Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Plaxico Burress is ecstatic to be back for another season with the team that drafted him, and he thinks he knows how he can help the team in 2013 in addition.
“I know I can still play, I know I can dominate in the red zone,” Burress said, via a Sunday morning report by Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Burress, who will turn 36 in August, detailed how he must go about doing just that “Just go out and play at a high percentage. In those one-on-one opportunities, just succeed at a high rate. I know I can. Being out there last year, I drew double coverage in the red zone without hardly playing, I think teams will have to respect that.”
While being a red zone threat is fine and good, the Steelers will likely need Burress to be much more than that in 2013 if he\’s going to make the roster as a fourth or fifth wide receiver, as he doesn\’t play on special teams, and he isn\’t necessarily known to be a clutch third down receiver either.
As far as his red zone numbers go, dating back to 2005, his first year with the New York Giants, Burress has been feast or famine when it comes to his work inside the red zone. Over that span of time, Burress has a pretty lousy catch percentage of 44.21% on balls thrown his way inside the red zone. However, of the 42 balls that he has caught during that span, 26 (61.9%) have gone for touchdowns.
While Burress certainly has no guarantees that he will make the Steelers 53 man roster out of training camp, he certainly seems to continue to have the right attitude even after catching just three passes for 42 yards and one touchdown last season in limited playing time.
“I don\’t know what my role is going to be,\’\’ Burress said. “I don\’t count numbers. You don\’t know what will happen on the injury front. Just stay ready. I\’m not just learning just one position, I\’m learning all three. Whatever happens, I have to be ready to run routes and make plays.”
