Giants Aren't The Same Without Plax

When Tiki Barber retired after the 2006 season, everyone thought the Giants would be in serious trouble, because we didn't realize just how good the guys behind Tiki were. 

When the Giants finally ditched Jeremy Shockey, lots of people thought it would hurt their offense, because they didn't realize the guy's production had never really matched his flamboyance.

By the time Strahan left and Osi got hurt, we had a pretty good idea of just how deep the line was behind those guys.

And now that Plaxico Burress is finally off the Giants for good (at least this year), lots and lots of people have seen the trend and decided the team will be just fine with the guys behind Plaxico all taking one step up the depth chart.

This is wrong.

Outside Eli, Plaxico Burress is the one indispensable Giant.  He's part of that elite -- and very small -- club of wide receivers who are basically uncoverable within the 10-20 yard range.  He's fast, he's tall, he can jump, and he has fantastic body control in the air.  Over the past four years, the Eagles have tried covering him with pretty much every guy on the roster, and nothing has worked.  When the Giants have needed a big play, more often than not they've gone to Burress to get it.  And far more often than not, it's worked.

Burress demands a double team.  In the first match-up, the Eagles seemed to decide that the best way to stop the Giants was to have Asante cover the other guy by himself, then have everyone else focus on Burress.  It worked too, in that they held him to one catch for 17 yards (albeit a touchdown).  Of course, it didn't work in the sense that they really didn't stop the Giants' offense all game. 

But that's out the window now.  Today, rather than worrying about how he's going to square the circle by constantly helping over the top on Burress while also bringing enough guys into the box to stop that wicked running game, Jim Johnson has the luxury of saying, screw it, I'll let my secondary cover these guys one-on-one, focus on stopping the run, and bring extra guys all day to try to shake up Eli.

This is a huge change for the Giants.  And while it might not be enough for the Eagles to pull off a win this week, it will be enough to ensure New York isn't winning another Super Bowl. 

Of course, the obvious response at this point is that the Giants have played two games already this year without Plaxico and won them both.  But the first game was against Seattle and the second, against the Redskins, happened the day after the shooting.  Washington didn't have the time to adjust its gameplan that every team from here on out with enjoy.  Nor is Washington all that great a team. 

I have just as much grudging respect for what the Giants have done the last 12+ months as any Eagles fan can muster, but this is the last straw.  New York may still make a run, but hopes of a repeat championship just went out the window.