The Burress Factor

The Giants miss Plaxico Burress. Not his gun-toting nightclub antics, but his ability to stretch defenses. The Giants’ brass and many fans don’t seem to agree. They are saying what they should say and claiming his absence is not affecting their play on the field. But when Plax was playing the Giants were unstoppable, even if he wasn’t putting up his customary huge numbers. His presence alone keeps opposing defenses on their toes, fearful of the big-play threat.

This is not to say Big Blue cannot win without their petulant wideout, buy they did lose three of their last four games since the  “incident.” They racked up 357 yards in the season finale against the Vikings using mainly backups. And they steamrolled the Panthers the week prior to the tune of 459 yards of offense. However, most of their damage came on the ground, which is not surprising since they are the #1 rushing team in the NFL.

Back to Plax. Burress has absolutely owned the Eagles since moving to the NFC East. He is 6-2 (including playoffs) against the Birds and has compiled these stats: 37 catches, 650 yards, 7 touchdowns. In fact, defensive coordinator Jim Johnson has referred to Burress one of the most dangerous players he has ever faced. That’s high praise considering Johnson has been around a long time.

In the Week 14 meeting, the Eagles were able to attack the line of scrimmage more aggressively because they didn’t have to roll coverage to Burress’ side of the field. They limited the Giants to 88 yards rushing and 211 total yards. On third down – where Burress is at his best – the Giants struggled by converting only 3/11 attempts.

To defeat the G-Men you must control their running attack. For Philly at least, this was made easier by Burress not being in the lineup. Whether the Eagles can duplicate their efforts on Sunday remains to be seen. If Amani Toomer and Domenik Hixon make plays downfield, it will spell trouble for the guys in green. If the Giants are allowed to become a dual-threat offense they are unstoppable. With Burress, the Eagles likely lose. Without him, they at least have a shot.