AP PhotoPlaxico Burress sat during the first quarter Sunday and then caught three balls for 15 yards vs. Pittsburgh.

Plaxico Burress' latest suspension is a big sidebar to the Giants win over the Steelers, which is part of the problem.

Star-Ledger File PhotoNew York Giants WR Sinorice Moss was a healthy inactive Monday in Cleveland.

With this afternoon's NFL trade deadline looming, The Star-Ledger's Mike Garafolo thought he caught a tip that the Giants might be prepared to trade WR Sinorice Moss as part of a Tony Gonzalez deal. Did you see this item he had last night?

Chris Faytok / The Star-Ledger

That shuffling noise you hear this AM is everyone getting off the New York Giants bandwagon after the MNF loss to the Browns. Farewell, top spot in NFL power rankings, goodbye Eli is better than Peyton chatter. All that will have to wait a few days at least.

Chris Faytok/The Star-Ledger

In Mike Garafolo's recent Star-Ledger video with Jenny Vrentas, the New York Giants beat writer mentioned player reactions to Plaxico Burress. Out of 24 people surveyed as to whether or not the team would be better off without him, every player agreed they needed him around. A popular football website disagrees.

Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerMike Garafolo says the New York Giants will need a team effort to replace Plaxico Burress.

Check out the full video clip. (may require Windows Media to open)

Here is Mike's preview with fellow Star-Ledger reporter Jenny Vrentas:

Joe Epstein/The Star-Ledger

In Monday's Star-Ledger, Mike Garafolo mentioned the New York Giants' defense spent the bye week trying to reinvent itself. In Wednesday's Newsday, the Giants' D admits after looking back on tape that they may have tipped off some signals to the Bengals.

METAIRIE, La. -- Tight end Jeremy Shockey, the Saints' second-leading receiver through three games, is expected to be out for three to six weeks because of a sports hernia.

Shockey, who was acquired from the Giants in a trade shortly before training camp, had 16 receptions for 151 yards during the Saints' first three regular-season games. He played Sunday in New Orleans' 34-32 loss at Denver, catching five passes for 56 yards.

On Monday afternoon, Saints spokesman Greg Bensel confirmed a report on the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune's website that Shockey was scheduled to have surgery this week.

AP PhotoNew York Giant Fred Robbins collects one of the Giants' six sacks of Rams' QB Marc Bulger.

Nice work by The Star-Ledger's Mike Garafolo, pointing out that New York Giants DE Justin Tuck had his iPod swiped from his locker following the Giants win over the St. Louis Rams. Based on the way Tuck played Sunday, the thief ought to go into hiding. Tuck and the Big Blue defense were devastating.

Star-Ledger File PhotoThe new Giants / Jets stadium under construction in the Meadowlands.

Allianz is the German corporation that is the front-runner to secure naming rights to the new NFL stadium in the Meadowlands that the New York Giants and New York Jets will share. Allianz acknowledges its historic ties to Nazi Germany, so when the news about the potential naming-rights deal was released, opinions about the deal began appearing on the web.

Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerMichael Strahan was all Big Blue at Thursday's opener.

Boy, it didn't take Michael Strahan long to shed that New York Giants jersey, huh?

During his first appearance on Fox-TV's NFL pregame show, Strahan picked the arch rival Dallas Cowboys to win the Super Bowl, according to the Daily News.

"Dallas Cowboys, right now, the best team in the league. So I have to go with the Dallas Cowboys."

While Giants and Jets fans will have decidedly different rooting interests when the teams square off in their preseason game Saturday night, one Jets season-ticket holder is hoping that the Big Blue and Gang Green faithful form a united front before the game in protest of imposed Personal Seat Licenses.

Tom Coughlin, shilling his new book (published by a branch of the ESPN empire) and talking about last season's run to the Super Bowl, was pretty decent in SportsCenter's Sunday conversation.

Star-Ledger PhotoKenny Phillips adds speed and size to the Giants' secondary.

I spent several moments observing what I assumed to be the Giants' linebacking corps huddled up next to the practice field -- until I realized the group was actually the team's secondary. These guys are monsters (only cornerback Sam Madison is under 6 feet), but the most physically impressive of them all is safety Kenny Phillips, the team's first-round pick out of Miami.

Star-Ledger PhotoPlaxico Burress watches from the sidelines during a practice session at the New York Giants football training camp in Albany, N.Y.

The Star-Ledger's Mike Garafolo covered the course of events as they transpired yesterday.

At 11 a.m. Garafolo reports:

WR Plaxico Burress was on the sidelines watching practice this morning. No biggie, right? After all, he was listed on the injury report yesterday as a guy who would practice only once per day. So he must be scheduled to practice this afternoon, right?

Well, maybe not. In fact, even coach Tom Coughlin doesn't seem to know.

The Brett Favre saga -- which does nothing but get stranger and stranger nearly every day -- doesn't appear to be the only headache for the Green Bay Packers this summer.

Running back Ryan Grant, a Giant fifth-stringer this time a year ago but went on to rush for 956 yards and eight touchdowns as the Packers' starter, isn't pleased with how talks with Green Bay executives about a long-term contract are going.

Photo By Andy Mills/The Star-LedgerJeremy Shockey on crutches before Super Bowl XLII.

Fan blog Big Blue View shows its stance on the issue, even offering a small piece of recycling advice:

If you are bumming today because you own a No. 80 New York Giants jersey and you don't know what to do with it, all I can say is 'sorry.' Maybe you can cut it up and use it for rags.

AP PhotoJeremy Shockey to the Saints - beneficial for the Giants?

Giants team President John Mara discusses the buildup to the trade in today's Star-Ledger:

"Jeremy brought great energy to the game every time he stepped on the field," Mara said. "He had a close relationship with my father from the time we drafted him, and I had a couple of long conversations with Jeremy this spring and summer. From those conversations, it was apparent to me that a fresh start was the best thing for us and for Jeremy."

Best Game, Best Play, and Best Upset all go to the NY Giants

Who would think Dallas Cowboy Terrell Owens would hand over a piece of hardware to the conference rival Giants? Or that Eli Manning would actually crack a joke about his offense line?

During last night's airing of the 2008 ESPYs on ESPN hosted by pop icon Justin Timberlake, the Giants received three awards and Manning showed he could dish out jokes as quick as Timberlake dished a few out about him. To make winning an award even sweeter, Owens handed over the "Best Game" ESPY to Manning and the Giants for their win in Super Bowl XLII.

YouTube has clips of two of the three awards won by the Giants:
Best Game
Best Upset

ESPN will re-air the show five times this upcoming week according to TVGuide.com.

In a matter of hours, the Washington Redskins lost a defensive end and gained Jason Taylor.

The Skins acquired the long-time Miami Dolphins Pro Bowl defensive end for two draft picks today, the Associated Press reports.

The deal came only hours after the Redskins lost starting defensive end Phillip Daniels to a season-ending knee injury.

Tim Farrell/The Star-LedgerNew York Giants' Plaxico Burress #17 catches the winning TD pass in the 4th quarter as the New York Giants played the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII at University of Phoenix Stadium. 2/3/08

When Plaxico Burress paid a visit to the Sirius NFL radio studios this week he left a lasting mark on the New England Patriots. Literally.

From ProFootballTalk.com:

Burress defaced an expensive leather chair that celebrates the Patriots' three Super Bowl wins.

Specifically, Burress left his John Hancock on the white leather portion of the backrest, with the inscription "XLII Champs!"

Picture available on ProFootballTalk.com.

Getty ImagesSome Giants fans are up in arms with the newest price for season ticket holders.

For Star-Ledger writer Steve Politi, the feeling was not a pleasant one:

For me, the feeling was sadness. The Giants are selling off a large part of what made them unique. For decades, they were a mom-and-pop shop that just happened to be part of the richest sports league on the planet.

Now fans are expected to pay up to $20,000 for PSLs.

AP PhotoEli Manning is fine in the starting role, but the backups remain in question.

The fight for two of the three remaining roster spots rages on between Anthony Wright, David Carr and Andre Woodson.

The Giants' Plaxico Burress had his share of interviews yesterday in efforts to promote his new book, Giant: The Road to the Super Bowl.

During an interview with WNYC's Leonard Lopate, Burress replied in a positive manner when asked if he'll be at camp on time:

"It's going pretty good. Everything has been positive about it and I'm looking at being at training camp on time on the 24th and I figure that everything, the new contract, will work itself out."

But later in the day, as a guest on ESPN's 'First Take', Burress replied in a somewhat different tone (to a somewhat different question).

His obvious discomfort with the regularity of contract questions is evident in the video that follows...

Getty Images

Note: Mp3 file is approximately 13MB in size.

During the interview Plax discusses his new book, the victory over the Patriots, playing in the NFL, fighting through injuries, his relationship with Tom Coughlin and plenty of other fan fanatic material.

Oh yes - and of course some contract talk.

Star-Ledger PhotoPlax will make a guest appearance at 12:00 on 93.9 WNYC.

From the WNYC website:

NY Giants superstar wide receiver Plaxico Burress talks about life off and on the football field - from the locker room and the huddle, to his battles with serious injuries - and whether winning the 2007 Super Bowl changed him. His new book is Giant: The Road to the Super Bowl.

You can listen live at WNYC.org (links located in the upper-left part of the page).

AP PhotoNew England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady at practice Wednesday.

The New England Patriots are waking up on Super Bowl Sunday to a new round of headlines about the team's alleged secret taping of an opponent's practices.

A team spokesman denied reports in the Boston Herald quoting a source who said the Patriots secretly taped the St. Louis Rams' practice the day before Super Bowl XXXVI six years ago. The Patriots won that Super Bowl, though the Rams were favored.

"The suggestion that the New England Patriots recorded the St. Louis Rams' walk-through on the day before Super Bowl XXXVI is absolutely false," a Patriots spokesman said.

Giants: Champs

Patriots: Perfect

For good or ill, something was missing from the Giants' run to the Super Bowl -- Jeremy Shockey.

Jeremy Shockey

The sometimes pro-bowl tight end fractured his left leg Dec. 16 in the third quarter of a loss to the Redskins at Giants Stadium and soon after the injury had surgery. As per team policy, players on IR do not travel with the team and thus Shockey did not go with the Giants to their playoff stops in Tampa, Dallas or Green Bay, according to a report in the New York Post.

With 11 long days to go before the Super Bowl XLII, what are Giants fans doing with their free time?

Math.

Plenty of Giants and Patriots supporters are killing time crunching numbers in an attempt to glean some insight into the big game.

Paul Bessire at WhatIfSports.com used a computer simulation to play a Giants-Patriots Super Bowl 10,001 times, using a blizzard of statistics from the regular season and the playoffs. He writes:

How desperate are Giants fans for Super Bowl XLII tickets?

Baristanet took an entertaining look at Craigslist, where some North Jersey fans are getting creative in their quest to see their Giants take on the Patriots.

A Randolph dentist is offering a $10,000 "cosmetic smile makeover" for two Super Bowl tickets. Another is offering to finish your garage, complete with "garage cabinetry/floor coatings" in exchange for tickets.