in fact fall apart, or if the coaching staff was fed up, most likely for lack of effort on that play. Dyson made a pathetic attempt to push Burress out of bounds, i’m not blaming him or the coaching staff, but Dyson should of came a lot harder