FanHouse Antonio Pierce

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Man, you really gotta love that NFC East. Up here in the swamps of Jersey on Sunday, the Giants played as little fourth-quarter defense as possible but still pulled out a 34-31 overtime victory over a Falcons team that refused to play any defense all day. Meanwhile, back in Texas, the Cowboys waited until the last possible second to show up and beat the Redskins. Some kind of inspiring day for the teams at the top of a division that was supposed to rank among the NFL's best. And while the Giants' players and coaches said all the right things here (a win is a win, after all, and they hadn't had one in a month and a half), the most insightful thing anybody said came out of the mouth of defensive end Justin Tuck.

"We got the win and that's great," Tuck said. "But I don't like how we finished this game at all."

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce is out indefinitely after an MRI exam on Friday surprisingly revealed a bulging disk in his neck.

The Giants said their defensive captain underwent the test in New York and was examined by team physician Dr. Russell Warren and Dr. Frank Camissa, chief of the spinal surgical services at the Hospital for Special Surgery.

The 31-year-old Pierce originally sustained a burner when the Giants played Arizona on Oct. 25. He had very little discomfort until practice this week, when the club's medical staff scheduled the MRI exam.

After the Giants rolled Oakland 44-7 in Week 5, New York linebacker Antonio Pierce spoke rather candidly about the easy victory, saying that the game felt like a "scrimmage" and that "there was no vibe of trying or effort from the Raiders at all from a defensive standpoint."

Not surprisingly, Pierce's comments didn't sit well with the Raiders -- particularly Oakland defensive end Richard Seymour, who enjoyed a little schadenfreude after New Orleans pummeled the Giants in Week 6.

Week 5's Raiders-Giants game may go down as the biggest mismatch of the entire NFL season. New York led 28-0 without breaking a sweat and cruised to a 44-7 victory against an absolutely pitiful Oakland squad.

And if it looked easy for the Giants -- well, that's because it was. Linebacker Antonio Pierce told Fox Sports' Alex Marvez that last Sunday's game felt like a "scrimmage".

"I do not like knocking teams. But right now, they're struggling. We're playing that game the other day and, honestly, it felt like a scrimmage, like a practice," Pierce said. "It felt like we were going against our offense [in a controlled setting] as far as the tempo."

NEW YORK (AP) -- Former Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress tearfully told his family goodbye as he was led away to prison Tuesday after being sentenced to two years on a weapons charge.

Burress was so soft-spoken during his apologetic courtroom address that onlookers could not understand him.

Burress, at the time a star receiver with the New York Giants, was at the Latin Quarter nightclub in Manhattan last November when a gun tucked into his waistband slipped down his leg and fired, wounding him in the thigh.

Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. " We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

In 2007, the New York Giants found a way to peak at the right time. After barely making the playoffs, Eli Manning led his charges on an amazing ride, one that included three straight road wins and an upset of the previously unbeaten Patriots in the Super Bowl. 2008 wasn't so great for the Giants. A nightclub shooting took out their best receiver, crippled the passing game, and left the team vulnerable for the Philadelphia Eagles, who ended their season in the NFC Divisional Playoff.

NEW YORK -- Beyond their occupation and celebrity lifestyles and physical similarities, Plaxico Burress and Donte' Stallworth really don't belong in the same sentence. They committed different crimes in different states, and if both men are lucky enough to ever again play in the NFL, it will be interesting to see how the league skirts the pesky issue of convicted felons associating with other felons.

Until then, enough with the clueless comparisons between Stallworth's light sentence in Florida for committing vehicular manslaughter while drunk and Burress' heavy plea agreement for criminal possession of a weapon in New York. Just because Florida officials allow wads of cash to buy leniency, that's no reason other states can't legislate their own version of justice.

New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce did not speak publicly about his grand jury testimony in the Plaxico Burress gun case when he arrived at training camp. An ESPN report cited a source that expressed optimism that he would not be indicted, though no one could be sure.

It turns out Pierce was correct. A grand jury has declined to indict Pierce on gun charges. Burress (pictured above leaving criminal court last week) was not so lucky. He will be indicted on felony weapons charges after a November 2008 incident at a nightclub where Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg.

In another sign that the New York Giants are still dealing with distractions related to Plaxico Burress even after cutting the wide receiver, a report out Monday says that linebacker Antonio Pierce wasn't the only member of the organization who testified before the grand jury investigating Burress.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- Releasing troubled Super Bowl hero Plaxico Burress about four months ago didn't rid the New York Giants of the controversy associated with his shooting.

The gun possession case against Burress continued to haunt the Giants on Sunday as coaches and players reported to training camp at the University at Albany and expressed concern about what the future might hold for middle linebacker Antonio Pierce.