In Week 7, Passing Defenses Continue to Show Pop

Last week, I wrote that the monster passing numbers from the first five weeks took a serious body blow in Week 6, evidenced by a huge decline in passing touchdowns. The knockout punch was delivered in Week 7. After teams averaged over 240 passing yards per game through the first six weeks of the season, the 26 teams playing in Week 7 combined for only 4,997 passing yards this past weekend, a paltry 191 yards per game. Nowhere was this more evident — on Sunday — than in Cleveland, as the Seahawks and Browns put on a pitiful display. The Browns and Seahawks combined for 435 yards and 9 points. It was the worst display of offense in a game not affected by severe weather in over a decade. The Colt McCoy pass attempt watch marches on: he threw 35 passes in a game in which the Browns allowed only 137 yards and 3 points.

But Cleveland-Seattle was just an appetizer for “Monday Night Football.” Against Jacksonville, the Ravens’ first 22 plays netted 6 yards. Baltimore had nine drives in the first half, and the Ravens never got close to getting a first down on any of them. Four of Jacksonville’s first-half possessions gained negative yards; a fifth series ended in a fumble. After 30 minutes, the game featured five fumbles, four first downs and just 29 yards of passing. Baltimore got its first first down with five minutes left in the third quarter. The two teams combined for 185 passing yards, the fewest in any game this season. Joe Flacco threw for only 137 yards on 38 pass attempts; only Jesse Palmer, Bobby Hoying, Kent Graham, Carson Palmer and Tommy Maddox have gained fewer yards on so many attempts since 1970. The Jaguars rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert wasn’t any better — the Jaguars gained  73 passing yards on 24 pass plays. Once again, don’t write the obituary on pass defense just yet.

Another Big Day for Forte

Matt Forte leads the league with 1,091 yards from scrimmage in seven games. As Michael David Smith pointed out this week, his production as a percentage of his team’s offense is even more impressive. In a sloppy game against Tampa Bay in London, Forte was the game’s lone star. This year, he has accounted for 43.6 percent of the Bears’ 2,505 yards from scrimmage. Maurice Jones-Drew (39.3%, Jacksonville), Fred Jackson (38.0%, Buffalo) and Ray Rice (37.1%, Baltimore) are the only other players that have gained at least a  third of their team’s offense. If Forte can keep up this pace, he will become the 19th player since 1940 to accumulate at least 40 percent of his team’s total yards from scrimmage.

Cornerback Heaven

The Kansas City Chiefs’ secondary took over a game Sunday. Left cornerback Brandon Flowers had two interceptions and returned one for a 58-yard touchdown. Right cornerback Brandon Carr intercepted a pass at the Kansas City 10-yard line to kill a Raiders drive before the half. Free safety Kendrick Lewis returned an interception 59 yards for a touchdown. Strong safety Jon McGraw had a fourth-quarter interception at the Chiefs’ 9-yard line to keep the shutout intact. Another defensive back, Travis Daniels, recorded Kansas City’s sixth interception of the day. What about Kansas City’s second-round pick from 2010, cornerback Javier Arenas? All he did was score a touchdown on offense, taking the snap as the Chiefs’ Wildcat quarterback and running 7 yards for the score.

Haven’t I Seen This Before?

In Matt Ryan’s first N.F.L. start, in Week 1 of the 2008 season, his first pass was a 62-yard touchdown strike to Michael Jenkins. In Christian Ponder’s first N.F.L. start, this past Sunday against the Packers, his first pass was a 72-yard connection to Michael Jenkins.

Gonzalez Reaches New Heights, as Do His Chasers

Tony Gonzalez caught five passes against the Lions, giving him 1,104 receptions for his career. That moved him into second place in N.F.L. history, behind only Jerry Rice. An incredible accomplishment for anyone, and Gonzalez is the only tight end in the top 20 on the career receptions list. He’s the greatest tight end in the history of the game, in my view, and deserves to be the first tight end to be inducted on the first Hall of Fame ballot.

But the record books may not be kind to Gonzalez for long. Antonio Gates became just the second tight end to catch 70 touchdown passes, and is “only” 22 touchdown catches away from tying Gonzalez (Gonzalez figures to make a run at the 100-touchdown mark).

With five catches against the Rams on Sunday, Jason Witten continues to be hot on the trail. Both Gonzales and Witten were rookies at age 21, and each missed only one game in their first eight seasons. That makes it easy to compare the two as Witten’s career progresses. Witten played in his 133rd game and has 653 receptions for 7,416 receiving yards. After 133 career games, Gonzalez had 595 receptions for 7,114 yards.

Burress Pulls a Bettis

Plaxico Burress played the role of hero Sunday, scoring all three Jets touchdowns to help lead a comeback against the San Diego Chargers. He also played the role of vulture: Burress became just the third player since 1960 to catch three touchdown passes while failing to gain at least 30 receiving yards. The first two? Tight ends Mack Alston (1975, Houston) and Eric Green (1990, Pittsburgh). Burress’s stat line for the day: 4 receptions, 25 yards, 3 touchdowns. His longest catch of the day was a 15-yard grab, on the one play in which he did not score. All of Burress’s touchdowns came from within the 5, making him just the fourth player in league history to score three touchdowns from inside that mark (Lance Alworth, Kellen Winslow Sr. and Marvin Harrison were the others). It called to mind Jerome Bettis’s 2004 season, when he had one game with 5 carries for 1 yard and 3 touchdowns and another with 6 carries for 9 yards and 2 touchdowns. Bettis led those Steelers in touchdowns, finishing ahead of… Plaxico Burress.

Emmitt Smith, Tony Dorsett… and DeMarco Murray

Tony Dorsett owned the Cowboys’ rookie single-game rushing record;  he rushed for 206 yards against the Eagles in 1977. Emmitt Smith set the Cowboys’ rushing record with 233  yards, also against Philadelphia, in 1993. DeMarco Murray pushed both of them aside Sunday. His 253 rushing yards on 25 carries were the second most by a rookie since 1960, trailing Adrian Peterson. He joined Corey Dillon and Jamaal Charles as the only players in that span with 250 rushing yards on over 10 yards per carry.

On the other side of the coin, the Rams came into the week last in rushing defense. The Cowboys proceeded to run for more yards (294) in Week 7 than any team since the Raiders in Week 7 of the 2009 season. St. Louis is just the third team in the past 15 seasons to allow at least 1,100 combined rushing yards in their first six games.

Rodgers Fantastic; Packers’ Pass Defense Opportunistic: For Now

Aaron Rodgers is starting to enter the rarefied air that Peyton Manning used to inhabit. He’s so good, no one cares when he’s great. Otto Graham and Norm Van Brocklin are the only two players to average over 10 yards per pass during an N.F.L. season, and both of them did it in eras when teams played fewer games and passed less frequently. Small sample sizes enable incredible performances in rate statistics, and Graham and Van Brocklin are good examples of that. But Rodgers is averaging 9.9 yards per attempt after throwing 238 passes, nearly matching the performances of Graham and Van Brocklin over full seasons. And thanks to a sparkling 20:3 touchdown to interception ratio, Rodgers has the single highest adjusted yards per attempt average of any player in any season, with a minimum of 230 pass attempts. Rodgers has averaged at least 10 adjusted yards per pass attempt in six of seven games this season, a feat no quarterback had accomplished in more than four of his team’s first seven games. His worst performance of the season so far was a career day for many quarterbacks: 28 for 38 for 297 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception, in a 27-17 win in Chicago.

The Packers’ pass defense has been nowhere near as productive as Green Bay’s offensive counterpart. The pass defense has been more opportunistic than anything, leading the league in interceptions while ranking fourth in interception rate (interceptions per attempt). The Packers are catching 4.8 percent of opposing passes this season, trailing only the Bills, Chiefs and Jets. All four teams should expect their rates to regress toward the  league average for the remainder of the season. While those four teams have interception rates between 4.8 percent and 5.6 percent, no other team has intercepted even 4 percent of opposing passes.

History says that interceptions are largely random. From 1990 to 2010, 69 teams had interceptions rates of at least 5.0 percent after seven games. On average, those teams caught 5.8 percent of opposing passes while the league average rates for teams in those seasons was 3.3 percent. But over the remaining nine games, those teams had interception rates of just 3.7 percent (with the league average remaining at 3.3 percent). Those 69 teams went from interception rates that were 72 percent above league average to just 13 percent, essentially overnight. The Packers have the league’s best record, while the Bills have been one of the league’s surprise teams; the Jets have won three of their four games this season thanks in large part to Darrelle Revis interceptions, while the Chiefs won their third straight game after picking off six  Oakland passes. If those four teams want their success to continue, they will need more than interception luck the rest of the way.

Foster, Johnson, Going in Opposite Directions

In 2009, the Titans’ Chris Johnson rushed for 2,000 yards and set the single-season record with 2,509 yards from scrimmage. That year, Arian Foster was on the Texans’ practice squad for most of the season. In 2010, Foster led the league in rushing yards, rushing yards per game, rushing touchdowns, yards from scrimmage and total touchdowns. The contrast between the two players’ career trajectories was on full display on Sunday. Johnson rushed 10 times for 18 yards, and his 2.2 yards per carry average is last among the 50 qualifying rushers. Johnson could only sit and watch from the sideline as Foster shredded the Titans’ defense, becoming the first player since at least 1960 with 115 rushing yards, 115 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns.

I Do Not Pretend to Understand Tim Tebow

For the first 54.5 minutes on Sunday, the Broncos looked completely inept on offense: 11 drives, 158 yards gained, 8 punts, 2 missed field goals and one fumble lost. Tim Tebow had completed 4 of 14 passes for 40 yards, while rushing six times for 48 yards. Including sacks, he was responsible for 25 plays and had gained a total of 61 yards. The Broncos had not scored a point. In the last five and a half minutes, Tebow completed 9 of 13 passes for 121 yards and 2 touchdowns and ran twice for 17 rushing yards. That doesn’t include the game-tying 2-point conversion, scored on a quarterback off-tackle power run (great explanation by Smart Football’s Chris Brown differentiating this from a quarterback draw). He went from Ryan Leaf to Aaron Rodgers seemingly out of nowhere, and provided even more drama for both the Tebow haters and the Tebow fan club. But as the Big Lead’s Jason Lisk points out, if not for a miraculous onside kick recovery, the talk of the day would be Tebow’s miserable performance, slightly hidden by some garbage-time numbers. Such is the saga of Tebow.

A cautionary note: It was hard not to have flashbacks to Vince Young’s fantastic comeback against the Cardinals in 2009, when he led the Titans on an 18-play, 99-yard drive in the final minutes of the game.  On the last play, Young converted his third fourth down of the drive by throwing the winning touchdown pass. Young outdueled Matt Leinart – again — and led the Titans from 0-6 to 5-6. He received many of the accolades that Tebow is getting now, with comments that his “will to win” and intangibles mattered more than his passing prowess. The clock eventually struck midnight for Young, but don’t believe anyone who tells you he knows how the Tebow story will end.

Mike Wallace and Steve Smith Channel Their Inner Maynard and Alworth

From 1960 to 2010, only 17 players gained at least 700 receiving yards on 20-yards-per-reception in their team’s first seven games. Nine of those performances came during the high-flying 1960s, with over half of those coming from players in the American Football League. With the rise of the West Coast offense and other horizontal passing systems, only one player hit those thresholds between 1993 and 2009: Isaac Bruce. Brandon Lloyd caught 35 for 709 in the first seven games of 2010, and both Steve Smith and Mike Wallace are having big seasons as deep threats so far this season. Wallace led the league in yards per reception as a rookie in 2009, then increased his average reception length in 2010. But he has never been as productive as frequently as he has been this year. Smith had some huge years in the middle of last decade, and is now experiencing a career revival with the strong-armed rookie Cam Newton. Against the Redskins, Smith caught 7 passes for 143 yards, his fourth game of the season with at least 140 receiving yards and a 20-yards-per-carry average. Playing in Arizona, Wallace set a franchise record by catching a 95-yard touchdown pass, and became the first player since Isaac Bruce in 2000 with six straight games with at least one 40-yard reception. Don Maynard and Lance Alworth would be proud.

New Orleans and Manning Witness Another 62-7 rout

There have been two games in the history of the regular season to end with the score 62-7. Both games happened in New Orleans, with a dejected Manning on the losing team’s sideline wishing for better teammates.

In 1973, it was the Atlanta Falcons who roughed up the Saints in the season opener. Atlanta would go on to lose its next three games and score only 15 combined points, but the Falcons were near-flawless against New Orleans. Archie Manning ended the game on the sideline, after throwing five interceptions in 13 pass attempts.

The other game happened on Sunday night, also in New Orleans. This time the Saints rolled, making a mockery of a prime-time  matchup. Archie’s son Peyton looked on, helpless, as the Colts continued their descent into the bottom of the league.

Before the season, I thought that the Manningless-Colts would look out of sync and be without an identity, and could stumble to 3-13. That seems to have been an optimistic viewpoint.

As for the Saints, all of their aspirations remain in front of them. They remain a top Super Bowl contender, and Drew Brees’s presence means they can beat any team in the league. Brees now has 2,477 passing yards, the most since 1960 (and almost certainly ever) by a quarterback after his team’s first seven games. He’s over 400 yards ahead of where Dan Marino was at this point in 1984. That may be surpassed next week, though, if Tom Brady can pass for 315 yards or more against the Steelers.

Chase Stuart contributes to Pro-Football-Reference.com and to Footballguys.com.

Week 7 Quick Hits: The Return of Big-Game Burress

Andy Benoit takes a quick tour of all the Week 7 games. Did he miss something? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Jets 27,   Chargers 21

Now THAT’S what the Jets thought they were getting when they signed Plaxico Burress. Few are better equipped to thrive in the red zone, where spacing is tight, than a man who’s that tall and sinewy. Burress beat Antoine Cason, San Diego’s most talented cover artist, for all three of his red zone touchdowns Sunday. Twice he did it with physicality and once with elusiveness.

One reason expectations are high for Burress is, being a Jet, he’s assured of never having to face Darrelle Revis. A week after punishing Brandon Marshall and the Dolphins for attacking him, Revis stifled Vincent Jackson, one of the toughest covers in the league. According to ESPN, “Jackson was targeted four times on passes of more than 15 yards, and he finished with one reception for 15 yards and an interception.” Revis is clearly the league’s most valuable player on defense. The question is whether he’s the most valuable player, period.

As for the Chargers, what do we make of them? They’re not posting the huge numbers of recent years, and their four victories have come against hapless opponents (Minnesota, Kansas City, Miami and Denver). That said, 4-2 is 4-2. And it’s difficult to fault a West Coast team for losing an early window game on the East Coast – especially when that early window game is against a quality opponent.

Broncos 18,   Dolphins 15

If it’s Tim Tebow worship you’re looking for, wrong place. Being a winner and having fourth-quarter moxie and all that other Hollywood stuff is great…but not sustainable.

Neither is Tony Sparano’s career in Miami – unfortunately for Sparano. The Sun Sentinel reports that though the Dolphins just gave away what would have been their first win of the season, Sparano is unlikely to be fired…for now. That means he  gets to continue working for an owner who tried to replace him during the off-season and who gladly traded   a few extra tickets sold for  honoring the opposing team’s quarterback at halftime of this week’s game.

To end this bit on a positive note, the Dolphins’ stagnant pass rush finally came alive. Miami entered with eight sacks on the season and exited with 15.*

*If you think this “positive note” is just a veiled attempt at mentioning that Tebow was slow in his reads and release on Sunday, you would not necessarily be wrong.

Browns 6,   Seahawks 3

Might as well have been the Indians and Mariners out there. This marked the second time this season that the Browns have run 80-plus plays. The first time – a loss against the Titans – involved a slew of late pass attempts out of the hurry-up offense. This 80-plus-play effort was more run-oriented, with Montario Hardesty getting 33 carries. Also helping matters was that the Browns were a whopping 12 for 24 on third down.

Falcons 23,   Lions 16

In seemingly related but actually unrelated news, the Lions were just 1 for 12 on third down. Two straight home losses are a bit concerning but nothing to sound the alarms about. Moving forward, though, this will prove to be a different offense with Jahvid Best out of the lineup. The Lions are not a good running team with or without Best, but his speed and agility are perfect for the short-passing game and draw plays. Those elements are a key because they make the Lions two-dimensional out of their frequently used shotgun sets.

We’ve been following the Falcons’ search for an identity all season. For the second straight week, with Julio Jones out of the lineup, they stuck to their ground-and-pound recipe (Michael Turner, 122 yards on 27 carries). However, in the process, they appeared to lose one of their most important ingredients, fullback Ovie Mughelli, to a knee injury. That could prove to be one of the most expensive losses for any team this season.

Perhaps it will lead to even more receiving opportunities for Tony Gonzalez. Can you believe he’s now caught more passes than anyone other than Jerry Rice? What an interesting debate it’ll be when the Hall of Fame voters discuss him in (presumably) six years. The man is the most productive tight end in league history but has never won a playoff game. That’s not his fault, of course. But it may delay his enshrinement. The second-most productive tight end, Shannon Sharpe, was a key contributor on three Super Bowl champions, yet did not get in until his third year of eligibility.

Texans 41,   Titans 7

We could wow you with all sorts of lopsided stats here – Texans, 296 passing yards, Titans, 95; Texans, 222 rushing yards, Titans, 53; Texans, 29 first downs, Titans 11 – or talk about Chris Johnson’s continued efforts to break the single-season record for “tarnished fantasy teams.”

But more interesting is the emergence of Arian Foster as a receiver. Maybe the best  runner in the A.F.C., he has posted 287 yards receiving the past three weeks, including 119 (all in the first half) against Tennessee. It’s not just backfield screens and dumpoffs that Foster is catching, either. Lately, the Texans have split him out wide for bubble screens and underneath pass patterns. We knew he had good hands (66 receptions in 2010) and solid open-field instincts. We didn’t know he could merge the two traits so seamlessly.

Bears 24,   Bucs 18

So much for all the “Mike Martz needs to run the ball more” talk. The Bears have pounded the rock 25-plus times in each of their past four outings. They’ve gone 3-1 while averaging 160 rush yards per game in that stretch, and Matt Forte has only added to the negotiating leverage that everyone but General Manager Jerry Angelo seems to realize he has. Forte has been the most valuable running back in the N.F.C. this season. Most impressive is his improved lateral agility – highlighted in his 32-yard touchdown against the Bucs – which is augmented by his outstanding patience.

One final note (and hopefully this comment will soon prove to have been unnecessary…it’s a shame it’s even come up): the N.F.L. would be beyond foolish to expand to 33 or 34 teams just to put a franchise in London. Relocating an existing team? Yes. Expanding? Lord, no. Let’s hope this idea is nothing more than the usual week-of-London-game diplomacy that we get from Roger Goodell each year.

Panthers 33,   Redskins 20

It’s not often that a last-place N.F.C. South team beats a second-place N.F.C. East team and no one comes away surprised. Cam Newton has already tied Vince Young’s rookie record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (seven). Unlike Young, Newton is not running at the expense of his offense’s passing game. The Panthers remain sharp through the air, even with Steve Smith (seven receptions for 143 yards Sunday) being the only quality wideout on the roster.

Steelers 32,   Cardinals 20

It was somewhat of a throwback day for the Cardinals, playing at home in front of a crowd that was nearly 50 percent in favor of the visiting team. Felt like Sun Devil Stadium again. The split crowd at University of Phoenix Stadium would have had a 2008 Super Bowl rematch feel except that Florida Super Bowl crowd was about 90 percent pro-Steeler.

The Cardinals fans who were on hand Sunday grew frustrated at times with their 1-5 team’s new franchise quarterback. What’s interesting about Kevin Kolb is that he’s had the financial success of a big-time quarterback without the starts.

Kolb has made over $35 million guaranteed in his career strictly on potential. (Safe to assume he’s the only second-round draft pick  ever to do that.) The Eagles signed Kolb to a four-year, $4.3 million contract as a rookie. In the last year of that deal, he was extended for one year at $12.25 million (franchise tag). After seven career starts, he was traded to Arizona, where he immediately signed a contract worth $21.5 million guaranteed. All the while, no one has ever seen the guy actually play for any extended period. Until now.

Cowboys 34,   Rams 7

DeMarco Murray looked great – much more fluid than in his first few outings – and the Cowboys took care of business. More interesting, though, were the two World Series participants being on the field for the coin toss. Lance Berkman (representing the St. Louis Cardinals) and Josh Hamilton (representing the Texas Rangers) walked out with the captains for the game’s opening ceremony. Both were in full uniform, which looked weird. The question is, with Game 4 of the World Series a little more than four hours away, do you think Berkman and Hamilton stayed in their uniforms from coin toss until game time? Or, given that baseball players are so routine-oriented, do you think they changed once they got back to Rangers Ballpark in Arlington?

Packers 33,   Vikings 27

These days an average game for Aaron Rodgers is anything with less than 350 yards passing and four touchdowns. He’s now posted a passer rating over 110 in each of his past six outings. That’s what an amazing arm, an innovative system and a terrific array of weapons will generate for a smart quarterback.

Viking fans have reason to be excited. Their team’s season is all but officially over, but Christian Ponder at least looks compelling. The Viking offense has more rhythm with him under center than with Donovan McNabb, and not just because Ponder is quicker and more consistently accurate. From afar, the first-round rookie quarterback seems to have a better grasp of the system.

Chiefs 28,   Raiders 0

Don’t look now but the Kansas City Chiefs are suddenly back at .500 and just a game out in the A.F.C. West. All it took was a schedule that gave them three straight games against backup quarterbacks: Week 4 against the now-benched Donovan McNabb, Week 5 against Curtis Painter and Week 7 against Kyle Boller and Carson Palmer.

Boller and Palmer each threw three interceptions in two quarters, including a pick-six on outside routes that were undercut by the cornerback. Seems hard to blame the Raiders for any Palmer move they made, though. The alternative to inserting him in this game after halftime was going with Boller. And the alternative to trading for him was also going with Boller.

Saints 62, Colts 7

When does flex scheduling begin?

Andy Benoit is an N.F.L. analyst for CBSSports.com and founder of NFLTouchdown.com. He can be reached at andy.benoit@NFLTouchdown.com or @Andy_Benoit.

Burress Suits Up, Mason Shows Up at Jets Camp

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Plaxico Burress was in pads and didn’t fully participate in practice, and Derrick Mason stood on the sidelines in a grey long-sleeve shirt and shorts, but just having both here Sunday was a welcoming sign for the Jets.

Burress woke up feeling good and was given the green light to practice in pads for the first time since serving a 20-month prison sentence and participated in various individual drills. But Coach Rex Ryan didn’t allow Burress to take part in team drills, despite the receiver’s efforts.

“I tried to sneak in there,” Burress said. “Rex basically told me ‘Hey, it’s a good start, we don’t want any setbacks.’ If they wouldn’t have taken me out, I would’ve kept on going. It was my first time out there in a couple years. It just felt good to kind of get back in the groove, but Rex shut me down.”

Burress had been held out of practice since tweaking his ankle running routes last week. Before practice Sunday, Ryan said he hoped Burress would play in the Jets’ preseason opener on Monday against the Texans, and Burress expects to.

“I don’t see why not,” he said. “If they give me the nod to go, I’m definitely going to get out there. I think if anybody needs all the work they can get, it’s me.”

Burress’s first day in pads was also Mason’s first day with the club. Mason, who agreed to a two-year contract with the Jets on Saturday, flew in Sunday in time to catch the tail end of practice. He expects to practice on Monday.

Mason is likely to replace Jerricho Cotchery, who was granted his request of a release on Thursday, as the No. 3 wideout. Mason has missed only six games in 14 seasons and has started every game but two over the last eight seasons. He is a two-time Pro Bowler, was named first-team All-Pro in 2000, and has registered eight 1,000-yard seasons.

Mason said he was “blindsided” by the Baltimore Ravens’ cutting him on July 25, but the release didn’t weigh into his decision to join the Jets instead of the Ravens or the Tennessee Titans, where he also played earlier in his career. For the 37-year-old Mason, it’s all about winning as his career winds down.

“This is an opportunity,” Mason said. “I’m coming to the end of my career and I can still play a lot of good football, but I want to take every opportunity to win the Super Bowl. And for me, this was the best place to try to get that.”

Mason added, “No. 1 on my list was to win and win quickly.”

Ryan, who was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator when Mason was on the team, said he called Mason several times to give his pitch. Mason said the calls made him feel like going through the college recruiting process all over again.

Mason admitted the decision was tough on him and his children after he spent extra time with then during the lockout, but the opportunity to play for a Super Bowl contender was too good to pass up.

“When you have someone sitting across from you that understands, that knows your work and knows that you play this game and still play it at a high level, that means a lot,” Mason said. “And that’s what Coach Rex basically echoed to me.”

Burress, a fellow Michigan State product, said having the experienced Mason around would be like having another coach.

“It’s good to have Derrick around,” Burress said. “I want to learn every day. He’s a veteran guy. He’s a little older than me and I’m going to take in everything that he teaches me. We can all learn from each other from one standpoint or another.”

Leading Off: Two Sides of New York Football

It doesn’t take much deep thinking to divine the differences between New York’s two N.F.L. teams. One is a league stalwart, steered by a legendary football family, so buttoned down and traditional it refuses to employ cheerleaders. The other is the team of Broadway Joe, the all-you-can-eat bluster buffet that is Rex Ryan, a virtual halfway house of players with overflowing N.F.L rap sheets.

So was anyone really surprised when Mr. Lock-n-Load, Plaxico Burress, landed with the Jets instead of returning to the Giants?

O.K., so the weekend’s developments didn’t exactly fit into the knee-jerk analysis that the Giants were too goody-goody to sign their ex-con wide receiver. They did make him an offer. Mr. Law and Order, Coach Tom Coughlin, did try to get past the lingering bitterness of the havoc Burress wreaked on his 2009 team.

But it is absolutely in the Jets’ DNA to go bold. So when cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha kicked them right in the headlines by signing with the Eagles, you think they were going to out and sign who? Brandon Stokley? No, with Burress they had an opportunity to complete a matched set of loose cannons at receiver with Santonio Holmes, writes Rich Cimini on ESPN.com. Forget for a minute that Burress is 34 and just spent 20 months in prison instead of working on his post patterns, which as Steve Politi writes in The Star-Ledger of Newark means he is as big a question mark on the field as off it, the prime tabloid fodder for New York’s tabloid team.

And New York’s “Tabloids Make Us Squeamish” team spent its time extending Coughlin’s contract and talking its star defensive end, Osi Umenyiora, out of his off-season snit. It is, as Mike Vaccaro wrote in The Post, just the way the Giants go about things.

The team that really kicked its DNA into high gear was the Eagles. Signing Asomugha and other attention-grabbing free agents like Vince Young and Jason Babin as well as trading for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, the Eagles have started drawing comparisons to the Miami Heat, Ashley Fox writes on ESPN.com, even though they have so far mercifully spared us a prediction of seven Super Bowls. Asomugha is clearly no LeBron James, and as John Smallwood writes in The Philadelphia Daily News, might be as big an asset in the community as he is on a football field.

Also kicking around in the background was the news that the Colts had re-signed Peyton Manning,  and the fact that it was treated largely with shrugs says a lot about the Colts’ low-key DNA, writes Dan Wetzel on Yahoo.com. Mike Lopresti marvels in USA Today that Manning insisted on taking less money so the Colts could field a better team, while in Indianapolis what they really want to know is when he’s going to be able to play after off-season neck surgery.

A few mysteries in Miami might have been solved this weekend, but not because of a trade or a signing, but by an article by Omar Kelly of The Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel about Dolphins receiver Brandon Marshall revealing his diagnosis of borderline personality disorder. It does help explain much of the disorder that has marked Marshall’s life and career.

The disorder plaguing the N.B.A. right now, however, is strictly self-inflicted. And it has the unintended side effect of a strange fixation on where Kobe Bryant might play if the league goes dark. Marc Spears reports on Yahoo.com that China may be an option trumping his current offer in Turkey.

Baseball has settled down, now that its trade deadline (of sorts) has passed and the flurry of activity had ended. Jeff Passan of Yahoo.com takes a look at how the Rangers ended up the big winner and the parade of losers is being led by the Yankees. More notable, perhaps, Ubaldo Jimenez is thrilled to be moving from Denver to Cleveland, writes Scott Miller on CBSSports.com, partly because he loves the weather. Really.

You might be reasonably certain the weather had nothing to do with Burress’s decision to sign with the Jets over the Giants, except that his new team’s forecast always includes a lot of wind and an 80 percent chance of chaos.

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Why the Jets Picked Plaxico Burress Over Braylon Edwards

So the deed is done. The Jets made a big splash by signing wide receiver Plaxico Burress to play opposite Santonio Holmes. Edwards, a key player for the Jets in the last two seasons, will not be back. And the speculation? It’s that the Jets wanted Burress over Edwards primarily to grab attention in the New York market and get one-up on the Giants, their co-tenants at the New Meadowlands Stadium. The reasoning hints that Edwards wasn’t flashy enough for the “Hard Knocks” Jets. They even gave Burress the No. 17 worn by Edwards.

It kind of makes sense that it’s all about the P.S.L.’s, right?

Except that it doesn’t. The simple reason in this salary cap era is that signing Burress was primarily about money. This was not about the Jets showing Edwards any disrespect. Was Edwards going to sign with the Jets for the reported $3 million it took to sign Burress? Nope. While the temptation is to compare Edwards to Burress, the more realistic comparison for Edwards is with Santonio Holmes, who signed a 5-year, $50 million contract. Even with Edwards’s recent legal issues, he should still be able to exceed $3 million in guaranteed money in the free-agent market. The Jets just can’t match that right now, especially since they needed to sign Antonio Cromartie (which they reportedly have) on a budget getting smaller by the day.

For the Jets, there is little financial risk with the Burress signing. The only one will be whether the offense will lose any of its potency without Edwards. It is a legitimate question. Burress, a dynamic player throughout his career, is nevertheless almost 34 and has not played in the N.F.L. in almost three years. The upside is that once he gets into game shape, Burress should pose many of the same matchup problems for opposing cornerbacks as Edwards did.

If the temptation is to say Edwards’s recent legal issues affected the Jets’ decision, that doesn’t ring true. By all accounts, Edwards turned the corner last year after his D.U.I. arrest. He was at his best late in the season and in the playoffs. Edwards’s problems with drops seemed to have largely disappeared. At age 28, Edwards is a complete player who is in his prime.

The Jets’ signing of Burress doesn’t change that. Whether or not Edwards can secure the free-agent contract he wants in the coming days remains to be seen. He didn’t help himself after a court hearing in Ohio last week resulted in an extension of his probation and could have resulted in jail time. Even if Edwards can get a long-term deal, it is possible he won’t be able to command quite the same dollars.

Maybe Edwards should settle for a one-year contract. He could always test the market again next year, possibly with more leverage. And one year is a long time in the N.F.L. Just ask Holmes, who was in high demand in this free-agent market only 15 months after almost being released by the Steelers right before the Jets acquired him for a fifth-round draft pick.

Burress Moves Down the Hall

Talks never seemed particularly serious between Plaxico Burress and his former team, the Giants, who spent a lot of last week saying goodbye to long-time players. The Jets, meanwhile, were looking to make a bold free-agent move after losing out on cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and signed Burress to a one-year deal to stay at the New Meadowlands Stadium. Will the Giants be able to keep up with the rival Eagles? And are the Jets loaded with too many controversial figures?

N.F.L. Moves: Young Joins Eagles, Jets Vie for Asomugha

12:36 p.m. | Updated

Big signing news of the day, so far:

The Eagles, having shipped their backup quarterback, Kevin Kolb, to the Cardinals on Thursday, have reportedly decided his replacement will be Vince Young, who was released by the Titans on Thursday. The Eagles’ last quarterback reclamation project, Michael Vick, said he was thrilled the team was taking on Young as its next project.

In other news, the Denver Broncos have reportedly found someone to complement running back Knowshon Moreno by agreeing to a three-year, $7.5 million deal with Willis McGahee. Wide receiver Roy Williams, who was cut by the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, will be reunited with his former offensive coordinator Mike Martz in Chicago after reportedly agreeing to terms with the Bears.

Friday’s biggest looming mysteries:
These involve perhaps the most talented player still dangling in free-agency limbo, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, who is expected to choose between the Jets and the Cowboys, and the most talented player ever to shoot himself in the leg, receiver Plaxico Burress. Reportedly, the league has reinstated Burress, freeing him to sign on some available bottom line, and he is expected to sit down with Giants Coach Tom Coughlin Friday night to either hash out their differences or perhaps discuss the nutritional failings of jailhouse cuisine.

The Texans made some bold moves Thursday by signing cornerback Johnathan Joseph and safety Danieal Manning, and want to be even bolder by adding Asomugha. NFL Network is reporting that the Texans are now out of the running and the Cowboys are in, but the favorites are the Jets, who are trying to create a supertandem in their defensive backfield, writes Bucky Brooks on NFL.com, with Darrelle Revis.

There is still lingering debate over one of Thursday’s other big deals, the trade of quarterback Kolb from the Eagles to the Cardinals for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The consensus is that the Cardinals paid a steep price for Kolb, but had to go bold to fill their biggest need. But Clark Judge of CBSSports.com also warns that investing in discarded Eagles quarterbacks is not usually a good move.

Cutsville: As the Asomugha-Jets negotiations carry on, the team said goodbye to their three-time Pro Bowl quarterback and Mark Sanchez mentor, Mark Brunell, along with cornerback Will Billingsley and guard Marlon Davis.

Reverberations from Thursday’s big moves:

The Patriots joined the backyard party on Thursday and did one giant cannonball into the middle of the pool. They didn’t just shove Albert Haynesworth and his cartful of emotional baggage off the high board, they hurled Chad Ochocinco in there after him.

Yes, that was Thursday, and by the end of the day Friday the whole thing might explode into an “Animal House” toga party, but let’s just pause for a second to say, “Wow.”

Now, whether this move turns into an epic team chemistry chain reaction that leaves Patriots Coach Bill Belichick with a set of fried eyebrows, that will be the central mystery of the Patriots’ season. But it certainly got everyone’s attention, writes Greg A. Bedard in The Boston Globe. Belichick is clearly counting on his magical powers to reclaim wayward talent, writes Don Banks on SI.com, at least in the case of Haynesworth. With Ochocinco, it’s how to manage the cultural clash between the league’s most buttoned-down team and the Queen Mary of self-promoting showboats. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo.com urges Ochocinco to shut down his Twitter account and behave now, but that would be rather like asking Niagara Falls to act like a nice little waterfall.

To a lot of people right now — including Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com — Belichick looks like a genius. But, as Alex Marvez writes on Foxsports.com, by the end of the season he might be getting measured for a straitjacket with a hood.

N.F.L. Mayhem Central: Young Joins Eagles, Jets Vie for Asomugha

11:58 a.m. | Updated The hamster wheel that is the N.F.L. offseason is expected to hit warp speed today. Clearly, the poor hamster should have struck a better deal in the collective bargaining negotiations.

Big signing news of the day, so far:

The Eagles, having shipped backup quarterback Kevin Kolb to the Cardinals on Thursday, have reportedly decided his replacement will be Vince Young, who was released by the Titans on Thursday. Not surprisingly, the Eagles’ last quarterback reclamation project, Michael Vick, said he was thrilled the team was taking on Young as its next project and Eagles are clearly banking on Vick being a good influence on a player who

Reverberations from Thursday’s big moves:

The Patriots joined the backyard party on Thursday and did one giant cannonball into the middle of the pool. They didn’t just shove Albert Haynesworth and his cartful of emotional baggage off the high board, they hurled Chad Ochocinco in there after him.

Yes, that was Thursday, and by the end of the day Friday the whole thing might explode into an “Animal House” toga party, but let’s just pause for a second to say, “Wow.”

Now, whether this move turns into an epic team chemistry chain reaction that leaves Patriots Coach Bill Belichick with a set of fried eyebrows, that will be the central mystery of the Patriots’ season. But it certainly got everyone’s attention, writes Greg A. Bedard in The Boston Globe. Belichick is clearly counting on his magical powers to reclaim wayward talent, writes Don Banks on SI.com, at least in the case of Haynesworth. With Ochocinco, it’s how to manage the cultural clash between the league’s most buttoned-down team and the Queen Mary of self-promoting showboats. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo.com urges Ochocinco to shut down his Twitter account and behave now, but that would be rather like asking Niagara Falls to act like a nice little waterfall.

To a lot of people right now — including Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com — Belichick looks like a genius. But, as Alex Marvez writes on Foxsports.com, by the end of the season, he might be getting measured for a straitjacket with a hood.

Friday’s biggest looming mysteries:
These involve perhaps the most talented player still dangling in free agency limbo, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, and the most talented player every to shoot himself in the leg, receiver Plaxico Burress. Reportedly, the league has reinstated Burress, freeing him to sign on some available bottom line, and he is expected to sit down with Giants Coach Tom Coughlin Friday night to either hash out their differences or perhaps discuss the nutritional failings of jailhouse cuisine.

The Texans made some bold moves Thursday by signing cornerback Johnathan Joseph and safety Danieal Manning, and want to make it even bolder by adding Asomugha. NFL Network is reporting that the Texans are now out of the running and the Cowboys are in, but the favorite is the Jets, who are trying to create a supertandem in their defensive backfield, writes Bucky Brooks on NFL.com, with Darrelle Revis.

There is still lingering debate over one of Thursday’s other big deals, the trade of quarterback Kolb from the Eagles to the Cardinals for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The consensus is that the Cardinals paid a steep price for Kolb, but had to go bold to fill their biggest need. But Clark Judge of CBSSports.com also warns that investing in discarded Eagles quarterbacks is not usually a good move.

N.F.L. Mayhem Central: Patriots Go Big

So, the abbreviated N.F.L. off-season seemed rowdy enough for a few days, sort of like a backyard party with dozens of 7-year-old boys, when the Patriots came along Thursday and did one giant cannonball into the middle of the pool. They didn’t just shove Albert Haynesworth and his cartful of emotional baggage off the high board, they hurled Chad Ochocinco in there after him.

Yes, that was Thursday, and by the end of the day Friday the whole thing might explode into an “Animal House” toga party, but let’s just pause for a second to say, “Wow.”

Now, whether this move turns into an epic team chemistry chain reaction that leaves Patriots Coach Bill Belichick with a set of fried eyebrows, that will be the central mystery of the Patriots’ season. But it certainly got everyone’s attention, writes Greg A. Bedard in The Boston Globe. Belichick is clearly counting on his magical powers to reclaim wayward talent, writes Don Banks on SI.com, at least in the case of Haynesworth. With Ochocinco, it’s how to manage the cultural clash between the league’s most buttoned-down team and the Queen Mary of self-promoting showboats. Dan Wetzel of Yahoo.com urges Ochocinco to shut down his Twitter account and behave now, but that would be rather like asking Niagara Falls to act like a nice little waterfall.

To a lot of people right now — including Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com — Belichick looks like a genius. But, as Alex Marvez writes on Foxsports.com, by the end of the season, he might be getting measured for a straitjacket with a hood.

Friday’s biggest looming mysteries involve perhaps the most talented player still dangling in free agency limbo, cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha, and the most talented player every to shoot himself in the leg, receiver Plaxico Burress. Reportedly, the league has reinstated Burress, freeing him to sign on some available bottom line, and he is expected to sit down with Giants Coach Tom Coughlin Friday night to either hash out their differences or perhaps discuss the nutritional failings of jailhouse cuisine.

The Texans made some bold moves Thursday by signing cornerback Johnathan Joseph and safety Danieal Manning, and want to make it even bolder by adding Asomugha. Their biggest competition appears to be the Jets, who are trying to create a supertandem in their defensive backfield, writes Bucky Brooks on NFL.com, with Darrelle Revis.

There is still lingering debate over one of Thursday’s other big deals, the trade of quarterback Kevin Kolb from the Eagles to the Cardinals for cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. The consensus is that the Cardinals paid a steep price for Kolb, but had to go bold to fill their biggest need. But Clark Judge of CBSSports.com also warns that investing in discarded Eagles quarterbacks is not usually a good move.

Coughlin to Have Meeting With Old Nemesis, Burress

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The news at Giants camp Wednesday was a lot like the weather in London: if you did not like it, you could wait an hour for it to change. And when Plaxico Burress is involved, the winds are always shifting.

Amid the news that the Giants had signed center David Baas to fill a big void on their offensive line and had given a one-year contract extension to Coach Tom Coughlin, the possibility of Burress’s return loomed ever larger over the Giants’ practice center.

“Plaxico ain’t coming today, guys,” defensive end Justin Tuck told reporters Wednesday morning after rolling down the window of his black Mercedes at the security gate.

By the end of the day, ESPN was reporting that Burress and Coughlin, his former coach and occasional nemesis, were planning to dine together on Friday, the first day that teams can announce free-agent signings. Then Burress will travel to Pittsburgh for a meeting with Steelers Coach Mike Tomlin and the team that drafted him with a first-round pick in 2000.

Quarterback Eli Manning said at an afternoon news conference that he had spoken to Burress.

“I don’t have an opinion,” he said, calling it a decision for coaches and the front office. “I don’t know what’s going to happen with that.”

Burress caught the winning pass in Super Bowl XLII in 2008 and caught 244 passes in four seasons with the Giants. But he told ESPN in an interview in June that his time in New York was not always happy, and that his relationship with Coughlin was checkered.

He told The Star-Ledger on Tuesday, “If you can’t sit down and go talk to a man that you are busting your tail for, not even to have the respect for anything that you have to say, the only thing I knew then was to rebel.”

Burress acknowledged that any future conversation with Coughlin would be awkward. “It’s going to be crazy,” he said. “I really don’t know what I am going to say.”

Burress, who turns 34 in two weeks, has not played since shooting himself in the leg at a New York nightclub in November 2008, which resulted in a 22-month prison term. Burress was a controversial figure even before the incident. He held out of Giants minicamp in May 2008 and when he played for the Steelers he drew $45,000 in fines and a suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct after a 2004 game.

Tuck, a close friend of Burress’s, sounded more excited about the potential signing than Manning.

“We’re working on it,” said Tuck, who added he believed that Burress and Coughlin could work out their differences. “It’s gonna be a give and take between both of them,” Tuck said. “Hopefully, a little time apart has rekindled the love that they share for each other.”

If Burress does sign with the Giants, he will provide needed depth at wide receiver. The projected starters, Steve Smith and Hakeem Nicks, missed a total of 10 games with injuries last season, and Smith is a free agent trying to return from knee surgery in the off-season.

As for the deals that were made, the most important acquisition by the Giants on Wednesday was Baas, a former second-round pick by the 49ers from Michigan. Baas started at center and both guard positions in six seasons in San Francisco. Baas started 16 games at center last year and did not allow a sack, according to Football Outsiders.

He is expected to fill the void left by center Shaun O’Hara, who was released Tuesday along with guard Rich Seubert, and the top offensive line backup Shawn Andrews. Baas, right guard Chris Snee and right tackle Kareem McKenzie are expected to start, while David Diehl, Kevin Boothe and William Beatty will compete for two starting spots on the left side.

Manning said working with Baas would require an adjustment after having O’Hara at center most of his career.

Manning and Brandon Jacobs, who each arrived before 9:30 a.m., were among the notable players who made their first appearances Wednesday. Defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who has voiced his unhappiness over his contract, was a no-show. Players are not obligated to arrive until Friday, the first day of training camp.

As for Coughlin, his one-year extension commits the Giants to him through the 2012 season.

“As I was when I was hired in 2004, I am grateful for the opportunity,” Coughlin said in a statement released by the Giants. Coughlin, who turns 65 in August, led the team to a Super Bowl victory over the Patriots in 2008.

Among other comings and goings, the Giants released defensive tackle Rocky Bernard and announced the hiring of Larry Izzo as assistant special-teams coach.

Bernard’s release comes on the heels of fellow defensive tackle Barry Cofield’s reaching a six-year agreement with the Redskins. With Cofield and Bernard gone, two recent second-round picks, the rookie Marvin Austin and the second-year player Linval Joseph, are expected to play major roles. Joseph played sparingly in 2010.

Izzo made three Pro Bowl teams as a special-teams standout for the Dolphins and the Patriots, and earned three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots. The Izzo announcement was the least surprising move of the day: it was posted several weeks ago on Wikipedia.

Burress Talks of Return to Giants, Coughlin Gets Contract Extension

12:54 p.m. | Updated Three starters from the 2007 Super Bowl team have now left the Giants, but one may soon be returning. And the Giants also made clear the coach isn’t going anywhere, extending Tom Coughlin’s contract through 2012.

Defensive tackle Barry Cofield agreed to terms on a six-year contract with the Redskins on Tuesday. Cofield was the fourth significant departure of the day: the starting offensive linemen Rich Seubert and Shaun O’Hara, as well as top backup Shawn Andrews, were informed of their release earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, Plaxico Burress said he would speak with the Giants about a possible return to the team, according to The Star-Ledger.

“It’s going to be crazy,” Burress said, noting that he has been critical of Giants Coach Tom Coughlin in recent radio interviews. “I really don’t know what I am going to say. I’m just going to go in there tomorrow and speak from the heart.”

Burress suggested on Tuesday that he would meet with Coughlin at Giants headquarters, but under the rules outlined for this off-season, free agents are not yet allowed to visit team facilities. The Giants may meet Burress on an off-site location.

Burress caught the game-winning pass in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII and caught 244 passes in four seasons with the Giants. Burress, who turns 34 in two weeks, has not stepped onto the field since accidentally shooting himself in the leg in a New York night club in November 2008, which resulted in a 22-month prison term.

Burress was a controversial figure even before the nightclub incident: he held out of minicamp in May of 2008, and earned $45,000 in fines and a suspension by the Steelers for unsportsmanlike conduct after a 2004 game.

Burress has said his relationship with Coughlin was not a good one and Coughlin’s support from Giants management has been strong. They announced a one-year extension of his contract, which means it will run through 2012.

“As I was when I was hired in 2004, I am grateful for the opportunity,” Coughlin said in a statement released by the Giants. “To be the head coach of the New York Giants is the fulfillment of a dream for somebody who grew up where I grew up and when I grew up.”

If Burress does sign with the Giants, it will affect the team’s free agent strategy. Receiver Steve Smith, coming off a major knee injury, may be allowed to test the open market. Even with numerous departures, the Giants are very close to the $120 million salary cap and can not afford to spend much on the open market.

Cofield started 75 games in five seasons for the Giants, recording 10.5 sacks. Marvin Austin, this year’s second-round pick, is expected to compete with Linval Joseph, last year’s second round pick, for Cofield’s starting job.
Shawn Andrews started four games at left tackle last season and also saw action as the sixth lineman when the team used a jumbo formation.

The oft-injured Andrews was due to make $7.5 million this year, so his departure was expected. Coming on the heels of the releases of Seubert and O’Hara, the Giants must now replace long-time starters at center and guard, plus their first lineman off the bench. Seubert, O’Hara, and Andrews combined to start 29 games last season.

To that end, the Giants answered a major question by agreeing to terms with center-guard David Baas on Wednesday morning. Baas, a former second-round pick by the 49ers from University of Michigan, started at center and both guard positions during his six-year career. Baas started 16 games at center last year and did not allow a sack according to Football Outsiders. He is expected to fill the void left by Shaun O’Hara, who was informed of his release on Tuesday.

The Giants also officially announced the hiring of Larry Izzo as assistant special teams coach. Izzo made three Pro Bowls as a special team player and earned three Super Bowl rings as a member of the New England Patriots.

Burress Talks of Return to Giants

Three starters from the 2007 Super Bowl team have now left the Giants, but one may soon be returning.

Defensive tackle Barry Cofield agreed to terms on a six-year contract with the Redskins on Tuesday. Cofield was the fourth significant departure of the day: the starting offensive linemen Rich Seubert and Shaun O’Hara, as well as top backup Shawn Andrews, were informed of their release earlier in the day.

Meanwhile, Plaxico Burress said he would speak with the Giants about a possible return to the team, according to The Star-Ledger.

“It’s going to be crazy,” Burress said, noting that he has been critical of Giants Coach Tom Coughlin in recent radio interviews. “I really don’t know what I am going to say. I’m just going to go in there tomorrow and speak from the heart.”

Burress suggested on Tuesday that he would meet with Coughlin at Giants headquarters, but under the rules outlined for this off-season, free agents are not yet allowed to visit team facilities. The Giants may meet Burress on an off-site location.

Burress caught the game-winning pass in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLII and caught 244 passes in four seasons with the Giants. Burress, who turns 34 in two weeks, has not stepped onto the field since accidentally shooting himself in the leg in a New York night club in November 2008, which resulted in a 22-month prison term.

Burress was a controversial figure even before the nightclub incident: he held out of minicamp in May of 2008, and earned $45,000 in fines and a suspension by the Steelers for unsportsmanlike conduct after a 2004 game.

If Burress does sign with the Giants, it will affect the team’s free agent strategy. Receiver Steve Smith, coming off a major knee injury, may be allowed to test the open market. Even with numerous departures, the Giants are very close to the $120 million salary cap and can not afford to spend much on the open market.

Cofield started 75 games in five seasons for the Giants, recording 10.5 sacks. Marvin Austin, this year’s second-round pick, is expected to compete with Linval Joseph, last year’s second round pick, for Cofield’s starting job.
Shawn Andrews started four games at left tackle last season and also saw action as the sixth lineman when the team used a jumbo formation.

The oft-injured Andrews was due to make $7.5-million this year, so his departure was expected. Coming on the heels of the releases of Seubert and O’Hara, the Giants must now replace long-time starters at center and guard, plus their first lineman off the bench. Seubert, O’Hara, and Andrews combined to start 29 games last season.