Plaxico Burress
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Plaxico Burress | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth | August 12, 1977 |
| Place of birth | Norfolk, Virginia |
| Position(s) | Wide receiver |
| College | Michigan State |
| NFL Draft | 2000 / Round 1/ Pick 8 |
| Pro Bowls | N/A |
| Statistics | |
| Team(s) | |
| 2000-2004 2005-current |
Pittsburgh Steelers New York Giants |
Plaxico Burress (born August 12, 1977 in Norfolk, Virginia) is an American football wide receiver for the NFL's New York Giants.
After being drafted in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft (8th overall) out of Michigan State, Burress became a full-time starter for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2001. Burress is a "big-play" threat and was considered to have been a good balance to the Steelers' other starting wide receiver, Hines Ward, who is more of a "possession receiver." Burress also quickly became one of Ben Roethlisberger's favorite targets when Roethlisberger became the Steelers' starting quarterback.
Burress gained notoriety with his feud with linebacker Ray Lewis' Baltimore Ravens, in which Ravens tight end Shannon Sharpe made light of Plaxico's tendency to get injured by dubbing him " Plexiglas®[citation needed]". Additionally Burress became known for a "757" tattoo on his biceps, which he said represented his Norfolk area code. He also developed a reputation for occasionally being a pouter and sulker during and after frustrating games. Burress did not attend the Giants team meeting following their playoff loss to the Panthers in January 2006[1].
On January 23, 2005, after the playoff defeat of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Burress announced he would quit the team. On March 17, 2005, he signed a six-year, $25 million contract with the New York Giants. The signing came after both the Giants and Burress's agent broke off negotiations, saying there was no deal to be reached.
As a receiver, Burress is renowned for his exceptional size and leaping ability. He has consistently shown that he can go up for the ball and pull in a catch. One-handed grabs are not uncommon for Burress. His one weakness is ball security as he has a propensity to not secure the ball, leaving himself exposed to strip attempts by defenders. Route discipline is another issue, as Burress may not always be where his quarterback thinks he will be, but Burress has worked with Eli Manning to improve their coordination and non-verbal communication.
On June 2, 2005, a district magistrate in Coraopolis, Pennsylvania issued an arrest warrant for Burress after he failed to appear at a delinquent tax claim hearing. Officials in Moon Township, Pennsylvania alleged that Burress owed more than US$90,000 in back wage taxes to the municipality. The arrest warrant was later rescinded after the magistrate determined that although Burress lived in a house in Moon Township while playing for the Steelers, his legal residence remained in Florida and thus he was never subject to the municipality's wage tax.
Burress had an outstanding campaign in his first season in New York. With up and coming quarterback Eli Manning, Burress caught 76 passes for 1,214 yards. He helped the Giants to claim the division title.
Burress is represented by NFL "super agent" Drew Rosenhaus.
