FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Plaxico Burress has made some amazing catches. And this amazing statement: His Giants may have better receivers than the Patriots’ group of Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Donte’ Stallworth and Jabar Gaffney.
The response from New England? No laughter, no putdowns. Just check out what happens on the field.
“The good thing about the National Football League and I think in life, you have opportunities,” Patriots safety Rodney Harrison said, “an opportunity to make sure that comes to light. So we’ll see.”
The advantage at wide receiver belongs to New England as it prepares for the Super Bowl against New York next Sunday in Glendale, Ariz.
Moss set an NFL season record with 23 touchdown catches, one more than Jerry Rice. Welker tied for the league lead with 112 receptions. Stallworth made catches that gained at least 30 yards in seven of the Patriots’ 18 games. And Gaffney scored six TDs.
By comparison, the Giants’ production falls short. Burress was outstanding with 70 catches for 1,025 yards and 12 TDs. Amani Toomer was solid, catching 59 passes for 760 yards and three scores. After that, the numbers fall off.
The tight end matchup is more even. New York’s Jeremy Shockey caught 57 passes for 619 yards and three TDs, but he was sidelined for the season after 11 games.
New England’s Benjamin Watson had only 36 catches for 389 yards in the regular season, but six went for touchdowns.
The Giants’ Burress, though, is confident — no matter what the numbers say.
“We have guys that can go out and do things just as well or maybe better than some of those guys,” he said last week.
Tom Brady and his receivers were the main reasons New England set an NFL season scoring record with 589 points. New York scored 373.
The Patriots also led the NFL with 295.7 yards passing per game. The Giants averaged 197.1 yards, ranking way back at 21st in the 32-team league.
“It’s not about catches and stats,” Harrison said. “It’s all about winning.”
