Joe Epstein/The Star-LedgerKareem McKenzie was back at practice Friday.

Star-Ledger Giants beat writer Mike Garafolo gives us an update on the team from Friday's practice:

BOOTHE ANSWERS THE CALL

Kevin Boothe said he "had some moments" in his first career regular-season action at tackle last Sunday against the Seahawks.

Some "moments?" Does he mean his 10-yard holding penalty and his sack allowed, which also resulted in a forced fumble he recovered to somewhat redeem himself?

"Some interesting moments," Boothe said with a laugh.

Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

After watching Boss lay key blocks on Brandon Jacobs' runs of 44 and 38 yards against the Seahawks, I decided to run the numbers again.

Guess what - they're just as impressive. Actually, slightly more:

I'm not sure if LB Antonio Pierce did any running Thursday, but Friday he was out there jogging in the rehab area while the rest of the team practiced. Pierce will not practice Friday, but will continue to do light work for the rest of practice, I assume.

Everybody else was out there working, which means RT Kareem McKenzie (concussion) will practice, though he might be limited. We'll find out later. WR Domenik Hixon (concussion) will probably be limited once again.

Star-Ledger File PhotoDespite his recent suspension, many of his New York Giants teammates are still embracing Plaxico Burress.

I'm sure many of you have seen this report from Profootballtalk.com, which states some players on the Giants "would be happy to chase a second straight Super Bowl title without him."

AP PhotoCleveland DT Corey Williams' words have made it to the Giants bulletin board.

Cleveland didn't get the memo that it's not a great idea to fire up RB Brandon Jacobs -- all 264 pounds of him -- and his offensive line. The words of Browns DT Corey Williams, as reported in a story in The Canton Repository yesterday, have already made it to the Giants' bulletin board.

The view from Dallas?

McKenzie is "much better, he's improved," according to Coughlin, who said about Pierce, "It's just continuing to rehab and to work and see to what extent he has any issue." Pierce said last night he will play against the Browns.

When asked if McKenzie's concussion has anything to do with the migraine headaches he's experienced in the past, Coughlin said, "It's probably one of the reasons they're being very cautious. But I just spoke with him. He feels better."

Giants LB Antonio Pierce was a surprise addition to the injury report today with a quad injury. Though the Giants didn't practice, he was listed as "did not participate." The NFL requires teams to project what would have happened if they had practiced and the Giants were guessing Pierce wouldn't have practiced today.

Since no one was aware of the injury earlier today when Pierce addressed the media on a conference call, no one asked about it and Pierce certainly wasn't about to bring it up. But I caught up with him tonight at SNY's Manhattan studios before he taped his weekly interview. Here's what he told me:

The Giants didn't practice today, but middle linebacker Antonio Pierce is more dinged up than he was 24 hours ago.

Kind of.

Pierce was included on the Giants' injury report, which, under league rules, has to be provided each Wednesday. If teams don't practice -- the Giants didn't yesterday because they aren't playing until Monday night -- they have to provide their best guesses as to which players would have seen themselves held out or limited at practice.

Pierce was listed with a quadricep injury. Others included were RT Kareem McKenzie (concussion), who would not have practiced, and WR Domenik Hixon (concussion) and DE Jerome McDougle (knee) would have been limited.

You know, if the Giants had actually held practice.

Ah, the letter of the law.

Giants LB Antonio Pierce said on a conference call with reporters this morning that WR Plaxico Burress' heart is in the right place and that the Giants have welcomed him back "with open arms" from his two-week suspension for missing team meetings.

"The media can write a million papers the rest of the season about what happened in Week 4 with Plaxico Burress," Pierce said. "But the New York Giants are not going to talk about it."

Scott Lituchy/The Star-LedgerPlax is back.

The Giants announced a few minutes ago they have formally lifted the suspension on their No. 1 wide receiver. To make room on the roster, they waived WR Taye Biddle. They also terminated the practice squad contract of WR John Broussard. It's pretty clear by their waiving Broussard they plan on adding Biddle to the practice squad when he clears waivers tomorrow.

MG

Chris Faytok/The Star-LedgerNo, Moss was not pointing to the press box to tell MG he deserves a game ball. But he got one anyway.

GAME BALLS
*Tom Coughlin and his staff. If you guys were "outplayed and outcoached" in '06 (according to a rambling, irate Jeremy Shockey) then you were inplayed and incoached (or whatever...) on Sunday. Fine job of game planning by the coaches.

*QB Eli Manning. He's now thrown 105 straight passes without an INT this season. (Somebody please check my math because I've been known to screw these types of things up.) From his interception late in Week 17 through the Super Bowl, Manning threw one INT in 127 attempts, including 103 straight without a pick at one point. Add it all up and he's thrown only two picks in his last 232 attempts. Wow. (His career record for consecutive passes without an INT is 124, set in '05 from Weeks 1-6.)

Oh, yeah: the injured guys from yesterday. Sorry, got tied up with Burress stuff.

Coach Tom Coughlin said he hopes to get RT Kareem McKenzie and WR Domenik Hixon back for next Monday's game against the Browns. Both players suffered concussions yesterday.

"They are a little bit improved today and hopefully with the extra day that they will be cleared (to play)," Coughlin said.

Speaking of the extra day, I've decided to push back the game review until tomorrow. The Burress stuff buried me today so I didn't get as much of the tape done as I would have liked. No rush since we have that extra day, so look for it tomorrow.

MG

The fourth and final part of Plaxico Burress' conference call with the media:

(Do you think your teammates have moved on?)
To be honest with you, I have a few guys on the team I'm close to. And when I was suspended, I already knew the guys I was going to talk to or were going to call me and check on me to see how I was doing. And sure as (heck) those people called me. So I know the people that care about me as a person. I knew those people would call me regardless of whatever happened. I know the people that care about me a lot. My job is to go to work and catch footballs Everybody doesn't have to like me. I don't have to be friends with everybody. Everybody has a role to play, everybody has a job to do. My job is to get on the field and catch footballs.

Here's the third part of Plaxico Burress' conference call with the media:

(Worried you're not being a team leader and how this will look?)
I'm not concerned about being a team leader. And I'm really not concerned about the way my teammates look at me as far as me making a decision based on my family. I'm not immune to any situation that goes on in life. People put this football thing like it's ... my family is my first priority. It doesn't matter how people look at me when it comes to football and making decisions based on my life and what's going on in my life as far as my family. I'm always going to (put) them first. That's what people need to understand - football is the best temporary job I'm ever going to have in my life. And my family is going to be there forever. That's what I told them and I'll tell you guys. I haven't lost any sleep over the situation. I feel I made the right decision. I'm still living, I'm still walking around. I'm fine. I'm looking forward to Cleveland next week on Monday night.

Here's the second part of Plaxico Burress' conference call with the media:

(How did your talk with Tom Coughlin go?)
As far as the same page, I know what to expect. We hit and miss sometimes and things like that. We had a conversation today. We talked. I listened. I didn't really have too much to say. We just move on from there and go on to Monday night.

Here's the first part of Plaxico Burress' conference call with the media:

(How does it feel to be back?)
It feels good.

(Emotions?)
They made the decision to suspend me. That was the decision they chose to do. I took it as that. I didn't lose any sleep over it. I got me some rest. I was able to get away for a little while, chill out and relax. Things like that happen. I put it behind me and keep on moving forward and get back to doing what I do - catching footballs and touchdowns, get back to work.

Star-Ledger File Photo

Plaxico Burress said he has "no regrets" about the decision he made to take care of a family issue instead of going to work two Monday's ago.

Tom Coughlin and Plaxico Burress had a sit-down this morning. The details are sketchy, as Coughlin remained true to his stance of not discussing private meetings with players.

But Coughlin indicated Burress arrived focused and prepared to get back to work.

"It all appears he's ready to go," Coughlin said during a conference call minutes ago.

Star-Ledger File Photo

Plaxico Burress is back. And he wasted no time getting there.

I spoke to a couple of people who were at Giants Stadium today and they said Burress was there early this morning and appeared eager to get back to work. Remember what I told you on Friday - the last time he was punished by being docked playing time, Burress was early and focused the following week and it showed on the field in the team's next game.

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerSinorice Moss celebrates his second touchdown of the game against Seattle.

NOTEBOOK

Sinorice Moss was watching Seahawks safety Brian Russell and waiting for him to drift to his right. Moss knew he would, as the Giants had practiced the play all week long. All Moss needed was a pump fake from Eli Manning.

Moss got it. And as expected, Russell moved toward Steve Smith when Manning pumped in that direction.

"Here it goes. It's going to start," Moss said he was thinking. "It's really about to start."

Manning delivered a perfect pass into the area vacated by Russell for Moss' first NFL touchdown, which came three seasons into a career that began when the Giants traded up to select him in the second round of the 2006 draft.

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerEli Manning threw for 267 yards and two touchdowns against the Seahawks.

Antonio Pierce had showered, gotten dressed and done a few minutes of interviews. Including the fourth quarter when he merely watched from the sideline, Pierce was more than an hour removed from his last snap.

But when asked to describe the Giants' 44-6 victory over the Seahawks -- in which 523 yards of total offense contributed to the team's biggest margin of victory in the regular season in 36 years -- Pierce acted like Seattle was still mounting a comeback.

"Stressful," the middle linebacker said. "Guys get lackadaisical and all of a sudden the game is close."

Sometimes that's the way it happens in the NFL -- but not with the way the Giants are playing right now.

K Lawrence Tynes will have to watch John Carney at least one more week. Tynes (knee) is inactive for today's game against the Seahawks. So is CB Sam Madison, who made a key play in overtime against the Bengals two weeks ago. Madison is a healthy scratch.

For the Seahawks, WRs Deion Branch and Bobby Engram are active, as expected. Branch will start.

Here are both teams' inactives:

Getty Images

Burress will remain suspended for Sunday's game, but someone familiar with the terms of the settlement who requested anonymity because the agreement was not to be discussed publicly, confirmed that Burress will be docked only one week's pay (about $117,000 instead of roughly $235,000) and won't lose any roster-bonus money.

In honor of Plax, start stocking up on his favorite treat for next week.

No, I'm not taking the Seahawks lightly. It's just that I couldn't help of think what happened the last time Plaxico Burress was reprimanded with a loss of playing time: Sept. 25, 2005, when he was benched for the first quarter of the game against the Chargers. How did Burress respond? With five catches for 52 yards and a touchdown in quarters 2-4. And the next week, he went off against the Rams for 10 catches, 204 yards and 2 TDs after being diligent in his attendence for meetings and practice the entire week.

After a week of reports and speculation, the Plaxico Burress' situation has been settled.

"The NFLPA and NFL Management Council has reached a settlement in the Plaxico Burress case," NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis wrote in an e-mail this afternoon. "Plaxico will now be able to focus on playing football as a member of the New York Giants. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed."

Someone familiar with the terms of the settlement, who requested anonymity because the agreement was not to be discussed publicly, confirmed Burress will be docked only one week's pay (about $117,000 instead of roughly $235,000) and won't lose any roster-bonus money. He will remain suspended for Sunday's game against the Seahawks.

MG

Rookie WR Mario Manningham is practicing today after being out for the past two practice days with the flu. Manningham was at the hospital yesterday and was undergoing tests to see exactly why he had been vomiting for three days. This morning, he caught a quick screen, turned upfield and followed his blockers without yakking, so that's progress.

The only player on the bikes today was CB Corey Webster and that was only temporary. Webster pedaled for a few minutes before joining the rest of his teammates for the individual portion of practice. Webster's been doing that a lot lately, so I wonder if something's nagging him - something that's not bad enough for him to be listed on the injury report.

MG

Rich Kane/US PresswireFred Robbins reacts to fan noise at Giants Stadium in the preseason -- the team wants more of the same this weekend.

Barry Cofield knew things were bad when Qwest Field became Quiet Field.

It happened in 2006 after the Seahawks scored their sixth touchdown of the game to take a 42-3 lead over the Giants early in the third quarter.

"Their fans stopped making a lot of noise. They felt they were piling on," Cofield, the Giants' third-year defensive tackle, said Wednesday of his third game in the NFL. "When a pack of rabid fans starts to feel bad for you, that's a pretty low point."

Star-Ledger File PhotoNew York Giants fans, how loud can you get Sunday?

Three years ago, the Giants lost in overtime to the Seahawks thanks to Jay Feely and the Qwest Field crowd, which induced the Giants into 11 false starts.

A year later, after allegations of noise being piped into the stadium surfaced (conveniently) the week leading up to the Giants-'Hawks rematch, the crowd was even more raucous in a 42-30 loss that wasn't nearly as close as the final scoreboard looked. (Yep, the Jeremy Shockey "outcoached" game.)

On Sunday, the Giants and their fans have a chance for revenge.

Saed Hindash/The Star-LedgerDanny Ware says the truth about his arrest will come out.

Giants RB Danny Ware, who was arrested over the weekend, said it was extremely difficult for him to call the team and inform them of the situation.

"Yeah, I've never been in trouble in my life, that was my first time having to do that," Ware said today. "It is what it is. We just have to wait and see what happens whenever we go to court."

So the question is, if Ware has never been in trouble, why did this situation suddenly pop up? Well, as I told you the other day, the comments below the story in the Athens paper suggested the arrest played out differently than it was written in the police report. Ware indicated he agrees with that.

Elaine Thompson/Associated PressSeattle should be getting Deion Branch back this weekend in time to face the Giants.

Star-Ledger Giants beat writer Mike Garafolo looks ahead to this weekend's Giants' home game against the Seattle Seahawks:

LOOKING AHEAD

What's wrong with the 1-2 Seahawks? Well, nothing other than the fact they were missing two of their top receivers (Deion Branch and Bobby Engram) heading into the season and then lost two more (Nate Burleson and Logan Payne) for the season in the first two games. Plus, they've been without their starting right tackle Sean Locklear, who missed the first two games and played only two plays in their against the Rams in Week 3.

But Seattle took advantage of an early bye this past weekend and is now expected to get back both Branch and Engram while plugging Locklear back into his starting spot on the right side.

Star-Ledger File PhotoSwelling in kicker Lawrence Tynes' knee continues to be a concern for the New York Giants.

These guys are on the Giants' pre-practice injury report:

*WR Mario Manningham (flu)
*DE Jerome McDougle (knee)
*CB R.W. McQuarters (calf)
*CB Terrell Thomas (hamstring)
*K Lawrence Tynes (knee)

An undocumented online report today mentioned Ahmad Bradshaw was back in jail, drumming up all sorts of banter on a Giants fan site.

Aristide Economopoulos/The Star-LedgerDanny Ware got into trouble following Saturday's Georgia/Alabama game.

On Thursday, Tom Coughlin told the media what he wanted his players to do during the bye week.

"Well, we want them to enjoy themselves, take care of themselves, rest, use good judgment, be careful, and then keep your eye on the weather because we have work to do on Monday," Coughlin said.

According to police in Athens, Ga., RB Danny Ware didn't follow three parts of Coughlin's demands - the parts about taking care of himself, using good judgments and being careful.

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerMathias Kiwanuka got hurt on the final play against the Redskins.

DE Mathias Kiwanuka, who has been playing through the ankle injury he sustained on the final play of the Washington game, said the rest he got during the bye week was a huge help.

"I think what I needed was days to be off it, to stay away from the pounding," he said after Monday's practice. "I definitely felt good going into the Washington game but since then I haven't felt this good."

And updates on other injured players:

Richard Berthelsen, the NFLPA's acting executive director, said in the Giants' locker room Monday that a settlement was being worked on regarding WR Plaxico Burress' appeal of his two-week suspension and that he "thinks everything is pretty much put to bed."

So while he didn't announce outright that a settlement has been reached, Berthelsen indicated that a hearing had been avoided. Over the weekend, it was reported that the team and Burress were close to an agreement which would cut in half Burress' two-week fine of $235,294 for violating team rules.

Berthelsen, who was at the stadium for the election of the Giants' player representatives, added that during the league's involvement in Burress' case, there was no discussion of the personal conduct policy. In other words, the pair of domestic disputes involving Burress that were reported last week haven't factored in to talks.

Just got inside from the practice bubble, where WR Mario Manningham wasn't on the practice field with the team. Definitely don't want to jump to any conclusions -- perhaps he is inside getting treatment -- but it's noteworthy given that he was hoping for more playing time in Plaxico Burress' absence.

(11:20 a.m. update: Manningham has the flu, according to coach Tom Coughlin, who added, "He tried to do everything, but he was sick." Coughlin added that the team thought it better that Manningham wasn't around the rest of the Giants until he feels better.)


Also, DE Jerome McDougle and WR David Tyree were the only two players on the bikes. CB/PR R.W. McQuarters was back receiving punts in the portion of practice we saw.

For those of you, like me, who were waiting for word on a settlement or a grievance being filed in the case of WR Plaxico Burress, it appears we might have to keep waiting until next week. According to NFLPA spokesman Carl Francis, nothing has changed, as the union continues to speak with the Management Council about a possible settlement.

When I asked Francis if this means that's it for the weekend, he said, "Yes, because I haven't heard anything."

We'll see if anything develops, but remember the extra week because of the bye gives everybody a chance to talk a little more and possibly avoid a hearing.

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerPlaxico Burress, left, has said he and Giants coach Tom Coughlin, right, haven't always seen ``eye-to-eye.''

The Giants have begun to cope with the Plaxico Burress suspension -- each in his own way.

Tom Coughlin is done talking about it.

"I have no comments on that at all," the coach said Thursday. "I said all I was going to say about it (on Wednesday), thank you very much."

Justin Tuck is either in denial or he's a visionary.

"You know what? Sometimes distractions are a good thing," the defensive end said. "In this situation, we're just going to rally behind it and play football."

Saed Hindash/The Star-LedgerPlaxico Burress cannot return to the New York Giants until after their game vs. Seattle.

Already, the Giants' players have begun to spin a distraction into a positive. In fact, LB Antonio Pierce believes the situation will even fire up the player involved: Plaxico Burress.

"He's excited to be coming back," Pierce said today after speaking with Burress. "When he gets back he's going to be practicing full-throttle and going out there and catching balls for us."

Pierce is also trying to diffuse the situation by saying Burress' suspension is "an injury; we just don't know what kind."

Andrew Mills/The Star-LedgerTom Coughlin and Plaxico Burress shared a more positive moment three weeks ago, shaking hands before the season opener.

"Plax is Plax. He does what he wants," Smith said Wednesday. "We don't see him a lot."

Well, now they won't be seeing him for another 11 days because Burress has been suspended by the team until Oct. 6 for what they termed a "violation of team rules." That violation was skipping out on team meetings -- the second time he has done that in his four seasons with the Giants -- and not returning phone calls as the team tried to figure out where he was.

More from The Star-Ledger: Giants see Hixon in Burress' role

The Plaxico Burress situation just took a turn toward the serious.

According to a report on NorthJersey.com, Burress was involved in a pair of domestic disputes with his wife, Tiffany - one on June 2 and another on Aug. 19. The report states Tiffany Burress called police in June and told them Plaxico had grabbed her. The Giants' receiver apparently said his wife had hit him. The report states Tiffany Burress received a temporary restraining order against her husband.

The August incident reportedly began when Tiffany left Plaxico at a club in New York and when he returned home he started playing loud music.

It's not clear if any of this has to do with why Burress was not at the facility on Monday. More on this to come.

MG

Plaxico Burress hasn't yet spoken about what happened on Monday that led to his suspension. So the next best thing we can do to figure out how Burress fell out of contact with the team is to check with, well, Burress.

For that, we go to his book, "Giant: The Road to the Super Bowl." In there is an interesting little passage about a fine Burress received in 2006 when he skipped a morning meeting to attend his wife's ultrasound after scheduling it on a day he thought the Giants would be off. Here's the passage:

With wide receiver Plaxico Burress suspended from team activities until Oct. 6, the day after the Giants host Seattle, the team has filled his roster spot with practice squad WR Taye Biddle.

Biddle was originally signed by the Panthers as a rookie free agent out of Ole Miss in 2006. He spent the 2006 season with Carolina, first on the practice squad then later on the active roster, and has also been with Tampa Bay and Detroit.

Also, WR John Broussard and tight end Martrez Milner were added to the practice squad Wednesday, and the practice squad contract of TE Eric Butler was terminated.

In a conference call with local media, Drew Rosenhaus, the agent for WR Plaxico Burress, shed at least some light on why his client didn't attend team meetings on Monday.

"It's a private matter and it has to do with Plax and his family. He had some responsibilities he had to take care of as it relates to his family," Rosenhaus said. "The most unfortunate thing here is there was a lack of communication. In talking to Plax, he feels bad about that, obviously, and it's something we can't do anything about now."

Well, not exactly.

Rich Kane/US PresswireCould Domenik Hixon be the one to take over for Plaxico Burress?

With Plaxico Burress out of action, you would think the No. 3 receiver would just pop into his spot and away the Giants would go.

But that guy is Steve Smith, who's quickly becoming an outstanding slot guy who can work the middle of the field. To me, the Giants would probably want a guy who can work the edges of the field to play that "X" receiver spot.

That guy is Domenik Hixon.

Scott Lituchy/The Star-LedgerPlaxico Burress caught three passes for 45 yards in the Giants' 26-23 victory over the Bengals Sunday.

Not since 2005 had Plaxico Burress been reprimanded on the field for violating team rules.

Until Wednesday morning.

The Giants announced they have suspended Burress for the Oct. 5 game against the Seahawks for violating team rules. FOXSports.com is reporting it's because Burress was not around on Monday and didn't respond to phone calls.

Jenny Vrentas/The Star-LedgerEli Manning poses with his wax figure. The real Eli is on the left.

NEW YORK -- At 5 p.m. Tuesday, in front of Madame Tussauds on 42nd street, a black curtain was dropped to reveal Giants quarterback Eli Manning and his 6-foot-4 wax replica.

Standing in the same pose as his figure -- with a football resting on his right thigh -- Manning politely smiled for spectators and TV cameras as he became the first Giants player to have a likeness in the wax museum.

"Obviously, when we talk about what figures to make, he's on the top of any list of that sort," said Amanita Duga-Carroll, a spokesperson for Madame Tussauds. "You can't get a bigger New York hero."