Proceed with caution on these wideouts

FLORHAM PARK, N.J.

There is no question in Plaxico Burress' mind he'll soon become the dominant receiver with the Jets he once was with the Giants. Overly ambitious? Perhaps, especially for a guy who just turned 34 last week, who hasn't played a game in nearly three years, and who only Tuesday participated in his first full practice after recovering from a sprained ankle.

But the uber-confident receiver remains convinced he'll be torching cornerbacks before you know it.

"I still believe I'm one of the best out there competing," Burress said after practice. "My mindset is to dominate when I'm one-one-one. That's what I've pretty much done my whole career, and I'm not going to stop that now."

Fine. We'll give Burress the benefit of the doubt and allow that he will indeed return to top form, and that he and Santonio Holmes and Derrick Mason can become one of the most dangerous receiving corps in the league. Rex Ryan is certainly convinced, referring to them as "scary," especially when "you've got that group out there and Dustin as your tight end and either Shonn Greene or L.T. in your backfield."

OK, so it really does look like an imposing group, at least on paper. Two players who have a Super Bowl winning catch on their resume in Holmes and Burress, a Super Bowl MVP in Holmes and a sure-hands slot receiver in Mason who might be ready to catch 90 passes, according to Ryan.

But allow us to warn of a potential red flag here. As we've seen so often in recent years, the me-first world of wide receivers has often created problems with team chemistry. And with three very confident receivers all looking for a significant chunk of the action, they will have to be mindful of resisting me-first and going team-first instead.

Burress' history with the Giants is one of mixed results, with his brilliant performance during their 2007 Super Bowl season tainted by his misbehavior off the field the following year, culminating with the Nov. 28, 2008, self-shooting that ended his run with the team. He butted heads with Tom Coughlin and was suspended one game because of his rules violations.

Burress insists selfishness -- on or off the field -- won't be an issue this time.

"We all know that it takes more than just one guy to go out to be a championship caliber football team," he said. "We have three guys that can do it all. I don't feel there's one selfish guy in that room or on this team. Everybody just wants to win."

Holmes ran afoul of the Steelers with a four-game suspension to start the 2010 season, a punishment that led to the team trading him to the Jets. His on-field demeanor was generally fine in Pittsburgh, but fast forward to the Jets' AFC Championship Game loss to the Steelers last season, and Holmes was furious that he wasn't used more frequently early on by offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer.

The two eventually patched things up, but there's no guarantee that frustration won't flare again.

And Mason? Even he admitted Wednesday he needs to worry more about the number of wins than the number of catches.

"You have to put egos aside," he said. "Don't check your ego at the door. Leave it at home."

Easy to say now. Not so easy when you're playing in November, your team is losing in the fourth quarter, your offense is struggling, and you want the ball in your hands. Happens with receivers all the time. Especially the good ones.

The Holmes-Burress-Mason trio needs to make sure it doesn't happen this time.