The Player of the week

PHOENIX -- One way or another, Plaxico Burress has found a way to be the center of attention this week.

The New York Giants receiver started with his mouth, making headlines by predicting that his team would upset the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

“I’ve always been a confident player,” he said. “And I’ll always be that way.”

Now he is making news with his injured ankle and knee, which caused him to miss a second day of practice on Thursday. And that could be a much bigger deal.

Burress has been labeled a loudmouth and too temperamental. Critics have questioned his work ethic.

But no one can question his raw talent, and the Giants desperately need him on Sunday.

A rangy 6-foot-5 1/2 , he played a huge role in getting his team this far, dominating Green Bay Packers cornerback Al Harris -- a Pro Bowl selection -- to the tune of 11 catches for 151 yards in the NFC title game.

His height and reported 7-foot wingspan could be particularly significant against Patriots cornerbacks Ellis Hobbs and Asante Samuel, who stand 5-9 and 5-10. Hobbs gave up a 52-yard catch to Burress when the teams met in December.

“He is so tall, so big,” Hobbs said. “Now you add into the equation his jumping ability, his body position, things like that, and you have to play with more technique. . . . You can’t make mistakes on guys like that.”

Burress caught four passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns in that game, a razor-thin New England victory. Those numbers contributed to a regular-season total of 70 catches for 1,025 yards.

In three playoff games, he has 16 catches for 194 yards. But this week, his football accomplishments have been overshadowed.

The prediction was made offhandedly, Burress suggesting his team would win, 23-17. The media quickly made it a national story with much criticism directed at the source, a curious development given that reporters constantly goad players to speak freely and colorfully.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady laughed it off.

“We’re only going to score 17 points?” Brady asked. “OK. Is Plax playing defense?”

The Giants’ tight-laced coach, Tom Coughlin, did not seem as amused, saying: “I will speak with Plaxico in a private way.”

Things have not always gone smoothly between Burress and his team.

The former first-round pick came to New York from Pittsburgh as a free agent in 2005 amid rumblings that the Steelers had tired of his attitude and inconsistent work ethic.

When the Giants lost, 23-0, to Carolina in the playoffs that season, Burress skipped a team meeting, was fined by Coughlin, then reportedly chose to remain in Florida rather than attend off-season workouts in New York.

During a 2006 loss to Tennessee, Burress eased up on an overthrown pass and failed to tackle a defender who intercepted the ball. Teammate Michael Strahan called him out on a radio show.

“You can’t quit because you’re not quitting on yourself, you’re quitting on us,” Strahan reportedly said. And later: “He’s too great of a player to have people look at him and think, ‘Oh he’s a quitter.’ ”

Burress, who was stung by the comments, can be equally unpredictable in the locker room.

“He’s definitely moody,” fellow receiver Steve Smith said. “Some days he’ll give you a one-word answer on everything you ask him. Sometimes he has so much energy and he’s fun-loving.”

But this season has brought a significant development -- Smith and others say Burress never varies in his effort. Even Strahan now says: “I’m temperamental, too. We’re all temperamental.”

Burress acknowledges that he has changed.

“Just grown up,” he said. “You have birthdays every year, and everybody gets a little older.”

People close to him point to a specific birthday -- the arrival of a first child. Burress speaks often of his son, Elijah, and showed up late for a news conference this week because he was spending time with the boy.

For whatever reason, this season he showed the maturity to play through pain, battling a chronic right ankle injury suffered in training camp. It turns out he was also having problems with his left knee.

Several times, Burress played on Sunday after skipping all or most of practice the week before.

Still, he served as an explosive counterpoint to veteran Amani Toomer and Smith, the emerging rookie. His best performances came in big games against the likes of Dallas, Philadelphia and Green Bay.

“He’s done great things for this team,” Toomer said.

Earlier this week, Burress insisted that he felt “97%” healthy, but it now appears that his nagging injuries might be catching up to him.

After not practicing Wednesday, he told reporters he was eager to get back on the field. On Thursday, he stopped after only a few minutes and spent the rest of the workout getting treatment for his knee.

“It’s a matter of how fast the swelling goes down so he can deal with it,” Coughlin told a pool reporter.

Which raises the possibility that the Giants might have to face the heavily favored Patriots with their big-play weapon standing on the sideline.

That would be the kind of news Burress does not want to make.

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david.wharton@latimes.com