Plaxico Burress to Philadelphia Eagles: The Hype Is Extremely Overblown

It seems that everyone is excited that Plaxico Burress wants to be an Eagle.  The real question is why is everyone so excited?

The Eagles are not talking about getting Burress in his prime.   In his prime, Burress was a talented wideout, he was big, physical, and he could go up and catch a ball.  He was also a great blocker.  See, the keyword in those sentences is was.  The Burress that is trying to get back in the league today, at age 35, is an unknown commodity.

He is only worth the risk if it is for a low price tag of less than two million a season.  That may not get it done, and if it does not, then that is fine.  Just because getting Vick after he served a prison sentence has worked out really well does not mean it will work out well again. 

Along with not knowing what he has left in the tank, there are other problems with bringing in Burress.  The Eagles already have two very good starting wide receivers in Jeremy Macklin and DeSean Jackson, so where does that leave Burress?  He would be a number three wide receiver on the Eagles and I am sure there are teams out there who offer more playing time.

However, no one wants to look at the facts.   Even the Eagles players are buying into the hype.  DeSean Jackson has weighed in favorably on the topic.  Michael Vick recently said Burress was one of the greatest wide receivers of all time.   

Vick's statement is nothing short of comical.  Burress was a very good wide receiver in his prime, but the Greatest of all-time?  He is not even in the top ten and probably not the top twenty either.  Saying Burress is one of the greatest wide receivers of all time is the equivalent of saying that Trent Cole is one of the greatest defensive lineman of all time.  Both are good players, but not nearly all-time great arguments.

Even if the Eagles do sign Burress, he is hardly the missing piece they need to be a Super Bowl team.  Anyone who watched the team last year probably realizes the offense was quite solid last season, and it was really the defense that needed help.  That's why the price tag on Plaxico is so important.  If he is willing to sign for less than two million, then the Eagles should make the move.  If he wants more money than that, the Eagles are better off passing and spending money on the defensive side of the ball.

The free agency targets for the Eagles should almost all be on either defense or the offensive line.  Those are the areas that need the most help.  

So if the Eagles do sign Burress, it is not necessarily a terrible move, but it is one that ultimately will have little impact on the season.  Will signing Burress result in winning more games?  Probably not. 

If you are a smart fan, you should wish the hype was about Nnamdi Assougha.  Now he would be someone to get excited about and could be a missing piece to lead the Eagles to the promised land.