Eli's success rests in Burress', Toomer's hands
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — In the seconds following each New York Giants snap, receivers Amani Toomer and Plaxico Burress are going to play an intense game with Al Harris and Charles Woodson that might decide the NFC championship.
Burress calls it hand-to-hand fighting. Toomer thinks it's a little more cerebral. Harris and Woodson say it's the press technique at its finest, while Giants offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride says the defense that the Green Bay Packers cornerbacks play borders on the illegal.
"They grab and hold, and they're going to be up on the bump-and-run, and they're going to test the legality of illegal contact on each and every play," Gilbride said. "Our players know that; they know that's part of the game. We have to do everything we can to not let that be a factor that affects us negatively, and hopefully we'll get some calls."
Toomer and Burress are veterans and are used to the tactics. They faced Harris and Woodson earlier this season in the Packers' 35-13 win at Giants Stadium.
Burress, the ex-Steeler who has been bothered by a sprained ankle all season, had two catches for 32 yards and a touchdown in a game in which he reinjured the ankle.
Toomer had two catches for 48 yards. Manning, who had sprained his shoulder in the season opener the previous week, finished 16-for-29 for 211 yards, the TD and an interception.
In that first matchup, Harris followed Burress everywhere.
"Al has extremely long arms. I do, too," said Burress, who led the team with 70 catches and a career-high 12 touchdown catches. "When the ball gets hiked, it's almost like who can get whose hand on who faster. It's that type of game, trying to get guys' hands off you so you can get into your routes. It's going to be a battle."
While there is a lot of pawing at the line of scrimmage, Toomer said patience is just as important. He will line up most of the time against Woodson, a former teammate at Michigan.
"You have to figure out what he is trying to take away," Toomer said. "Once you figure out what he is trying to take away, then you can figure how to attack it. Sometimes, they line up on the inside and take away the outside and then they do it the other way. It's like a mini-chess match getting off the line of scrimmage."
