Holmes helped steer Ryan to Plax

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Santonio Holmes figured he'd get one just so he could wear it, thinking it was simply a way to show support for the guy he first met in 2004.

Little did the wide receiver know that the bracelet he started slipping on three seasons ago, right before Super Bowl XLIII, would help out in the Jets' pursuit of Plaxico Burress. When Rex Ryan and general manager Mike Tannenbaum pulled Holmes into their quarters not long after he inked his five-year, $50-million pact Friday, asking what Holmes thought about the former Giants wide receiver, Holmes simply held up his wrist.

He still had a black bracelet with the words "Free Plax AKA Black" on one side and "Go Getters Pain" on the other.

"The first thing I did was show them my bracelet," Holmes said Monday, "understanding that a football player is a football player regardless of what goes on. His mental capacity that he has, with so much football built inside, it has nowhere else to go but right back to the football field. And given a second opportunity, I can see a lot of things happening for myself, Jerricho [Cotchery] and Plax."

That's exactly what Holmes told Ryan when he solicited his advice regarding the guy who caught the winning touchdown pass in the Giants' Super Bowl XLII victory over the previously undefeated Patriots.

"He asked me what do I think about him, and I said, 'Give me his number. I'll tell you in a few minutes,' " Holmes said. "I called him that night and he was signed the next day."

Burress and Holmes were together again yesterday. Like most veterans in their situations who've signed new contracts, they can't practice until Thursday, when the new collective-bargaining agreement is expected to be ratified. But the soon-to-be 34-year-old still seems to be enjoying his new surroundings.

"This right here, it's a relaxed atmosphere," Burress said. "We're going to play hard, we're going to play fast, we're going to play with a lot of confidence and we're going to win games. There's a great group of guys around here. I just come in and blend right in.

"I have a great quarterback in Mark and I have a great deal of respect for Cotchery, the things that he's been able to accomplish over the years . . . and playing with Santonio, who is a Super Bowl champion. If we put all those things together and go out and play hard, I think we can do great things."

That's what Ryan envisioned when he watched a highlight reel of Burress, which fueled his desire to ink the 6-5 target. Funny thing: He never actually had seen that packaged footage of Burress before.

"So I said OK, 'Let me see Plaxico,' " Ryan said. "So I'm watching this tape, his point attack tape, and I'm like, 'Oh my goodness. Let's go get this guy, are we crazy?' "

So Burress now is a Jet, finding himself in a totally new environment.

"It's refreshing because I'm learning a new playbook, learning a new offense and I'm around a different group of guys," Burress said. "Just being here and going through this beautiful facility and just being around these guys and these coaches, it's just refreshing.''