Giants coach Tom Coughlin couldn’t have been pleased with Burress, but declined to say very much about him.

“I will speak with Plaxico in a private way, and that’s where it will remain,” he said.

New England played two games this season that were preceded by an opposing player’s prediction. Pittsburgh’s Anthony Smith guaranteed a win in Week 13 at Foxborough; the Patriots routed the Steelers 34-13. And after Brady threw an early TD pass over Smith, he verbally confronted the Steelers safety.

Days before the AFC title game, San Diego defensive end Igor Olshansky said the Chargers were unstoppable. New England stopped them, 21-12.

“We don’t make predictions. We just let our play do the talking,” Brady said matter-of-factly.

“Plaxico is a hell of a player. If he feels that way, I think that’s great. I’d hate for him to think he’s going to lose this game. It’s obvious nobody does.”

Burress was entitled to his opinion, Moss said, “but the only thing about a prediction is that you have got to make it happen.”

“I think the pressure is more on them now, since they’ve guaranteed this victory. We’ve prepared very hard for the last week and a half, and we still have got a couple more days to get out there and tone some things up. But making a prediction that you are going to go out there and make it happen are very tough words to back up.”

Not that Burress is backing down. He’s done his Joe Namath impersonation off the field, and now he has to come through in similar fashion to what Namath and the New York Jets achieved in 1969: the biggest upset in Super Bowl history.

“Well, 23-17 was the first thing that came to my head,” Burress said.

Then Burress looked at the numbered placard at the table where he was holding court.

“No. 23,” he said. “How do you like that?”