Football
Associated Press 17y

Burress doing his best not to show up Eli Manning this season

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Resting at home in the offseason,
Plaxico Burress popped in videotapes of his first season with the
New York Giants and watched the show. It embarrassed him.

The problem wasn't his play. His 76 catches for 1,214 yards and
seven touchdowns in 2005 were just a shade under his career season
with the Pittsburgh Steelers three years earlier.

Burress was upset with his own antics every time Eli Manning
failed to get him the ball, the arm-flapping, the head shaking and
the general looks of disgust.

"I don't get frustrated any more with Eli," Burress said
Monday, a day after the Giants (5-2) won their fourth straight
game. "That's over and done with. I come to the sidelines now and
say: `Look at this, look at this.' I don't get frustrated any more.

"There are things I made an effort not to do," Burress added.
"He is my quarterback. I have a tremendous amount of respect for
him. I know he is trying to get the football to me the best he
can."

On a cold and very windy afternoon at Giants Stadium on Sunday,
the combination of Burress and Manning was about the only offense
Tom Coughlin's team had against Tampa Bay. The pair combined seven
times, highlighted by a 7-yard touchdown pass and a 25-yard
completion that set up Brandon Jacobs' short TD run in the 17-3
win.

The touchdown catch was highlight reel material. Matched against
halfback Tiki Barber's brother, Ronde, the 6-foot-5 Burress made a
leaping one-handed, left-handed catch of Manning's throw into the
left corner of the end zone.

"Plaxico has an amazing ability to do that," Tiki Barber said.
"The ball is high, out of whack a little bit, and he gets his
mitts on it and pulls them down."

Despite missing most of the Seattle game with a back injury,
Burress is having another good season. He has a team-high 31
catches for 501 yards and five touchdowns. The seven-year veteran
is averaging an impressive 16.5 yards a reception.

Burress is currently tied for 32nd in the league in catches and
12th in yards receiving.

"This is what I have been fighting for since I came into the
NFL, to be the best receiver in the league," Burress said. "I
kind of came into the season with a chip on my shoulder. I didn't
make the Pro Bowl last year and I just wanted to go out this year
and put a stamp on it, and make it evident I was one of the best
receivers in football."

Burress said this is the first time in his career he has played
more than a season with the same quarterback. In his five years
with the Steelers, he had as many quarterbacks.

"We can see ourselves taking strides and getting better,"
Burress said of Manning. "That's the ultimate goal -- to get to the
point where we know where the ball is going and we know what is
going to happen. We want to get to a point where we can play
without thinking."

That's what seemed to happen on the two big plays on Sunday. On
the touchdown, Manning put the ball only where Burress could catch
it.

On the 25-yarder that set up Jacobs' score, Manning made a great
pump fake so Burress could run past Ronde Barber.

The problem on the play was the wind. A gust in the treacherous
northeast corner of Giants Stadium caught the ball and it took
forever to reach a wide-open Burress.

"When he threw it, I just knew I had a touchdown," Burress
said of his initial thoughts. "The ball was in the air, it felt
like 10 seconds. I saw the safety coming and I felt I was going to
get my head knocked off, then I saw Ronde and Derrick Brooks and
felt I was going to get killed."

Burress caught the ball at the 3-yard line and was immediately
tackled.

Manning and Barber both laughed at him after the play. Burress
smiled, too, without any antics.

"I just try to work hard for him and go out and get open,"
Burress said of Manning. "I think it's a respect factor from the
receiver to the quarterback. I support him."

That's a big change from last season.

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