Burress, RGIII and McNabb
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Burress, RGIII and McNabb
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
Plaxico Burress is at it again.
Last year, after he was released from prison, Burress made it clear that he'd enjoy playing with Michael Vick as a member of the Eagles.
He ended up signing a one-year deal with the Jets and is now once again a free agent. Joining Harry Mayes and Brian Baldinger on 97.5 The Fanatic Monday afternoon, he again expressed interest in coming to Philadelphia.
But would he be a good fit?
Before last year, I was of the opinion that signing Burress made little sense for the Eagles, considering he was 34 and hadn't played in an NFL game since 2008. But despite limited practice time, Burress posted respectable numbers in his return - 45 catches for 612 yards and eight touchdowns.
Most importantly, seven of those eight touchdowns came in the red zone. Burress had 10 catches in the red zone, tied for sixth-most among wide receivers. The Eagles finished 14th in red-zone offense, converting touchdowns 51.52 percent of the time.
The Jets kept Burress on the field quite a bit too. He played 78.8 percent of the team's offensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus.
It'd be tough to figure out a way to get Burress on the field that much with the Eagles, assuming DeSean Jackson is still here. If Jackson is gone, the Eagles need to do better than Burress to replace him.
With Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant healthy, Burress could be used as a fourth wide receiver over Riley Cooper. But four-receiver sets mean either Brent Celek or LeSean McCoy is coming off the field. The Eagles could also possibly experiment with Maclin in the slot (although he hasn't been used in that role much) and use Burress in three-receiver sets, taking Avant off the field.
In the red zone, Burress could replace Jackson, but even with all those things, we're not talking about nearly as many snaps as he played last year. He would add depth and could be a spot starter for Jackson or Maclin. If that's a role Burress would be happy with, and if his asking price is reasonable, I'd consider adding him if I were the Eagles. But he may be able to find an expanded role elsewhere.
MYSTERY TEAM FOR RGIII?
The Robert Griffin III rumors will fly for the next two months leading up to April's draft. In this week's issue of Sports Illustrated, Peter King writes that Cleveland, Washington and Miami are the most likely suitors, but a source tells him that a team "you would never expect" has already put a feeler in to the Rams.
Meanwhile, per Evan Silva of Rotoworld.com, Greg Cosell of NFL Films described Griffin as a "more physically talented version of [Donovan] McNabb."
MCNABB NOT RETIRING...YET
Speaking of McNabb, while he failed to catch on with another team after being released by the Vikings last season, he says he is still preparing to play in the league next season.
"Well you know what man, right now I still have my mind on focused on football," McNabb told KILT in Houston. "All I have been doing is just working out and just staying abreast with things. I have been doing some TV stuff in the meantime just to polish that up for future endeavors that I may step into when I am done, but the most important thing for me is to just stay involved and continue to perfect my craft and get better and better as I continue on."
McNabb also said questions about his work ethic in the past couple years were "garbage." Click here for the full radio transcript of the McNabb interview on SportsRadioInterviews.com.
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Get rid of Riley Cooper and bring in Burress!!! Cooper is not really NFL caliber (at least not for any contending team or teams thinking they can contend).— connorjr- RGIII is a more mentally talented athlete then McNabb.— Justaschmuck
- Mcnabb mentored Ponder pretty good in Minnesota so i dont think having him back would hurt us. It can only help us having a veteran quarterback. We need as much talent as possible if we're pushing for the superbowl.
If we can somehow draft Michael Floyd and Pick up Plax. That would considerably strengthen our deep threat attack. Trade Asante for a linebacker and we're good. We really dont need a huge makeover. If we can pick up a stud DT or Linebacker in the draft great but if not we really need a young WR. 6'3 220 and can run a 4.4. I watched the highlights Floyd is the real deal.— Yes_General - McNabb's work ethic is not garbage, it's his talent that is garbage.— SilliBilli
Comment removed.- McNabb on ESPN? I don't know if I could stand listening to his nasally voice. But I gues he's not as bad as that former Bronco's receiver who is posing as a football analyst. Can't understand a word he says. — Planet of the lacking analytical skills
- The falloff in apparent IQ between comments on Eagles articles and comments on Sixers articles is staggering. It perpetuates the stereotype that football fans are beer-chugging reactionary adolescents who never grew up and are now either taking out existential aggression on coaches and players or they're literally adolescents who have little experience watching the game other than playing madden and fantasy football.— Leegles
- Yeah Mr High Class, pass me the Grey Poupon — Planet of the lacking analytical skills
- McPuke was and is a dog player.Neeeeeeever had SB caliber winning skills.Will be remembered as another QB who simply was not good enough.— sewell guy
- Funny when you see Donowhine McFlabb in the first line of a comment you know it's not going to be too nice.— neddyflanders
- If I had to guess, the eagles will be using more (2) TE formations in 2012. I could see them with 3 TE on roster, and either lose the fullback position, or go to 4 Wide Receivers on roster. Either way, no room for Burress.— camasbud
sewell guy: if brian "literally beyond reproach" dawkins and friends hadn't given up 24 points (or if the patriots hadn't filmed eagles practices), mcnabb would have fun a super bowl.
— Leegles- Comment removed.
- UPDATE: McNabb blames reporter for bad interview— sickoflosing
- Funny typo: I meant "won" not "fun," but it would have been FUN if he'd WON that Super Bowl.— Leegles
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