for display only
Big Blue Interactive The Corner Forum  
Back to the Corner

Archived Thread

The Plaxico Burress shooting fiasco torments Giants greats

GFAN52 : 5/30/2020 1:29 pm
Quote:
This is the way Shaun O’Hara greeted the day when he played center for the Giants during the 2008 season.

“That year, I tell people all the time, was the most fun I’ve ever had playing football in my entire life,’’ O’Hara told The Post. “That year we literally kicked the snot out of people. I couldn’t wait to get to the stadium on Sunday, on game day, because we were that good.’’

How good? The Giants won their first four games, lost one, then ripped off six more victories to approach the end of November with a record of 10-1. Coming off their stunning upset of the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII, all signs pointed to the Giants claiming or at least making a serious run at another Lombardi Trophy, this time not as upstarts but as a legitimate powerhouse team.

“I think that was the best team we had,’’ Amani Toomer, the Giants all-time receptions leader, told The Post.

“It wasn’t like we were airing it out, either,’’ O’Hara said. “We’re gonna run the football. They knew it, we knew it, and there was nothing they could do about it. I know we won the Super Bowl the year before but we were a better team in 2008, we were a better offense in 2008 than we were in 2007. It was by far the best team I’d ever been on.’’

Link - ( New Window )
Best team of the TC  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 5/30/2020 1:38 pm : link
era for sure.

The Osi preseason injury was a big one too. The DL was really wearing down late.
Rewatched the 2008 game versus Eagles  
LBH15 : 5/30/2020 1:40 pm : link
that Giants won 36-31. Big play was Coughlin challenge when Eli threw supposedly when he went past LOS but he wasn't. They won the challenge and went into score. I think that put their record to 8-1 at the time.

But what was unbelievable to watch was the 3-headed running game of Jacobs/Ward/Bradshaw. These guys were getting 6+ yards every time they touched the ball. I think they said it was the secodn straight week they went over 200 yards as a team running the ball.

OL was run-dominating and fun to watch.

You Never Know  
Samiam : 5/30/2020 1:43 pm : link
That Giants team looked way better than anyone else until that moron shot himself. They seemed jinxed after that for a few years
The offense jelled that year, no doubt.  
MOOPS : 5/30/2020 1:44 pm : link
But Strahan's retirement and losing Osi for the entire year was bound to catch up with them. Lack of depth AND leadership to see them through the Plax fiasco was definitely a big part of the late season swan dive.
Ya, the Burress incident is over rated  
Ben in Tampa : 5/30/2020 1:44 pm : link
and the state of the defense is under rated in why that team didn't go further. The defensive line was gassed by the end of December.

Its still probably the best top-to-bottom team the Giants have fielded in the last 30 years.

Definitely a "Missing Rings" team
The pain  
GiantSteps : 5/30/2020 1:53 pm : link
It never leaves. I think of that run all the time, and that freaking loss to the Eagles at the end.
Freaking Plaxico. I was surprised to see him at Eli's retirement ceremony. Had he not made his mistake, I'm pretty confident the Giants would've won the Super Bowl, or at least made a deeper run than they did, and aside from having a more dynastic history (granting another SB win), Eli's place in the HOF wouldn't even be a question.


I grew up in the same town that Plaxico did, and pass by his old high school whenever I'm driving around while at back home visiting my folks. I still mutter and curse whenever I pass it.
The D line  
jestersdead : 5/30/2020 1:58 pm : link
may have been gassed but IF Burress is on the team when the Giants play Philly and Dallas in Dec (both loses) the playoff picture is different and perhaps the Eagles dont make it in the playoffs as the 6th seed.

I went to the playoff game, it was windy as all hell that day. I remember watching a 1st Q throw from Manning that dropped like a curve ball
Not a doubt in my mind that Plaxico cost us  
TMS : 5/30/2020 2:07 pm : link
another playoff run and maybe another SB. May have cost ELI the hall as well. Proof that certain types should not play in NYC. He was super talented, but also arrogant, and like Shockey uncontrollable in this town.
That year also proved to me that we messed around  
Chris684 : 5/30/2020 2:08 pm : link
with Kiwi too much throughout his career.

He was a damn good 4-3 end with his hand in the dirt. Should have played him there more often.
Ouch!  
Grey Pilgrim : 5/30/2020 2:08 pm : link
But, Plax is still my fav all time GIANT WR!

Wasn’t tuck banged up  
Payasdaddy : 5/30/2020 2:25 pm : link
From frozen hit too?
Always thought strahan May have came back for playoff run, would have got 25-30 plays out of him a game
Osi injury a killer along with play
No doubt we win sb
Nixon drop screwed up home field too
Plax shooting was NOT overrated, imv.  
Big Blue '56 : 5/30/2020 2:31 pm : link
Without his presence they were able to shut down the running game(save for Carolina) and without much to spread the field, the lack of offense affected the performance of an already injury depleted D. The D had zero rest due in part to our lack of O, esp. in the all important 4th qtr.
2008 was without question a missing ring.  
NYG07 : 5/30/2020 2:35 pm : link
While Eli was very efficient that year, he needed Burress, the Eagle killer to win that playoff game.

Also, the loss of Osi in the preseason was an even bigger loss. They were fortunate to have Kiwanuka to fill in for him but the D-line was completely gassed by the end of the year. Despite not winning it all, that was the best team I have seen since I started watching the Giants in 1998.

2010 was another possible missing ring. That team was damn good. If they don't blow that Eagles game they are the number 2 seed hosting the 7-9 Seahawks in the divisional round. Fortunately they made up for it the next year.
they were going to win that year  
GiantsFan84 : 5/30/2020 2:59 pm : link
and it would have changed the narrative about so many things.

the giants wouldn't be considered a team that got hot and won two championships and instead would be talked about as a mini dynasty

eli's legacy would be much different and would TC's. eli for instance would not have been a borderline HOF player. 3 trophies with a dominant season to his credit would be more than enough to get him in.
iirc  
Moondawg : 5/30/2020 3:29 pm : link
they beat all four of the participants in the conference championship games over the course of that season.
And they beet both super bowl teams in their own house  
Elisha10 : 5/30/2020 4:06 pm : link
!
The Plax incident derailed their focus,  
Torrag : 5/30/2020 4:07 pm : link
denied them their key aerial weapon and embroiled their defensive leader in the prosecution and scandal. It marked the end of that run.



RE: The Plax incident derailed their focus,  
jeffusedtobeonwebtv : 5/30/2020 4:12 pm : link
In comment 14913568 Torrag said:
Quote:
denied them their key aerial weapon and embroiled their defensive leader in the prosecution and scandal. It marked the end of that run.



And in addition Mayor Bloomberg went after the ownership and Antonio Pierce.
Amazing that people here talk about 07 & 11 being flukes..  
Sean : 5/30/2020 5:06 pm : link
The run from 2005-2012 is something I look back upon extremely fondly. A run which yielded 2 Super Bowl titles, something that most teams do not achieve. The stretch included a dominant stretch which included a 25-5 run between the 07 & 08 seasons. A team which was always dangerous & it showed when they snatched the 2nd SB in 2011. A team that embodied their QB - not consistently great, but could be better than anyone when at the top of his game. No losing seasons during this stretch.

The last few years have been lousy and presented challenges being the end of Eli’s career. But, so many people here talk like the Giants are the Detroit Lions. (Well, the analytics people do love Matt Stafford.)
Sean, agreed.  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 5/30/2020 5:10 pm : link
The Giants put themselves in position multiple times to win titles during that stretch & hit twice. That '08 team was damn good. So was the '10 season. Even the '06 team looked like a force for awhile before coming apart during that Bears game.
Passing to Steve Smith on 3rd and short  
Coach Red Beaulieu : 5/30/2020 5:21 pm : link
and Sehorn covering Irvin were the only times I ever felt a sense of Inner Peace watching the Giants.
RE: RE: The Plax incident derailed their focus,  
Coach Red Beaulieu : 5/30/2020 5:25 pm : link
In comment 14913572 jeffusedtobeonwebtv said:
Quote:
In comment 14913568 Torrag said:


Quote:


denied them their key aerial weapon and embroiled their defensive leader in the prosecution and scandal. It marked the end of that run.





And in addition Mayor Bloomberg went after the ownership and Antonio Pierce.

Stop and Frisk Mini Mike. Also put the screws to a lot of small businesses.
Everyone knows this  
mattlawson : 5/30/2020 5:34 pm : link
His comments are how everyone feels about that team and the missing trophy. To quote eagles great pbp man Meryl Reese:

“And the pass is DROPPED by Dominick hixon - who is NOT Plaxico Burress”
They were the best team in the NFL until...  
trueblueinpw : 5/30/2020 7:22 pm : link
What O’Hara says is what I remember too, Big Blue was tough as fuck. Do you guys remember that slobber knocker in Pittsburgh? That was a tough as fuck Mike Tomlin team and I remember thinking before that game that we would probably get out punched. But the it was Giants who hit harder that day and while the Steelers were tough the Giants were even tougher and on the road they sent a message to the league that Big Blue was the best team in the NFL. That was a great team and say what you like about missing Osi and Stray, which surly is true, the Giants feared no one until Plax shot himself.

As mentioned above, and a point I’ve always made about Eli’s career, the Giants win the Supe that year and no one says Eli’s “only a two time Supe winner” (which is fucking ridiculous anyway) and instead he’s a first ballot HoF all time QB. And to boot, he’d be remembered as the better Manning. Everyone would remember TC as a great coach and the Giants as one of the best all time franchises. (A lot got fucked up that night. Stupid fucking guns. Just so dumb.

And yeah, it still bugs me today.
RE: Best team of the TC  
SGMen : 5/30/2020 8:13 pm : link
In comment 14913522 SFGFNCGiantsFan said:
Quote:
era for sure.

The Osi preseason injury was a big one too. The DL was really wearing down late.
Losing Osi and Strahan coupled with the shooting was too much. Best Giant team since 1986 despite not winning SB.
I totally agree with Toomer that resting everyone  
Blue Dream : 5/30/2020 8:36 pm : link
and non chalantly blowing a 9 point 2nd half lead against the Vikes was a huge miscalculation on TC's part. Left we with an ominous feeling heading into the playoffs.
RE: I totally agree with Toomer that resting everyone  
SGMen : 5/30/2020 9:40 pm : link
In comment 14913650 Blue Dream said:
Quote:
and non chalantly blowing a 9 point 2nd half lead against the Vikes was a huge miscalculation on TC's part. Left we with an ominous feeling heading into the playoffs.
Yes, losing to the Vikings like that set a bad tone for the team.

I honestly believe that this team would have won a SB over Pittsburgh had Plaxico not shot himself. Oh well, we will never know.
Come on. That Vikings loss meant nothing.  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 5/30/2020 9:50 pm : link
We didn't repeat because the DL was worn down/no Plax.
the 2008 team w/ plax sucked but 2010 sucked almost as bad  
Eric on Li : 5/30/2020 10:41 pm : link
Matt Dodge cost them multiple games but they still won 10 games, thought it wasn't enough to get to the playoffs. Bradshaw and Jacobs combined for almost 20 tds in the last year with the core OL, Hakeem Nicks had his breakout 2nd year. Thomas, Webster, Rolle, Phillips started almost every game in the secondary. Tuck and Osi in peak form, plus rookie year JPP.

CC Brown in 2009 and Matt Dodge in 2010 were early signs of Jerry Reese's roster building blind spots that culminated in entering the 2015 season with Uani Unga starting at MLB and the 2017 season with Flowers/Hart as the starting tackles.
I wonder if Strahan could see the future  
mattnyg05 : 5/31/2020 6:40 am : link
and see how good that team would be, see Osi getting hurt etc, if he would have considered coming back.

Imagine if Burress wasn’t a moron (he was being bitchy on the field BEFORE that incident, on a dominant team, the classic me-first guy) and Strahan came back when Osi got hurt?
With his wife being an attorney  
Bubba : 5/31/2020 7:14 am : link
you would have thought she warned him against carrying in a jurisdiction he was not licensed to do so.
RE: RE: RE: The Plax incident derailed their focus,  
section125 : 5/31/2020 7:32 am : link
In comment 14913587 Coach Red Beaulieu said:
Quote:
In comment 14913572 jeffusedtobeonwebtv said:


Quote:


In comment 14913568 Torrag said:


Quote:


denied them their key aerial weapon and embroiled their defensive leader in the prosecution and scandal. It marked the end of that run.





And in addition Mayor Bloomberg went after the ownership and Antonio Pierce.


Stop and Frisk Mini Mike. Also put the screws to a lot of small businesses.


Glad the douche bag just lost $1 billion. What a POS.
loved that stretch when they beat the Steelers at PIT  
Victor in CT : 5/31/2020 7:45 am : link
and then kicked the ever living snot out of Ray Lewis and the Ravens defense at home.
Everyone forgets Fred Robbins' injury, how much that hurt.  
BlueLou'sBack : 5/31/2020 7:56 am : link
Plenty recall the DL being gassed by year's end, but forget how crucial and how good a player Fred Robbins was.

He was a beast, and EXTREMELY under-rated.

His knee injury was very damaging.
RE: Everyone forgets Fred Robbins' injury, how much that hurt.  
Victor in CT : 5/31/2020 8:08 am : link
In comment 14913720 BlueLou'sBack said:
Quote:
Plenty recall the DL being gassed by year's end, but forget how crucial and how good a player Fred Robbins was.

He was a beast, and EXTREMELY under-rated.

His knee injury was very damaging.


true. he was a very under the radar guy, but very important getting pressure up the middle and defending the run. Without the offense intact it was too much to overcome.
RE: Everyone knows this  
regulator : 5/31/2020 9:51 am : link
In comment 14913595 mattlawson said:
Quote:
His comments are how everyone feels about that team and the missing trophy. To quote eagles great pbp man Meryl Reese:

“And the pass is DROPPED by Dominick hixon - who is NOT Plaxico Burress”


One of the most demoralizing plays in my memory as a Giants fan, and of course it happened against the Eagles (don't they all?). At that moment... the sneaking suspicion crept into my mind that the "run" was over. Prior to it, I was holding out hope that we could keep it together.

I just checked the schedule for the date of that game... December 7, 2008. Those 370 days of Giants football, from 12/2/07 to 12/7/08, might have been the greatest, most dominant ~year stretch of play in this team's history. Just to name a few...

- 12/17/07 @ BUF
- Entire 2007 playoff run
- 18-4 overall record
- 11-1 start to 2008

Man, what could have been!!
RE: Ya, the Burress incident is over rated  
UConn4523 : 5/31/2020 10:02 am : link
In comment 14913526 Ben in Tampa said:
Quote:
and the state of the defense is under rated in why that team didn't go further. The defensive line was gassed by the end of December.

Its still probably the best top-to-bottom team the Giants have fielded in the last 30 years.

Definitely a "Missing Rings" team


No it wasn’t, it was the single biggest factor of the season and one that had a chain reaction to it. Completely depleted all focus, positive energy, cohesion, etc. that’s not something you can prepare for as a player, coach, and team. These guys aren’t machines, the mental edge they had was over, the mental edge that O’Hara said was a huge factor going into Sunday’s.
I remember  
PaulN : 5/31/2020 10:35 am : link
The playoff loss, early in the game, Eli got the Eagles on a play change at the line of scrimmage and had Hixon for a sure TD and he dropped the pass and I knew right there that we were in trouble, it was a play Plax would have made, and a play they burned the Eagles with using Plax a lot since they played that pressure defense, you had to make the big chunk plays against that Jimmy Johnson defense, it is why we did okay against the Eagles in the 2005-2009 seasons, up until that point.
RE: RE: The Plax incident derailed their focus,  
Big Blue '56 : 5/31/2020 10:40 am : link
In comment 14913572 jeffusedtobeonwebtv said:
Quote:
In comment 14913568 Torrag said:


Quote:


denied them their key aerial weapon and embroiled their defensive leader in the prosecution and scandal. It marked the end of that run.





And in addition Mayor Bloomberg went after the ownership and Antonio Pierce.


And I’ve never forgiven him since. He stated immediately that Plax needed to go to prison (ultimately of course he did). No investigation. No due process. Nothing. Fuck that POS
The Plaxico Burress shooting fiasco torments Giants greats  
Spider43 : 5/31/2020 11:02 am : link
Another reason why you stay away from guys like Deandre Baker. They can torpedo your team's chances at any moment with their buffoonery.
They beat every team in the conference championship that year  
sb from NYT Forum : 5/31/2020 12:26 pm : link
...3 of which on the road no less.

Week 8 at Pittsbur: 21-14

Week 10 at Philly: 36-31

Week 11 Ravens at home: 30-10 (probably the highpoint of the season - over 200 yards rushing on that defense).

Week 12 at Arizona: 37-29.

I wonder if they Giants could have shaken off the bad vibes if Dominik Hixon didn't drop that sure TD pass that Eli threw 40 yards on a dime.

RE: the 2008 team w/ plax sucked but 2010 sucked almost as bad  
sb from NYT Forum : 5/31/2020 12:30 pm : link
In comment 14913689 Eric on Li said:
Quote:
CC Brown in 2009 and Matt Dodge in 2010 were early signs of Jerry Reese's roster building blind spots that culminated in entering the 2015 season with Uani Unga starting at MLB and the 2017 season with Flowers/Hart as the starting tackles.


This is a really good point. Clearly showed what Reese thought about the value of certain positions, that just throwing a warm body in there was good enough.
Just bad luck all around  
DieHard : 5/31/2020 12:36 pm : link
People have already noted Plax and Osi being out, but in the playoffs they went up against the one team they absolutely needed Plax against. They pretty handily beat every other NFC contender in the regular season, including the Cards, who went to the Super Bowl, with Plax being suspended/invisible.

You could make an argument that the D wilted down the stretch, but in the playoff game, if you take away a bad Eli INT that set the Eagles up on the 2-yard line for an easy TD, they only gave up 16 points. The Giants' offense was just horrendous that day (3-13 on 3rd down, two botched fourth-and-short tries, 3 turnovers), and John Carney became a pumpkin after a great regular season.
RE: The Plaxico Burress shooting fiasco torments Giants greats  
TMS : 5/31/2020 4:46 pm : link
In comment 14913783 Spider43 said:
Quote:
Another reason why you stay away from guys like Deandre Baker. They can torpedo your team's chances at any moment with their buffoonery.
. You make a good point. Why would DG take this chance on Baker using three picks yet.
Yup  
Les in TO : 5/31/2020 8:18 pm : link
That was a fun season until the nightmare. I went to the Hawks game a 44-6 thrashing that put the GMen at 4-0. Even Sinorice Moss got on the scoreboard
RE: Yup  
Coach Red Beaulieu : 6/1/2020 9:58 am : link
In comment 14913921 Les in TO said:
Quote:
That was a fun season until the nightmare. I went to the Hawks game a 44-6 thrashing that put the GMen at 4-0. Even Sinorice Moss got on the scoreboard

In a way Moss was responsible for the playoff list. If we only drafted a viable receiver instead.
RE: They beat every team in the conference championship that year  
AFC11 : 6/1/2020 3:43 pm : link
In comment 14913802 sb from NYT Forum said:
Quote:
...3 of which on the road no less.

Week 8 at Pittsbur: 21-14

Week 10 at Philly: 36-31

Week 11 Ravens at home: 30-10 (probably the highpoint of the season - over 200 yards rushing on that defense).

Week 12 at Arizona: 37-29.

I wonder if they Giants could have shaken off the bad vibes if Dominik Hixon didn't drop that sure TD pass that Eli threw 40 yards on a dime.



I was just going to post about the week 11 Ravens game. It was the most fun I had watching a regular season Giants game since I was a kid. Total domination by the Giants. Ray Lewis talked about what a whoopin' it was during his post game interview. Man.

They should have had 3 rings. This is a great thread, even better than the Simms v. Hoss thread.
Back to the Corner