SIRIUS SLAM: RICE RIPS BURRESS
By STEVE SERBY
June 17, 2006 -- Jerry Rice thinks Plaxico Burress dropped the ball.
On the "Afternoon Blitz" on Sirius NFL Radio, the future Hall of Fame wide receiver ripped Burress for saying he did not regret blowing off the exit meeting the day after the Giants' humiliating playoff loss to the Panthers.
"How can you say that?" Rice said. "Yes, it was a devastating loss, but you lose as a team. You show up the next day, you show up as a team no matter what to show your loyalty. How can he not regret that?
"After losing a game of that magnitude, for him not to show up at the last team meeting? I'm sorry, Plaxico, that doesn't go that far with me. If you're going to be a complete player you've got to be a leader and, even when things don't go right, you've still got to be a professional. You've got to show up and you've got to let the younger guys know this is the way we do things around here. I don't know where he's coming from, but I was very surprised by that."
Rice added that Burress hasn't done himself or quarterback Eli Manning any favors by working out in Miami (with Jeremy Shockey).
