Fines, suspensions and Tom Coughlin tongue lashings haven't done anything to stop Plaxico Burress from doing whatever he wants to do, whenever he wants to do it. Will Lawrence Taylor have any more luck?
The Giant great spoke to the Daily News yesterday and shared his belief that Burress's actions had to stop because of the toll they're taking on the team.
"I'm all for being an individual. You do your thing. But you're still not above the team. When it starts to disrupt the team, then you have to revisit it and look at it and see if you're doing it right," Taylor said.
L.T. was certainly an individual. His cocaine use was constant during his Giants career and he often fought with Bill Parcells and other Giant coaches about his behavior. And, clearly, it didn't have much of an impact on a team that won two Super Bowls during his career. Burress isn't L.T., of course, but they don't win the Super Bowl without him in the lineup, and, given his injuries, that's not something to take for granted.
Why is the Burress situation so much different, then? For one thing, the coaches never suspended Taylor. However tough Parcells was as a head coach, he wasn't stupid and only a stupid person would have left his best player on the sideline when trying to win a football game. This season, Burress has been held to a higher level of accountability for his actions by Coughlin, for better or for worse.
Right now it's been for the better. Coughlin's winning games and, thanks to a contract extension, doesn't have to worry about losing his job. Since it's hard to imagine Burress making a meaningful change of personality, Coughlin's made a winning bet so long as the rest of his team stays the course.
