He bonded with his new quarterback, Mark Sanchez, last month over dinner, saying he enjoyed "a nice lobster with butter and lemon, potatoes, broccoli."
And what did it cost Burress, who signed a one-year, $3.017 million contract with the New York Jets on July 31?
"The quarterback always pays," says Burress, 34, with a chuckle. "He's the one who gets our heads knocked in. Don't let him fool you."
Sanchez doesn't exactly agree on either count.
"I gave him a free pass on that one," he says.
Sanchez's next pass to Burress will come Sunday night when the Jets host the Dallas Cowboys to open the season. It will mark the wideout's official return to the Broadway stage where he has been hero (he caught the winning TD in the Super Bowl for the Giants to cap the 2007 season) and villain (he was freed from prison three months ago after serving nearly two years on a weapons possession charge).
Sanchez is trying to infuse some comedy into his teammate's next act. Asked for an early scouting report on Burress, the quarterback deadpans: "He's an average player. Decent speed. OK catching ability."
He snickers before adding, "Plax is one of the best I've ever played with."
Entering his third NFL season, Sanchez has only played with a handful of receivers, but he seems to be taking to Burress.
And the feeling is mutual.
"Having that time off the field is really relaxing and helps form a better relationship," he says of breaking bread with Sanchez, 24, while lauding his demeanor and personality. "It helps our relationship on the field, and I want to establish that."
After consecutive AFC Championship Game losses the past two seasons, the Jets are banking that Burress can provide championship chemistry despite his hiatus.
"I've never thrown to anyone like him. Braylon was big, but Plax is bigger," says Sanchez, comparing the 6-5, 232-pounder to 6-3, 214-pound Braylon Edwards, the man the Jets opted to replace with Burress.
"He's got such a big wingspan, he'll catch everything near him."
Nightclub incident derailed career
Burress' New York return came as a surprise to some.
"I was a little shocked that he went back to the place where it all happened for him, because it took three years away from his life from playing football," said Hines Ward, Burress' former teammate with the Pittsburgh Steelers, on an Atlanta radio station last month.
"But I'm just glad to see him back playing football."
Burress' last regular-season appearance came on Nov. 23, 2008, with the Giants. Five days later, while at a nightclub in Times Square, his concealed handgun (he'd gotten a license to carry it in Florida, but it had expired) accidentally fired after slipping inside his jeans when he stumbled on a staircase. He says he didn't realize his leg had been hit until he noticed a wet spot on his pants and then blood on his shoes. (The wound didn't prove serious.)
But he also didn't appreciate the gravity of his legal woes until months later when New York mayor Michael Bloomberg successfully lobbied to scuttle a deal Burress' lawyer was about to complete and prosecute him to the full extent of the law.
He eventually pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and began serving his two-year sentence in September 2009. He was released June 6, three months short of serving the full term.
In the interim, Burress had a lot of time for introspection as he mopped floors, cleaned toilets and served meals. Asked what he pondered, he replies: "Just recognizing your mistakes, and the thought process leading to the event, and who the people are directly impacted by your mistake, (then) getting your priorities in order."
Burress' family was certainly affected; his daughter, Giovanna, was born three months after he was incarcerated. Not having to uproot her, wife Tiffany and son Elijah, 5, was one reason he opted to stay in New York.
"(It) really didn't bother me," he said of coming back to the place where his career derailed even though he says he had multiyear offers elsewhere.
"It's a great platform for me, great place for me to be and go back to being an elite level player and serve in the community.
"It's a great opportunity for me to reach out and give back and tell my story."
Burress, who said in an interview with HBO's RealSports he doesn't own a gun now, already has teamed with the National Urban League to educate children about handguns.
And though he wasn't welcomed back by the Giants, who released him in April 2009, he harbors no bitterness.
"I thought they would do what they had to do business-wise. I have no animosity toward anyone over there," he says now. "I did nothing but bring it on myself."
Giants who played with Burress seem to reserve a soft spot for a player widely regarded as a popular locker room presence.
"I really do think Plaxico … is making the best of his situation, and I am happy for him," said Giants defensive end Justin Tuck before the New York teams' preseason matchup last month. "He deserves every attribute and all the good things coming his way right now."
Added Eli Manning, who threw the TD pass to Burress which beat the previously undefeated New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII: "He was a great teammate for the Giants. We had a great run together."
But Burress jumped to New York's other team for more than logistical convenience.
"Just coming to play for a coach like Rex (Ryan) — if you can't play for a coach like him, you can't play in this league," he says. "He's a great personality to be around. That's rare, especially in this business. Just something I wanted to be a part of."
'Newfound energy and respect' for game
Burress seems to be reacclimating well on and off the field.
He and Sanchez hooked up three times for 66 yards in one half Aug. 21 against the Cincinnati Bengals in a 27-7 win. Sanchez dropped his final throw of the night between Burress' outside shoulder and the end-zone pylon for a 26-yard touchdown.
"He's seen so much football, played so much football. He's been a great addition for us," says Sanchez, who is also getting used to veteran Derrick Mason and rookie Jeremy Kerley. Santonio Holmes is the lone holdover of a wideout group that lost Edwards, Jerricho Cotchery and Brad Smith.
The quarterback expects his tallest target will fit in quickly and hopes he'll upgrade the AFC's worst red-zone offense in 2010 (the Jets scored TDs on just 40% of their trips inside opponents' 20-yard line).
"He wants to know more, he learned the playbook, asks all the questions," Sanchez says of Burress, whose practice habits used to irk Giants coach Tom Coughlin. "He's always got a game face on. He's focused. He's really passionate."
Admittedly not the hardest worker early in his career — Burress was a first-round pick of the Steelers in 2000 and joined the Giants in 2005 — he has a restored commitment to his craft.
"It's not even work, it's fun now," he says, adding he's found a "newfound energy and respect" for the game.
"You love it more."
But will Burress be rusty after the layoff? He averaged 70 receptions, 1,076 yards and 10 TDs in his first three years with the Giants before his final season was plagued first by injuries, then by the nightclub incident.
"I think he's gonna be great for the team, the question is how quickly," says former MVP quarterback Kurt Warner, now an NFL Network analyst. "If he can get back to form quickly, he'll be a great complement to Santonio.
"He's so big, but he's extremely fluid in his route running and his ability to snatch the ball. He's got the ability to play like a smaller guy."
Ryan has been effusive in his praise and thinks Burress can help Sanchez's development as he did for Ben Roethlisberger and Manning.
"He has a smile on his face, he's excited to be here, and he's a good teammate. He's always encouraging guys, and I love his energy out there," Ryan said.
Aside from helping his coach try to make good on his guarantee that the Jets win the Super Bowl this season, Burress is just happy to be around at all.
"We believe we have a special group here," he says. "It's just contagious … no egos."
And it's a mentality that seems to suit him
"I just go about my day, and focus on my family and Plaxico Burress," he says, as he concentrates on "being a better person and a positive member of society and contributor to the Jets."
source:www.usatoday.com
author:Nate Davis
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