Tag: Plaxico Burress (Page 6 of 11)

2009 NFL Mock Draft Version 3.0

This is it – the week NFL draft nuts have been waiting for. Soon enough, prospects will know what cities they’re headed to and draft mock experts everywhere will look like idiots when less than half of their predictions are correct despite spending hours of time researching the picks.

I say it every year – the NFL draft is a crapshoot in terms of trying to make predictions. Nobody knows how high prospects are rated on draft boards around the league except the teams themselves. So while it’s fun to project who will go where, nobody has a clue – not Mike Mayock, not Mel Kiper and certainly not Anthony Stalter. (Did I just refer to myself in the third person? What a joke.)

The following is my third and final mock of the first round. In my previous two mocks, I had some fun by predicting potential trades that could play out, but I won’t do it here. I’m playing this mock “straight up” because predicting trades in the first round is harder to do than predicting what kind of mood Billy Bob Thornton will be in when he sits down to give an interview. Zing!

Some of you will inevitably feel as though that I have teams reaching with their picks. That’s fine, but realize that reaches are going to happen come Saturday because they’re just a part of the draft. If you disagree with any of my picks, go ahead and let me hear about it in the comments section. After all, the NFL draft is a spectacle and it’s supposed to be fun for fans. Enjoy all the action on Saturday and good luck to your favorite team on draft weekend.

(Click here to see Mock Draft Version 1.0 and Mock Draft Version 2.0)

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2009 NFL Mock Draft Version 2.0

In my first attempt to project the first round of the 2009 NFL Draft, I predicted the Lions to take Georgia’s Matthew Stafford with the first overall pick, Alabama’s offensive tackle Andre Smith to fall out of the top 15 and I also drummed up a potential swap between the Browns and 49ers so that San Fran could land USC signal caller Mark Sanchez.

But to paraphrase that overactor Nicholas Cage in “The Rock”: Gee, kind of a lot has happened since then. Most notably the Bears sending two first round picks to the Broncos for quarterback Jay Cutler and the Giants’ release of receiver Plaxico Burress.

Here’s my second attempt at projecting the first round of this month’s draft. As always, feel free to criticize in the comments section, but remember that I’m a human – I have feelings, too, damn it. So be gentle.

(Click here to see Mock Draft Version 1.0)

1. Detroit Lions: Matthew Stafford, QB, Georgia
Mock 1.0 Projection: Stafford
Nothing in the past couple of weeks has changed my mind about Stafford eventually winding up in Detroit. GM Martin Mayhew reportedly wants to trade this selection because of the financial burden that is bestowed upon having the top overall pick, but other teams don’t want it for the same reason. In the end, Jason Smith (Baylor) and Eugene Monroe (Virginia) are both very good options here, but the Lions were reportedly very impressed with Stafford’s private workout and you know what? They simply need a quarterback.

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Plax rejected Giants’ grievance settlement offer

According to the Newark Star-Ledger, the Giants offered receiver Plaxico Burress the opportunity to earn $29.5 million (which was the remaining amount left on his contract) over the next four years, but he apparently rejected it in efforts to try and recoup the $1 million in bonuses and guarantees that the team withheld from him last season because of his gun charge.

Well, I’ve gotten the details of the offer and it turns out it was a pretty sweet deal for Burress. And the fact that he turned it down shows you how much he really didn’t want to be a Giant anymore.

According to someone familiar with the negotiations, the team offered Burress the chance to earn all of the money that was written into his contract from here on out. All he had to do was end his fight for the money he forfeited over the last four weeks of last season (base salary, roster bonus and signing bonus) during which he was suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team” and start playing by their rules.

It’s unclear if the full $1 million signing bonus payment the Giants withheld would have been considered part of the defaulted money or if the team would have held on to only the prorated portion for the four weeks he was suspended (a little more than $200,000) and paid him the rest.

I’m confused. Why did Burress want to get out of New York so badly? Because they withheld $1 million from him since they thought he breached his contract by shooting himself in the leg after being an idiot in a club? Or was it because they extended his contract for him in September of 2008 when he bitched that he wasn’t making enough money following their Super Bowl victory?

This guy hauls in the winning touchdown pass in the Super Bowl and he feels as though the team owes him a debt of gratitude for the rest of his life. The Giants clearly did the right thing when they released him and put an end to the charade.

Giants release Plaxico Burress

The Giants have officially decided to release wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

The New York Giants released Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress on Friday, a little more than four months after the talented but troubled wide receiver accidentally shot himself in the thigh in a New York City nightclub.

Burress’ four-year tenure with the Giants was highlighted by a game-winning touchdown catch in the Super Bowl 14 months ago but it was also dogged by fines and suspensions.

Burress’ status has been uncertain since he shot himself on Nov. 29. He faces a felony weapons charge that could put him in prison for at least 3 1/2 years if convicted.

Some fans will be upset by this news because of what Burress did to help the Giants win the Super Bowl two years ago, but what was the team supposed to do? Sit idle why he goes through a possibly messy trial and then have to wait to see if he’ll be available to play? Why not douse the fire now before it gets out of control?

The only potential issue for the Giants (besides the fact that they now have one of the weakest receiver units in the league) is now they don’t have much leverage in trade talks. They apparently have already talked to the Browns about Braylon Edwards and if Cleveland was willing to make a deal on draft day, they’ll certainly ask for decent compensation knowing the Giants don’t have many options. The draft is pretty deep in receiver talent, but prospects like Michael Crabtree, Jeremy Maclin, Percy Harvin and Darrius Heyward-Bey could be gone by the time New York selects in the first round (No. 29).

It’ll be interesting to see if any of the Edwards-to-Giants trade banter starts up again after Plax’s release.

Report: Plaxico Burress likely to face jail time

The New York Times is reporting that Giants’ receiver Plaxico Burress is likely to face jail time as part of his possible plea bargain.

Prosecutors commonly offer reduced charges in gun possession cases, taking into consideration things like a defendant’s criminal history, the reason for carrying the gun and the circumstances surrounding an arrest.

In Mr. Burress’s case, prosecutors may consider that he had been cooperative and that he did not appear to have a dubious motive in carrying the gun. The weapon was licensed in Florida, but the permit had expired when Mr. Burress was arrested. Even if the permit were still valid, he would not have been allowed to carry the weapon in New York because the permit was from out of state. Other mitigating factors might be that the gun appeared to go off by accident, and that Mr. Burress was the only person injured in the shooting, which occurred at the Latin Quarter nightclub.

Last year, 986 cases in New York involving the same charges as Mr. Burress faces were resolved, and 90 percent of them resulted in convictions for less serious crimes, half of them misdemeanors or violations, said John M. Caher, a spokesman for the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services.

The reduced charges in such cases include crimes like third-degree gun possession or attempted possession. Convictions on those charges allow for sentences of two years or less.

I find it kind of interesting that this report came out a day after the New York Daily News reported that the Giants wouldn’t pursue Anquan Boldin or Braylon Edwards. If Plax does wind up serving jail time, there’s no doubt that the Jints have to do something at receiver. Whether that’s acquiring a big name like Boldin or Edwards I don’t know, but they can’t go into next season with only Mario Manningham and Sinorice Moss.

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