Plaxico Burress confident his production will rise

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- When Plaxico Burress came on board with the Jets, he was supremely confident he would post big numbers and consistently strike fear into defenses.

After six games, however, Burress hasn't shown he can still be a dominant force. The 6-5 wide receiver hasn't built the necessary rapport on the field with quarterback Mark Sanchez.

"One thing's for sure," Burress said Wednesday, "it can't get any worse."

Burress put the onus mostly on himself for his lack of production. He's made 14 receptions for 218 yards and two touchdowns, modest numbers for someone for whom the Jets had such lofty expectations when he signed a one-year, $3.017 million deal in August.

He's been targeted 37 times, but there have been occasions when Sanchez didn't throw his way until late in the game. In Monday's win over the Dolphins, Burress wasn't targeted until there were 5:17 left in the third quarter. In a Week 2 win over the Jaguars, Burress' first chance came on the opening play of the fourth quarter, and he finished with no receptions.

Only once has Burress been targeted more than every other Jet. He registered a team-high eight targets in the Oct. 9 loss to the Patriots.

"I can't control how many times the ball is going to come my way," said Burress, who had one catch for 16 yards Monday. "I've got to be in the right spot to catch the ball when it comes to me. I've always been highly critical of myself. I take full responsibility and accountability for everything that's going on and things that I can control.

"For me, that's catching the football. I've let a few passes get away from me the past few weeks. I've got to correct that first before I even start doing anything else, because if I don't have the ball, I can't perform anyway."

Sanchez compared Burress with fellow wideouts Santonio Holmes and Jeremy Kerley.

"It's like a different car," Sanchez said. "Same driver, just different car. They have a different feel. They handle a little different. It's just kind of the way they are. Plax is a big dude, big rangy guy. Is he as fast as Tone [Santonio]? No, but Tone's the speedster. J.K.'s the speedster. Those guys can really blow the top off the defense and take off, where Plax has a different game.

"It's something that we're still working toward. It's not easy. I'm just glad he's been so open about it and been so positive."

Rex Ryan said Burress is often seeing double-teams, and a safety over the top of him.

"Absolutely," Ryan said. "There are a lot of times when he's getting doubled, but it might not be that obvious. But absolutely, and sometimes it's going to dictate where the ball gets thrown."

When it comes his way, Burress knows he has to vacuum it in. He had three drops the past two weeks, partly because of bad technique.

"Sometimes you are so confident doing what you do," he said, "that you get a little lazy as far as looking the ball in and focusing on it all the way to your hands and tuck it. I've got to get back to the foundation of watching the ball hit my hands and then running. I've got to slow it down a little bit."

Once he does, Burress is sure the chemistry between him and Sanchez will improve, leading to breakout performances.

"The more and more we get comfortable,'' Burress said, "when we start playing pitch and catch and I'm doing my thing out there, this offense is just going to go through the roof. It's only a matter of time.''