By Dennis Waszak Jr., Associated Press

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Plaxico Burress had some of his most memorable moments with the New York Giants. From his Super Bowl-winning catch to his clashes with Tom Coughlin, there’s plenty of history there.

Now a member of the Jets, Burress is on the other side of the New York-area rivalry, with lots on the line Saturday for both teams. And the wide receiver intends to have a big game against his former teammates.

He says Wednesday that he wants to score “once, twice, maybe three or four times” on Saturday and is “going to go out and try to play lights-out football.”

Burress adds a bit of a playful prediction, saying that the loser of the game will “wake up with a bittersweet Christmas, and it’s not going to be me.”

As he has had to do seemingly all season, New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin spent much of his Wednesday session with the media discussing the long list of injured players on the team’s roster.

- The most troublesome position right now is tight end, with all three of the team’s tight ends battling injury. Starter Jake Ballard (knee) did not practice Wednesday and likely will not play against the New York Jets on Saturday. Bear Pascoe (ribs) and Travis Beckum (chest) did practice and Coughlin said the team would monitor them before deciding on whether to sign another tight end.

- Linebacker Mark Herzlich (ankle) is running on a treadmill, but not practicing.

- Center David Baas (neck) is practicing, but Coughlin would not commit to re-inserting him into the starting lineup. He said “we’ll see how that works out” when asked if he would leave Kevin Boothe at center and Mitch Petrus at guard.

- Wide receiver Mario Manninghan (knee) and defensive end Osi Umenyiora (ankle) did not practice. Devin Thomas (burner) and Derrick Martin (back) did practice.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — New York Giants defensive coordinator Perry Fewell would neither deny nor confirm that he has instructed his players to fake injuries to slow down an opposing offense.

The St. Louis Rams accused the Giants, particularly safety Deon Grant, of feigning injuries on Monday night to slow down their offense after New York beat St. Louis 28-16 on Monday night.

The Rams seemed miffed that Grant went down with an alleged injury to his right knee late in the first quarter after the Cadillac Williams gained eight yards to the New York 7-yard line.

After the injury on first down, the Rams had to settle for a field goal.

Grant denied faking an injury on Wednesday.

“I can’t say I’ve ever done that and I can’t say that I haven’t done that,” Fewell said Thursday when whether he told players to fake injuries. “I know that the young man was down and I was glad when he got up and he was able to play. If the guy can’t play to his full potential and he was hurt, then he was hurt. I can’t say I did and I can’t say I’ve never done that.

“I’m not going to go back and forth.”

The NFL sent a memo Wednesday to all 32 teams on Wednesday warning of fines, suspensions and loss of draft picks if the league determines players faked injuries during a game.

Several players later admitted its an accepted practice, and some coaches hinted they are not above condoning phony injuries if it provides a competitive edge.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

There’s one person who’s absolutely sure Michael Vick will start at quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles in Sunday’s home opener against the New York Giants.

“I feel Vick will start,” said Giants’ coach Tom Coughlin on a conference call with Philadelphia reporters Wednesday. “We’ll prepare the best we can.”

Andy Reid — who can’t be as sure as Coughlin with Vick sidelined by a concussion — would concur with Coughlin’s second statement.

“I’m worried about getting the base personnel situated today and the game plan part of that taken care of,” Reid said. “So that’s what we’re doing on both sides of the football … and then we’ll take it day-by-day. Like I said, I’m fortunate to have three guys that I know can go in games, and win football games, and that I feel comfortable with, and that the team feels comfortable with.”

While a “team source” told ESPN Wednesday that the Eagles were confident they would have Vick for Sunday, Reid and Eagles’ head athletic trainer Rick Burkholder offered no such on-the-record certainty in a press conference.

“The situation with everything that’s going on with concussions right now is that we’ve tried to take testing, and everything that we know about it and make it very objective, so that makes it easier,” Burkholder said. “I’m going to tell you right now, and coach knows this, I’m not real worried about him playing right now, I’m worried about the process that he’s going through, and as we go through each step I’ll report to the people that need to know, and then we’ll make a decision.”

The process, mandated by the NFL, requires a series of tests on Vick and an evaluation by an independent neurologist (the league has selected one in each NFL city). The tests include both cognitive and exertion functions, and Burkholder said that while Vick was “very, very close to what his baseline is” on the cognitive test the trainer would “just want him to do a little bit better on it.”

Burkholder also made it clear that recovery from a concussion such as Vick suffered in Sunday night’s 35-31 loss to the Atlanta Falcons does not always proceed in a straight line.

“There’s guys that get to certain points and then have a setback, and there’s people who sail through it, so you can’t predict. We’re not trying to hide anything, we can’t predict, it’s not fair,” said Burkholder, who said Vick could see the neurologist Wednesday or Thursday. “Just because he doesn’t have symptoms today doesn’t mean he doesn’t wake up without symptoms tomorrow.”

Reid expressed complete confidence in reserves Vince Young and Mike Kafka, though he dodged questions about Young’s health; he suffered a hamstring injury Sept. 1 against the Jets in the final preseason game.

“We’re just going to see how he does here this week, see how he feels, continuing going through that process with him,” Reid said.

As for Kafka, who took most of the snaps with the first unit Wednesday, he said he’s ready.

“Since I got here, you have to prepare the same way and it’s been that way since day one,” Kafka told reporters Wednesday. “Prepare as if you’re the starter and take it from there. I have a lot of confidence in myself and my abilities. Coach Reid puts a lot on the quarterback and puts a lot on the offense, but … I know we haven’t made a decision on who’s going to be the quarterback yet, so we’re all working to get better. We’re all working to get better at these little things that we have to hone in on.”

Reid said he probably treated Kafka with excessive daintiness during his successful stint (7-for-9, 72 yards) stint in relief of Vick Sunday.

“I probably should have done more with him,” Reid said. “It wasn’t that I was not satisfied with him; I thought he actually did a very nice job. I shouldn’t have been quite so cautious so early.”

No matter what comes out of Eagles’ camp, Coughlin’s not being cautious in his preparation in the slightest.

“If Michael Vick can possibly play, he will play,” Coughlin said.

The Philadelphia Eagles agreed to terms with former New York Giants receiver Steve Smith on a one-year deal Wednesday.

The 26-year-old Smith had 220 catches for 2,386 yards and 11 touchdowns in four seasons with the Giants. In his 2009 Pro Bowl season, he caught a franchise-record 107 passes for 1,220 yards and seven touchdowns.

Smith suffered a season-ending left knee injury in the Giants’ win over the Vikings at Ford Field in Detroit on Dec. 13 and had microfracture surgery eight days later.

He said Wednesday night he believes he’ll be able to play soon.

“I think I’m pretty close,” Smith said. “I think I can realistically be out there [the first month]. It could be week one. You never know.”

Giants coach Tom Coughlin told reporters Wednesday after meeting with Smith that he believed Smith faced a “long haul” before he could play again.

“I would disagree with that,” Smith said. “I feel good. I’ve been running, cutting, doing different things. I haven’t had any setbacks.”

Smith said he was examined by doctors from both the Giants and Eagles and said both gave him a positive report.

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Asked why Coughlin might have indicated that Smith faced a longer rehab than Smith’s doctors expressed to him, Smith said, “Maybe Coughlin had a plan up his sleeve when he said that. We’ll see what happens when I get out on the field.”

Smith said he believes the real reason the Giants didn’t want him was financial.

Smith is the sixth Pro Bowl player to join the Eagles in the past two weeks.

Superdome gets extensive face-lift

It’s hard to believe now that the Louisiana Superdome was once filled with water, mold and tens of thousands of evacuees escaping the flooded neighborhoods of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

State and city officials showed off its newly completed upgrades on Wednesday, touting the improvements as having “all the bells and whistles” of a new facility.

Seats have been replaced or refurbished, and new ones added; there are new club facilities and restrooms, and new video systems and scoreboards installed. Luxury suites have been added and the Saints’ locker room expanded to twice its old size.

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