3. The Giants have enough depth at the receiver position.

You never want to lose a star player, but Burress is often injured and rarely practices, while several other younger players have proven themselves and continue to get better. Amani Toomer is the leader of this group of skilled players and he can handle an increased workload.

Domenick Hixon is a star in the making. He just came off a solid performance, (5 receptions, 71 yards) starting in place of Burress as the Giants beat the Redskins last Sunday 23-7. Steve Smith is one of the best young possession receivers in the league and has become Manning’s favorite target when they need a third down conversion, and Kevin Boss is a skilled tight end who has good hands and can handle all the blocking schemes that go along with one of the best ground attacks in football.

Sinorice Moss and Mario Manningham will only benefit by not having a lazy practice player hanging around the facility as they try to learn how to become better professionals and get more time to work with Manning. Plaxico Burress has been a luxury for the Giants, especially in the red zone because he can out-leap most cornerbacks. To Burress’s credit, he has been a reliable target for Manning when he is getting blitzed and the pocket is breaking down. In a perfect world, Burress should have shown up for work on time, listened to authority and not carried a loaded handgun into a night club. He put himself in this unfortunate situation and the Giants offense will now suffer to some degree as they move on without him.

4. Don’t upset Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

The Mayor of New York City fought hard for stricter gun laws and will not be made a fool in order for a high profile athlete to walk on a lesser charge. Bloomberg already stated that “it would be an outrage if we didn’t prosecute to the fullest extent of the law, particularly people who live in the public domain, make their living because of their visibility; they are the role model for our kids.”

It is obvious that Bloomberg means business. The Mayor will hold people accountable if this investigation is botched at any point. What message would it send to other alleged criminals arrested on similar charges if they were able to escape prosecution because Plaxico Burress got special treatment? Strict gun laws should deter gangsters and criminals from entering night clubs and other establishments with unregistered firearms, the same should go for professional athletes and other celebrities that think that have a “special right” to protect themselves. This was the wrong city for Burress to make such a bad decision with a loaded weapon.

For the record, it pains me as a Giants fan to watch this happen to Burress. The majority of all professional athletes are upstanding citizens who give back to their community and respect authority. Burress has done much charity work and seems to be a caring father who loves his son and wants to live a happy life, but he put himself in a bad situation and will now need to be on the receiving end of a Hail Mary to get out of this mess.

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