Well wouldn't this change everything? Mike Garafolo of the Newark Star-Ledger says that several Giants players have expressed optimism about Plaxico Burress' legal situation.
Most recently, Osi Umenyiora says he's been talking to some law-enforcement people and they all believe that he'll get something like five years probation because he has no gun priors. Garafolo says he's been hearing this too. While he's not officially reporting this, these are the whispers making the rounds.
My understanding of the law (and I have a degree in Television Production from Boston University so I think that also makes me a legal expert) was that it was a mandatory 3.5 years in prison. NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said that he wanted Plaxico prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. So, one would think based on the evidence (hole in the leg) and the fact that he had no permit to carry the gun, that he would thus be in jail for the mandatory amount of time.
If Plaxico can play in 2009 (and there's not guarantee of that. Probation means you have to keep your nose clean and he struggles to do that for five-minute periods of time, let alone five years), it changes quite a bit in the NFC East. The Giants would no longer have to make a strong push for a high-end wide receiver and it might force the Eagles to get one of their own. When Plaxico plays, Jim Johnson sweats. He changes everything the Eagles have to do to stop their offense.
There is no certainty that he will avoid jail time and I personally thought there was no way he could. But I'm sure there are more than a few government workers in NYC that are Giants fans.
