In a weeklong series, The Post is looking at alternate realities in New York sports. Today’s edition looked at whether the Giants would have won a second straight Bowl if wide receiver Plaxico Burress didn’t shoot himself in 2008. Two-time Super Bowl champion Chris Snee still feels an opportunity was missed that season.
This new life — home, and under quarantine — does unusual things to people.
It was in this constricting environment Chris Snee not long ago sent his former Giants teammate Kevin Boothe a text message.
“I’m watching it,’’ Snee wrote.
This was around 10:30 one evening and Boothe was aghast.
“Why would you do that to yourself?’’ Boothe shot back.
Snee’s response: “Well, I’ve never done it, I got to do it and now I’m more irritated.’’
Snee told The Post he “had not gotten the courage’’ to review the events of Jan. 11, 2009, until recently, when amid his home lockdown with his family he reviewed the entire 2008 season, game by game, a sort of catharsis 12 years in the making.
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As the Pro Bowl left guard, Snee saw the Giants start 11-1 but lose their mojo after Plaxico Burress accidentally shot himself in the leg. Without their top playmaking wide receiver, the Giants lost three of their last four regular-season games then got beat, at home, 23-11 by the Eagles in an NFC playoff game.
The Giants outgained the Eagles in yards (307-276) but never scored a touchdown in that game and turned the ball over three times.
“That game as it flowed, we moved the ball early on, we just didn’t have that green-zone/red-zone threat,’’ Snee said. “We had so many drives stall, which I didn’t realize, because I never went back to watch it, so I was more irritated after I watched that game.’’
Had Burress not been removed, literally from a self-inflicted wound that led to his incarceration, Snee has no doubt how history would have played out.
“We were on all cylinders,’’ Snee said. “Eli [Manning] was playing fantastic, we could run on anybody. To have somebody like Plaxico to go downfield, we weren’t getting beat. We weren’t.
“It still haunts me. You only get so many years to play this game and you want to win as much as possible. Listen, if we were a bad team and that happens, it happens. We were a damn good football team. I just didn’t see anyone beating us.’’