Pierce Must Snitch

By PATRICE EVANS

Updated 12:09 PM EST, Sat, Dec 6, 2008

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The latest on Plaxico-Gate has turned up many puzzling new turns, but the long and short of it is threefold: 1. Plaxico Burress had a gun, with no permit. That's illegal. 2. Many folks conspired to hide the crime, which may or may not be understandable. 3. Pierce is the guy whose testimony makes or breaks the case, and that's kind of sad.

Having to rat out a friend, even if it's the right thing to do, is not an enviable task. No one wants to be a snitch. No one wants to put someone you care about behind bars. But in the case of the Giants, it might as well be the middle linebacker.

They say middle linebackers are a special breed, a unique alchemy of studied intelligence and raw animal instincts. From Ray Lewis to Dick Butkus to current 49ers despot Mike Singletary, the middle linebacker position has provided some of the great NFL personalities.

Antonio Pierce may not be of that legendary caliber, but he is one of the best in the game today, and the heart and soul of these champion New York Giants. While many find the nature of Eli Manning’s laid-back leadership lacking, Pierce has long been the quintessential stand-up man in the locker room. Speaking his mind, and always with the right message.

Somehow a man of Pierce's stature and character seems like the perfect choice for this awkward and incredibly distracting drama. If Sinorice Moss were with Burress that night he'd have already pulled both his hamstrings and be a crying sniveling mess in front of the media, or at least that's the consensus opinion until he starts making some plays.

In any event, Pierce has to rat on Plax, and it feels sort of like that scene in war movies where the two buddies are running from the enemy and one gets shot in the, uh, hamstring and his buddy wants to save him, but for the greater good of winning the war he has to leave him behind-- to die. That's Pierce and Plaxico right now. And it's a bit of a tear-jerker, but it also a job that has to be done; because it's the law, and also because, as Josh explained earlier, Pierce is more important than Plax.

For Antonio, though. it's just another part of why middle linebacker is the toughest position on the field to play.