Around New York we've become pretty used to the Giants winning football games. So when they lose, as they did Sunday, it naturally lets the lions out of their cages in a hunt for answers of why. Dropped passes seemed like a pretty big reason, so did the recurrence of Brandon Jacobs' injury and a better than decent Eagles team that can't afford to lose again this season.
Nowhere on that list is Antonio Pierce's Friday discussion with police about the Plaxico Burress shooting. If Pierce was going to have a game where he was distracted by off-field issues, it would stand to reason this would be the one. Except he practiced all week and his chat with police either set up grand jury testimony or gave them all they need to know. Whichever way it plays out, it is highly unlikely that he'll be charged with a crime. If he is, it won't play out until after the season and any supplementary discipline would probably wait as well.
Gary Myers of the Daily News saw it differently, however. To Myers, Brian Westbrook's two touchdowns were both a direct result of Pierce's visit to the Latin Quarter with Burress, as were the two penalties he picked up later in the game. Anyone who has seen Westbrook tear up countless NFL defenses will be surprised to learn that all of those teams must have had players in legal hot water as well.
It's ludicrous to think that the Eagles devised a game plan with the sole intent of isolating Pierce because his head might not have been in the game. It's a sign that this Giant winning streak has been very difficult on those who feel the need to look beyond what happens on the field when they want to talk about football. If anyone looked distracted on Sunday, it was the Giant receivers who looked like they forgot how to catch the ball. Pierce just got beat.
