Seattle Seahawks NewsNews » Here's hoping Burress gets the message |
| Here's hoping Burress gets the message | |
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 Plaxico Burress has his new contract, because he earned it, toughing it out on one leg the way he did a year ago and catching the winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl. He has the franchise quarterback he never had in Pittsburgh. He is Eli Manning's Terrell Owens. He is one of the five key players — Manning, Justin Tuck, Antonio Pierce and David Diehl are the others — on a team intent on defending its Super Bowl championship.
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And he pulls this? Now? Burress should understand by now that not showing up for practice Monday and not answering repeated calls Monday and Tuesday from the Giants doesn't only hurt him in the pocketbook. It hurts his teammates and his team as well. He should understand by now that no one — not T.O., not Ocho Cinco, not him — is bigger than the team, is above the law. Even T.O. — at least for the moment — seems to have gotten the memo in Dallas. Burress owes his head coach and his teammates and his organization that believed in him enough to reward him with a $35 million deal an apology. Giants fans too. The Giants yesterday announced that they have suspended Burress for two weeks — the upcoming bye week and the following Sunday against the Seahawks — for insubordination. A reminder, in no uncertain terms, that there is no I in T-E-A-M. "We want to make sure that the message is loud and clear," coach Tom Coughlin said yesterday. "We have had success here because of the team concept. And the team concept means basically that everyone is accountable and responsible and that we don't let the other guys down." Burress, through agent Drew Rosenhaus, has appealed the suspension and filed a grievance with the NFLPA. "I think that their punishment is harsh," Rosenhaus said of the Giants. Rosenhaus said that Burress was "very dejected" and was tending to a family matter on the days in question. More from the New York Post--> - Serby: Burress owes big apology
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I happen to like Burress. I think he means well. He burns to be recognized as the best receiver in the game.
He works at his craft. All I know is the Giants feel that the punishment fits the crime.
"It is a franchise decision," Coughlin said. "Ownership was involved." It is, and has always been, Coughlin's way or the highway.
Burress should have learned that the hard way three years ago when he was benched for the first quarter of a game in San Diego for missing two meetings.
In May, 2004 with the Steelers, Burress blew off a minicamp because it fell on Mother's Day. He had lost his mother two years earlier.
Back in the summer, as Coughlin drove to Albany to begin defense of his title, he talked of the higher standards he would expect from his players.
"Recognizing as champions, you really have a responsibility to do things at a better level consistently — practice better, meet better, have a better attitude, communicate better, carry yourself better, be more respectful," Coughlin said.
In other words, act like a champion.
"I think hopefully he has learned his lesson," Eli Manning said yesterday.
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Author:Fox Sports
Author's Website:http://www.foxsports.com
Added: September 25, 2008
