Eli: Would Be Good To Have Plax Back
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Is losing Plaxico Burress really and truly the reason why the Giants haven’t won a playoff game since 2007? Eli Manning thinks it would be good to get Plax back in the Giants offense.
Via PFT:
"While the Giants haven’t won a playoff game since Burress left, they have developed one of the best young receiver groups in the league with Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, and Mario Manningham. Would Burress really help?“I think they know what kind of player he is. Obviously he knows our system. It hasn’t changed. . . . I know what kind of player he can be and we already have a great corps of receivers right now. To throw him into the mix would be a good thing.”"
The whole #1 receiver debate for me is now out of the question — Eli has posted back to back 4000+ yard seasons and record TD and completion percentages for his career every year he hasn’t had Plax as a target. The growth of a QB? Yeah maturity probably has something to do with it, and who can say what Eli’s numbers would have been like if Plax never brought the gun to the nightclub in the first place in 2008. Who can say if they wouldn’t have repeated in 2008… at least they would have had a better shot to beat the Eagles in divisionals if Plax was healthy for that playoff game.
But we all know where this goes, with all the what-ifs surrounding this situation. The fact is that the Giants destiny starts and ends with defense… and the Giants can only go as far as the D takes them. The defense has been the issue that needs correcting most, and Perry Fewell by and large has his unit back on track and ready for a return to greatness next year. That to me is more important than getting Burress back in the rotation at WR. If anything, Eli needs to work on checking it down to his RBs more than get it caught by a very rusty 6’6″ receiver.
Trust the system the Giants have built since Burress left with their young recievers, it visibly is a more dynamic and potentially dangerous offense without Burress. Minimize the turnovers, use Bradshaw and Pascoe out of the backfield more and we’ve got a playoff caliber offense once again.