Plaxico Burress May Not Play In Super Bowl See What Other Giants Are Hurt

There is no guarantee New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress will play in the Super Bowl.

Ankle and knee problems caused Burress to miss his third straight practice Friday, leaving coach Tom Coughlin hoping his star receiver can continue his yearlong trend of playing every week without the benefit of working with his teammates.



"He's improved," Coughlin said after the Giants finished their final practice for Sunday's NFL title game against the New England Patriots. "He's done it all year under all kinds of circumstances. We've just got to be hopeful he can do it one more time."

While Burress did not practice because of a sprained right ankle and swelling in his left knee, he did participate in part of the individual portion of the 80-minute practice at the Arizona Cardinals' headquarters.

Burress, who guaranteed a 23-17 win over the Patriots earlier in the week, stretched and loosened up with his teammates. The 6-foot-5 veteran who led the team with 12 touchdown catches, ran a few routes in drills to test his legs, the first time he has done that this week.

"He ran a couple of slants," Coughlin said. "He took a play in the `green' zone and that was about all we did with him." Burress stood on the side during the team portion of practice holding his helmet.

"Obviously, if we felt he could go, he would have gone the whole time," Coughlin said


Defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who had 13 of the Giants' league-high 52 sacks, missed Friday's practice with a sore thigh. He is listed as probable.

Starting left guard Rich Seubert and backup cornerback Kevin Dockery each had his second full day of practice.

Seubert sprained his right knee in the fourth quarter of the NFC title game. Dockery missed the last two playoff games with a hip injury.

Coughlin felt the team was enthusiastic in three days of work in Phoenix.

"It was a good solid work week," he said. "We talked about coming over here and having a solid six hours together. We had that each day we worked."

The Giants will have a walkthrough here on Saturday.