Curran: Don't expect to see Burress in Foxboro

Share

By Tom E. Curran
CSNNE.com

He just got out of stripes. Or orange. So, now, would newly released Plaxico Burress look good in the dark blue of the Patriots? Hardly. Even though Bill Belichick has been known to roll the dice on players with checkered pasts in the past, I'd expect him to pass on Plax.Skill-set aside, when you look at the "troubled" players the Patriots have employed, they are generally guilty of surliness, immaturity or both. Corey Dillon. Randy Moss. Bryan Cox. Ted Washington. Brandon Meriweather. By and large, their offenses are tied to being pissed off about playing for bad teams or to reacting poorly to others in public settings. Burress, 34 in August, has had a couple of domestic disturbance calls to his home and has been a frequent target of lawsuits during his NFL career (nine by 2010 according to the Associated Press). He just got out of jail Monday after serving a 20-month sentence for the ridiculous action of firing a gun into his thigh at a New York nightclub. To paraphrase Dean Wormer, "Old, dumb and bullet-riddled is no way to re-enter the league, Plax."But Burress does bring a skill set which the Patriots are lacking. The smurf-like New England receivers aren't equipped to go up over any corners and win on fades. They don't have that multi-dimensional threat that demands bracket coverage in certain situations (like with a minute left in the Super Bowl). In short, Burress does things others Pats receivers don't. But as we saw with Randy Moss, that skill is not one that can sustain an offense. And it'sa beast that needs to be constantly fed and monitored. In the end, though, it won't be about the scar on his leg or the number of times he's been pulled over for windows too tinted that keeps him out of New England. It will be the fact he doesn't bring enough to the table.

Tom E. Curran can be reached at tcurran@comcastsportsnet.com. Follow Tom on Twitter at http:twitter.comtomecurran

Contact Us