The Problem with Plaxico Burress

Apologies for the misleading headline and also spoiling the suspense: There is no problem with Plax.

We all know who Plaxico Burress is. He's an extremely gifted receiver for the reigning Super Bowl Champs.

We also know that he likes to do his own thing and doesn't mind paying the price for his independence.

Ever since the two-week suspension earlier in the season, rumors of fines beyond belief have come to light, and reporters at the Worldwide Leader have been falling all over themselves to turn Plax into the next T.O. or Chad Ocho Cinco.

The reasons why are easy to see. T.O. dominates headline space, being that he plays for a marquee team and is never one to shy away from the spotlight.

And Ocho Cinco? Well, if he's not changing his name, he's kissing his coach or demanding to be traded.

What has Plax ever done to call attention to himself the way those two do?

Well, he played hurt most of last season and caught the Super Bowl winning touchdown? He was so humbled after the SB 42 win that he actually broke down in tears during his postgame on-the-field interview.

Does that sound like an ego-maniac?

No. It sounds like a guy who wants to play football, albeit, his way.

Normally, Tom Coughlin isn't the coach with whom to do that. A strict disciplinarian, Couglin has always run his teams with military precision.

Except he loosened the reins last year, and we all saw the glorious (outside of New England, that is) result.

So it seems like the Giants are operating on the philosophy that Paul McCartney found such an issue with: live and let live.

Except people like Jeffri Chadiha have to come out stirring the pot on a Monday morning.

He spends his whole article talking about how Plaxico Buress isn't apologizing for his actions, and how he's becoming a distraction.

Which is all fine and good. Except he quotes people, whom we have to assume are being honest, and says they're either wrong or lying.

When asked about his suspension, Burress gave what could only be considered a reasonable answer about the whole situation: "It was a simple miscommunication. I didn't think I was supposed to be at treatment, and they thought I was supposed to be there."

Well, it certainly seems that Plax isn't bitter. After all, they got the win. What does Coughlin have to say?

"I thought I made a statement about this already," Coughlin said. "The reason that he didn't start was that he missed a treatment on Saturday morning. When he got a chance to play, he was anxious to play and he made some contributions."

While Plax might not be at the top of Coughlin's Christmas Card list this year, it sounds as though Coughlin punished Plax, Plax accepted it, and that's the end.

Except Chadiha decides to try and stir the pot a little bit more.

"Well, actually, there is plenty more to this situation. What's becoming quite apparent is that Burress and Coughlin aren't getting along these days. When Coughlin was asked about Burress after the game, he acted like the question wasn't valid."

So, apparently Coughlin and Plax aren't getting along? Says who? No one he quotes in the article.

In fact, no Giants player says anything about being upset with Plax, unless you count players such as Shaun O'Hara, who showed his frustration that the first question he was asked wasn't about a victory, but about Plax.

I don't know why the media is hell-bent on creating a problem, but they are.

In the media-rich market of New York, if there was any simmering tensions, they would be on the front-page, not relegated to insinuations by an ESPN.com columnist.

It's such a non-issue for both the team and the player, that Plax's long litany of fines and infractions for his Giants tenure have gone largely unreported.

Anytime Plax is asked about it, he says basically the same thing: That he knows what he did wrong; he paid the price, but he isn't necessarily  sorry.

And is that such a bad thing? It doesn't seem to be distracting his team, despite the best efforts of ESPN.

Face it, Plax isn't the media hound that T.O. and Ocho Cinco are, but he seems close to being pigeonholed into that role.

When was the last time you heard Plaxico complain about anything besides his contract? He doesn't care about the fines. He doesn't care about his touches when the team wins or even when they lose.

Well, that may be inaccurate. He doesn't care enough to make it a headline. Which is the mark of a professional. He keeps it in the locker room. Which is more than can be said about people like Tiki Barber.

Even with the well-publicized contract negotiations, Plax didn't take a bank-breaker of a contract. $7 million per year, that's close to what he deserves, but it's not Randy Moss, or T.O. money (neither of whom have a ring), and we haven't heard a peep from Plax about his contract since.

At the risk of contradicting myself, there is in fact a problem with Plax. Well, kind of. The problem is that people seem obsessed with turning him into a problem, like they are obsessed with keeping Pacman a problem, like they are obsessed with making Brett Favre not a problem.

For the time being, it seems as if the Giants, Coughlin, and Burress aren't playing that game.