Steve Silverman

The New York Giants have the best team in football.

Maybe not the most talented, but they are the most focused when Sunday rolls around. They have an extraordinary makeup that allows them to put aside distractions and play consistently.

This was proven over the weekend. After Plaxico Burress allegedly shot himself in the leg while out clubbing in New York, the Giants withstood the distraction by beating division rival Washington, 23-7. Burress was trying to act cool, but came off as a fool.

Athletes and guns. Guns and athletes. They don’t mix. But Burress had to find out for himself.  Burress was not going to play against the Redskins anyway because of a hamstring injury. The injury prevented Burress from running and jumping, but didn't prevent him from making a foolish mistake.

Burress has a gift for making the big catch in clutch situations. But his talent can only take him so far. That talent has allowed the Giants to overlook previous errors in judgment — notably being late or missing roughly 40 team meetings in the last two seasons — but they should no longer tolerate such selfish and stupid behavior.

Even if the Giants don’t cut him loose New York City and state authorities are going after Burress. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has said the last thing the city of New York would do is give Burress a pass. Burress has already pleaded not guilty to charges. This entanglement with the legal system is just beginning.

The Giants, on the other hand, may want the whole mess to be over quickly. They lasted one weekend with the Burress mess hanging over their heads. It's too much to ask the players and coaches to cope with Burress the rest of the season.

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This is a team that has much greater designs than beating a rival and winning the division. This team wants to defend its Super Bowl title. In order to get there, they have to rid themselves of the distraction. If it means taking a huge salary cap hit next season because of Burress' new $35 million contract extension, so be it.

Giant coach Tom Coughlin has always stood for doing things the right way. He has become less intense and a coach who responds to players' needs. But the thought of the self-centered and foolish Burress returning to the Giants has to make him sick. Coughlin has already talked about the Giants’ next task at hand — playing Philadelphia Sunday at home.

The game will be a relief for the Giants. Rather than fielding questions about the game, they're fending off reporters asking about Burress.

TMZ.com chased current and former Giants around Washington Saturday night. TruTV had a camera crew at FedEx field. They weren’t there to talk about the Giants’ offensive line.

The Giants will win without Burress. Eli Manning is the offensive leader and showed he didn't miss Burress vs. Washington. He completed passes to six different receivers. Amani Toomer showed he can be the No. 1 receiver (five receptions for 85 yards against the Redskins), and Domenik Hixon can be a capable No. 2 (five receptions for 71 yards).

Will there come a time when Manning needs a 6-5, 232-pound receiver like Burress? Perhaps. After all, Burress did catch the game-winning touchdown in Super Bowl XLII against the Patriots. But New York's 11-1 record shows it hasn't missed Burress.

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Other teams will want Burress' services, though. He'll be desired by desperate franchises, eager to have a go-to receiver — even if that receiver is only about himself.

That sounds like Cincinnati Bengals material.

Owner Mike Brown says he's trying to rid his team of distractions and me-first players. But the Bengals' roster still has plenty of those players. Odds are, Burress will be a Bengal in 2009.

The Giants need to realize they can’t save Burress from himself. It’s time to cut all ties and move on.

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