Someone might as well have given New York Giants wide receiver Plaxico Burress a stick and placed him in a cage with a bear at the Bronx Zoo on Wednesday.
Like Jeremy Shockey, the tight end for the Giants, who is no stranger to providing startling comments, Burress provided the kind of bulletin board material usually reserved for high school and college football.
As the Giants began preparations for the previously unbeaten Chicago Bears (7-1), who were upset at home by lowly Miami last week, Burress pushed the wounded Bears into a corner, or at least their cornerbacks into a corner.
“I don’t think they’re the best cornerbacks I played against, or we played against, by far,” Burress said without a whole lot of prompting on Wednesday, referencing Bears starters Charles Tillman, Nathan Vasher and nickelback Ricky Manning, Jr.
“They’re not great corners,” he added later. “They’re not exceptional corners. … There’s not too many guys I line up one-on-one against and can’t beat.”
In a way, it’s almost difficult to believe that Burress, who missed last week’s win over the Houston Texans because of lower back problems, wasn’t cautioned about making such statements. Giants coach Tom Coughlin has appeared to do everything possible to show humility when talking about opponents.
Last week’s game against Houston was the most important of the season at the time, despite the Texans’ record of 2-6.
Even Giants center Shaun O’Hara had a slight laugh on Wednesday, when, talking about the Bears, he said, “To reiterate words someone has probably already said, this is our most important game because it’s our next game.”
The Giants have seemingly gone out of their way to avoid bulletin-board material this season. The only controversial comments had come from Shockey, but those were directed at his team being outplayed and outcoached in Seattle.
Coughlin may have a sleepless night over Burress’ statements, however.
“I just think we have great respect for them,” Coughlin said of the Bears. “They lost a game. They are 7-1. They are a very good football team. They have played their way through some games which were close and won them. Last week they lost. I don’t think that changes anything about their football team, their ability factor. I’m sure they are going to be more attentive this week.”
Especially when someone gets a gander or listen to Burress’ comments.
“No, no, it’s definitely not them,” Burress said when asked if the Chicago corners are the best he’s played against. He had to think for a fairly long time before he announced Samari Rolle as the toughest corner he’s been matched against.
One of the reasons Burress was willing to make such comments is that the Bears really don’t use a lot of Cover 2 and zone-type coverage. Chicago defensive coordinator Ron Rivera likes to employ a lot of press-man, bump-and-run coverage.
The Bears are successful with it because of a solid defensive line and linebackers, led by Brian Urlacher, who can pressure quarterbacks into making bad decisions.
“Those four [defensive linemen] up front, they create a lot of havoc and fly around,” Burress admitted.
Rookie defensive end Mark Anderson, a backup, leads the team with 7.5 sacks, while defensive tackle Tommie Harris is second on the team with five sacks. Defensive end Alex Brown has three.
“That’s why their defensive backs look good,” Burress said. “They create so much pressure.
“We like pressure. If they’re pressing up, that means we’re going to have some one-on-one opportunities.”
Burress did discuss the implications of the game against the Bears. The winner will have an inside track on homefield advantage throughout the playoffs, although there is still a half season remaining.
“It’s a big game for us,” Burress admitted. “It’s the kind of game where it’s a playoff atmosphere. This is going to be one of those games where all you have to do is walk into the locker room on Sunday and get fired up.”
Unless you’re Tillman, Johnson or Manning and have already digested Burress’ comments.
G-notes: With starting DE Michael Strahan out for the next two to four weeks (eight weeks if you heard what he said on a radio show), rookie Adrian Awasom may draw the starting role, or Coughlin said that defensive coordinator Tim Lewis (Pennridge High School) might use defensive tackles Fred Robbins and William Joseph at end. Linebacker Reggie Torbor, who played defensive end at Auburn, is another possibility.
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