Teammates remain supportive of Giants WR Burress

Dec 1, 2008 - 1:10 AM By Tim Hipps PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer

LANDOVER, Maryland (Ticker) - Antonio Pierce, quite naturally, did not want to talk about New York Giants teammate Plaxico Burress' situation following a 23-7 victory over the Washington Redskins on Sunday.

Other Giants players, understandably, were not as reluctant.

Pierce reportedly was with Burress on Friday night when Burress suffered a wound on his right thigh in what the team called "an apparent accidental shooting" in a Manhattan nightclub. Burress was hospitalized until about 2 p.m. Saturday.

Even before the incident, Burress had been ruled out of Sunday's game earlier Friday because of a sore hamstring.

"I had a game to play Sunday at 1 o'clock at FedEx Field," Pierce said. "I had to come out here and do the job we needed to do. I've got a job to do, man. I'm a professional football player, and my job is on Sundays to focus on that. That's my only focus."

Asked if he yelled at Burress for his actions, as has been reported by several media outlets, Pierce replied: "I'm glad I got asked that question. I'm going to say this once and for the last time, I am not answering any questions about the incident that happened Friday night.

"If you have anything to say about the Washington Redskins and this game moving forward, I'll answer it. Anything else, I'm not answering."

Pierce, who added that "I'm fine with where I'm at," said he was impressed with how well the Giants players dealt with the distraction.

"On Sunday at 1 o'clock when the whistles blow and you're between those lines, you're in a state and that's the only focus you've got," Pierce said. "That's the only thing this team ever does is focus on our opponent and the challenges ahead. We had a lot of challenges, obviously, going into this game."

The Giants handled almost every challenge the Redskins presented on the field. The hardest part of their day seemed to be talking with the media following their 11th victory in 12 games.

"I don't worry about the people that are holding these mics right now in my face right now, looking at me," Pierce told a large group of reporters and broadcasters. "I'm not worried about what they say or anybody else say.

"The distraction gave us a win, 23-7," Pierce said later.

Giants coach Tom Coughlin was glad to see that his team remained focused despite the controversy.

"We are all upset about what happened with Plaxico, and hopefully he will be fine," Coughlin said. "Once we knew he was going to be OK, the guys were all able to go back to focusing on the reason we are here."

Entering Sunday's game, Burress led the Giants in receiving yardage with 454 yards and four touchdowns on 35 receptions.

"What's been on peoples' minds, is his health," Giants quarterback Eli Manning said. "We're hoping that he has a speedy recovery. He's a teammate, he's a friend, and that's all we're worrying about. We got an update and heard that he's doing well and should be getting out of the hospital soon, if not already out. That's good news to hear.

"Hopefully, he will as soon as he can be around the locker room because all the guys like to see him."

Amani Toomer helped pick up the slack in Burress' absence with five receptions for 85 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown.

"The fact that we're 11-1 is really good, and Plaxico is going to be all right, that's really good," Toomer said. "I don't know much of the details. All I know is we are glad his is all right, that he will be back, and we hope he will be back with us sooner than later. The only good thing that really came out of it is we know that he is all right.

"I like him as a player. I like him as a person. I think he's a good person. A lot of people don't really understand how good of a person he really is - he has a big heart. He gives all of the receivers stuff at Christmas, all that stuff he really does not have to do. I think he's a good guy."

Brandon Jacobs, who rushed for 71 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, was glad the Giants continued winning without Burress.

"We would have loved for him to have been with us today," Jacobs said. "Luckily, we were still able to get the win because we have an awesome team and we played well together today. We have a team that is dedicated to winning. We have won and we expect to keep winning."

Defensive end Justin Tuck said it was "unfortunate" that Burress put himself in such a predicament..

"None of us are perfect. None of us are without a fault or a mistake," Tuck said. "We can just continue to hope that he learns from his mistakes and gets better. ... It's something that happened. You've got to deal with it and go on and try to make the best of it.

"Everybody's hearts and prayers go out to him and his family and we're hoping he can come through this time OK."