Should the New York Giants Be Worried About Antonio Pierce?

Although Plaxico Burress is long gone from New York, his actions continue to have an effect on the Giants as they report to training camp.

At the very least, they may be affecting Antonio Pierce.

Pierce has told Tom Coughlin that the hoopla surrounding his involvement in the Burress shooting has been "frustrating," and that he's been looking forward to training camp to get everything behind him.

With all the talk that Pierce may face charges as an accessory in the crime—including driving the injured Burress across state lines, taking him into a hospital under an assumed name, and dropping the gun back at Burress's New Jersey house—it might be natural for people both inside the Giants organization and outside to worry about Pierce.

Will he be able to focus on the season at hand?

Will he end up being indicted and face charges?

If he does face charges, will he miss a significant amount of playing time, and what are the Giants' options in case he does spend time in a jail cell?

A lot of questions, yes. And the Giants can ill afford to have any off-the-field issues, as they need to put all of their effort into proving that they are still one of the NFC's best teams.

But if history is any indication, Pierce should be fine.

First of all, if there's anyone in the league who knows how to keep focused in difficult times, it's Pierce.

The unquestioned heart and soul of one of the NFL's top defenses year in and year out, Pierce knows how to get both himself and his teammates fired up when the time calls for it.

Whether it's coining the Giants' "no respect" motto during the their 2007 playoff run or proving to NFL scouts that they made a mistake in letting him go undrafted in 2001, Pierce has that uncanny ability to turn almost anything into bulletin board material, which is what makes him one of the most respected guys in the locker room.

Pierce will no doubt be working his hardest to show that he's ready to put these legal issues behind him and play some football.

Nevertheless, he is still at the mercy of a Manhattan grand jury—they will ultimately decide if Pierce sits or starts this year.

If Pierce plays his cards right, he might not even face indictment—and all signs show that he has done everything right so far with the grand jury.

Pierce appears fully willing to cooperate with the grand jury, which could end up in his favor. They seem more interested in nabbing Burress than anything else, and if Pierce helps them out he could very well be completely off the hook.

In addition, the fact that he voluntarily chose to testify this past week should speak volumes with the grand jury, and that could play an important factor as to whether Pierce faces indictment or not.

And if by some bizarre reason Pierce ends up serving jail time, the Giants have enough depth at middle linebacker to soften the blow—Chase Blackburn has started in the middle in past seasons for the Giants, Jonathan Goff is ready to go following an injury in his rookie season, and Danny Clark has the versatility to start in the middle if needed.

But it most likely won't have to come to that—as long as Pierce keeps a cool head and doesn't do anything to draw the ire of the grand jury in Manhattan, he should be able to start all 16 games this season.

So relax, Giants fans—the aftermath of the Burress saga shouldn't be an issue for Pierce or for the team in general.

Also featured at blogNYG.com

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