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Burress a towering presence in Giants victory

BY ERIK BOLAND | erik.boland@newsday.com
January 21, 2008
Plaxico Burress

Plaxico Burress reacts to the crowd at Lambeau Field. (Getty Images Photo / January 20, 2008)


GREEN BAY, Wis. - Like just about every Giant, Plaxico Burress said the savagely cold weather expected - and more than present - for last night's NFC Championship Game would have little effect on players.

It definitely did not put a chill on Burress, who set a record for a Giants receiver in a playoff game with 11 receptions. He was by far the best receiver on the field and though he did not catch a TD pass he gained 154 yards receiving.

The 6-5 wideout caught nearly everything thrown his way, particularly in the first half, although one he couldn't quite hang on to late in the half probably cost the Giants points.

On the Giants' opening possession, which resulted in Lawrence Tynes' 29-yard field goal, Burress caught three passes for 36 yards. He beat standout Packers cornerback Al Harris on two of those, including a 19-yarder on the left sideline that brought the ball to the Giants' 48-yard line.

"Al has extremely long arms. I do, too," Burress said last week about his matchup with the 6-1 Harris. "When the ball gets hiked, it's almost like who can get whose hand on who faster. It's that type of game, trying to get guys' hands off you so you can get into your routes. It's going to be a battle. I played against him early , and he's a physical corner, he's a good corner, and we're going to have to deal with it."

Burress dealt with it better. By halftime last night, he had seven receptions for 105 yards. He outjumped Harris, who got a hand on the ball as it arrived, on a 32-yard reception that put the ball at the Packers' 36. But on the next play, Burress could not hold on to Eli Manning's deep ball at the 4. Burress beat Harris down the right sideline and caught the ball cleanly in the air, but he lost the ball into the end zone when he crashed to the rapidly freezing grass. That left the Giants down 10-6 at the half.

"I don't think the cold is really going to affect our route-running as far as us making breaks and getting into our routes," Burress said last week. "I think with the wind, with the ball swirling around going up and dropping and taking dives and things like that, I think that's the thing that we're worried about as receivers, looking at the ball all the way into your hands."

Burress continued doing just that on the Giants' drive to open the third quarter, though he first drew a critical penalty to keep the march going. On third-and-9 from the Giants' 43, Harris bumped Burress to the ground moments before intercepting Manning's pass at the Packers' 48. The 5-yard illegal-contact penalty kept the drive alive, and shortly thereafter, Burress victimized Harris on an 18-yard reception down the right sideline that put the ball at the Packers' 11. The drive ended when Brandon Jacobs scored on a 1-yard run with 7:56 left in the third quarter to give the Giants a 13-10 lead.

After the Packers took a 17-13 lead, Manning went to Burress again, hitting him for 8 yards on first down after the Giants took over at their 43. That started a 57-yard drive that included a 23-yard reception by Amani Toomer and Ahmad Bradshaw's 4-yard touchdown run with 2:12 left in the third quarter that gave the Giants a 20-17 lead.

Last night, both for the Giants and Burress, could not have been more different from when the same teams played in Week 2 at the Meadowlands. Burress was little factor in that blowout loss to the Packers, catching just two balls, though one did go for a touchdown in the 35-13 loss. That also was the game in which Burress aggravated an ankle injury suffered in the preseason, which hampered him the rest of the season. But Burress saw steady improvement in his ankle the last few weeks of the regular season.

GOOD HANDS PEOPLE

Plaxico Burress set a record for most receptions by a Giant in a playoff game:

No. Player Opponent Date
11 Plaxico Burress Green Bay Jan. 20, 2008
10 Ike Hilliard Minnesota Jan. 14, 2001
9 Bob Schnelker Baltimore Dec. 27, 1959
8 Amani Toomer San Francisco Jan. 5, 2003
Among the leaders

Most receiving yards by a Giant in a playoff game:
175 Bob Schnelker at Baltimore Dec. 27, 1959
155 Ike Hilliard vs. Minnesota Jan. 14, 2001
154 Plaxico Burress at Green Bay Jan. 20, 2008
136 Amani Toomer at San Francisco Jan. 5, 2003

Related topic galleries: Major League Baseball, Ike Hilliard, Baseball, Amani Toomer, Lawrence Tynes, Eli Manning, Plaxico Burress

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