I would take Terrell Owens or Ochocinco or Randy Moss before bringing this guy here.
NO!
Why?
Owens has always been a me-first player who has worn out his welcome in numerous places and burned many bridges. He demands that he is the focal point of any offense and "needs" the ball. His ego, attitude, and all the baggage he brings off the field (he's split more locker rooms than any other player over the last decade and has his own reality show or w/e) are not even close to worth it, especially with his declining skills.
Moss was a tremendous success here from 07-09. I was never a big fan of the guy and his "I'll play when I want to play" attitude, but he had a few very productive years here. But Moss has always been one of those guys who is a bit of an enigma and can disappear or go into a shell when the going gets tough. He's also definitely lost a step and can no longer just out-run every DB in the league. If he wants to contribute heavily to an offense, he has to be more willing to start working the middle of the field, and he's not so keen on doing that, as we saw him alligator arm quite a few balls vs the Jets in Week 2 over the middle. One-dimensional vertical WR who pouts, isn't physical enough to operate over the middle, and has lost his greatest asset. No thanks.
Chad Ochocinco is the only one I could understand: if he was younger. He may be a goof ball that loves to talk, loves to self promote, and loves to have fun, but he's a gamer on Sundays. But he's already 33, and his off the field antics have started to make me question whether football is still the top priority in his life (racing horses, riding bulls, reality show, dancing, playing soccer, etc). He started looking over the hill to me in 2010. He called out Revis, and Revis completely shut him down in the final game of 2010 and in the playoff game the next week. He looks like he's lost some of that explosiveness that enabled him to be a great WR 4-5 years ago. Maybe you can squeeze one more year out of him, who knows.
Plaxico Burress had his own issues. He was accused of being lazy, not wanting to practice, etc. He went to jail for two years shooting himself in the leg accidentally. But this guy was never a baby who needed a Randy Ratio like Moss or demanded the ball publicly like T.O. For all the criticism he received, he always showed up and played hard on Sundays. He was a clutch performer at the end of games. Aside from the Giants DL, he was probably the most important player on that team in 2007-08 when they beat us. He absolutely dominated Al Harris in the NFC Championship game and he caught the game winning TD vs us.
Owens, Moss, and Ocho, in my opinion, all relied more on their legs/speed when they were in their prime. All three have lost that explosiveness. Burress was always a big-body WR at 6'6 who had decent 4.5 to 4.6 speed, but relied more on his size and physicality than his speed to make plays.
I'm not saying he's going to be the same dominant big play threat he was for the Giants, but I think he's far more likely to be closer to his former self than guys like Owens, Moss, or Ocho. Maybe Burress can't get vertical as well as he used to, but that was never what his game was built on, unlike Moss. I'd be more than happy to give Brady a chance to see what he can do with a 6'6" clutch target who will work the middle of the field and win jump balls down the sidelines.
Stallworth went to jail for KILLING A MAN for around 30 days, and many people liked the idea of bringing him back in before the 2010 season. Burress may have been somewhat of a brat before going to jail, but I think Owens/Ochocinco/Moss would all be far worse options in terms of distractions and "locker room problems."
I just reread "The Education of a Coach" and enjoyed it as much as the first time I read it. One of the points the author makes is that BB ultimately decided that the special treatment of LT was a mistake.
This doesn't mean that players shouldn't be handled differently; it does mean that players should be handled fairly and with the same basic standards. Note that Moss got sent home from that early morning snowstorm session just like a few other guys.
I'm not convinced that BB is setting the double-standards that you think he is.
I'm not accusing Belichick of setting double-standards. I'm just saying that, no matter where you are or what type of job you have, preferential treatment is inevitable. A guy like Belichick knows and realizes this, and that's why certain guys can get away with more than others. A guy like Willie Andrews gets accused in trouble with marijuana and handguns, and he's gone instantly. A guy like Big Ben gets accused of raping a few different girls, and he's still the Steelers QB. It's just how life is.
The Giants won two Super Bowls with the special treatment for LT. He made the Pro Bowl 10 times, he was a first team All Pro 9 times. He posted double digit sacks for SEVEN straight years.
I have not read that book, so I don't know why Belichick would consider that a mistake, but LT is probably the best OLB ever to play and was the most important player on Belichick's great defenses.
We would all kill to have a guy on the Pats that posted double digit sacks for seven straight years.
NE did that when they had a coaches gift of a locker room. BB has done everything but put up a neon sign saying, "Problem children, keep out!" in the past 2 years. Now way he takes on a guy who was a headache before he went to prison.
I'm not saying the guy wasn't a headache before he went to prison: he was. My point is that regardless of what went on throughout the week, he always showed up and played hard on Sundays. He's not a guy like T.O. who will piss and moan about the # of times he needs to get the ball. He's not a guy like Moss who will shut it down if it's just not going his way.
The "problem children" have only become a big-time issue when what they offered on the field was no longer worth the baggage they brought with them off the field.
Moss was accused of assaulting a woman in 2008, he made remarks before 2010 saying that the Patriots "don't pay" and that 2010 would likely be his last in NE. But he was only shipped out of NE when Belichick felt that his skill set and what he brought to the NE offense was no longer worth the attitude/antics they had to deal with off the field (i.e. those press conferences about how this season would his last as a Patriots).
There were a lot of stories that came out about Adalius being a "problem" from the get-go with the Patriots. He didn't like moving to ILB during 07, he questioned Belichick rather than just do what he was told, he was frustrated early on with his role (playing more coverage than rushing the passer). But Adalius was only discarded of when his level of play didn't equal all the BS Belichick had to deal with off the field. There were stories that dated back to '07 training camp where BB was saying "We backed up the Brinks Truck for this?" But Adalius was a key piece of the defense in 2007, and he was having a pretty good 2008 until he broke his arm. In 2009, Adalius seemingly fell off a cliff and was relegated to a lot of 2-down duty, coming off the field in passing situations. Belichick cut bait after 2009, and it was evident that Adalius' level of play did not match the crap Belichick had to put up with on a day to day basis.
Even with Plaxico, the Giants didn't release him until April 2009. The shooting incident occurred in November 2008. You'd have thought with all the fines/headaches he caused off the field that he'd be released the next day, but that wasn't the case.I remember reading in the NY Times that Jerry Reese said that the Giants were open to bringing him back if his legal issues were resolved. I was shocked when I read it, but it's a perfect example different guys being treated in different ways.
Burress didn't play after he shot himself in the leg, and the Giants offense struggled greatly. The team lost 4 of its 5 last games, going out in the first round the playoffs. Even after all the crap that Plaxico forced the Giants to deal with, Jerry Reese
still wanted to bring him back. Despite all the chaos he caused, the Giants realized he was still worth it because of what he did for the team on the field. Shooting himself in the leg, missing meetings, etc. was all water under the bridge when Plax showed up and made a big time impact on Sunday and when the Giants realized how much the offense suffered without him.
I still think Burress can help this team on a one-year, prove-it type of deal. I don't think he's a guy that is going to cause "locker room problems" like Adalius, Springs, and other guys from the 09 team supposedly did. I'm not saying prison will change him as a man. I don't believe that Vick is all of a sudden a different person due to prison. However, I do believe that both he and Vick realize that one more big-time legal flare up and they're toast. And even if they're not smart enough to realize that, they've got plenty of people (agents, Tony "Saint" Dungy, etc) telling them.
