ALBANY, N.Y. -- In five years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Plaxico Burress caught plenty of touchdowns. Now, he's catching them for the New York Giants, who signed him as a free agent after the 2004 season.

During a visit to Giants training camp, Channel 4 Action Sports anchor Jon Burton went one-on-one with Burress, who had plenty to say about the Steelers and their fans.

The following is a transcript of Burton's exclusive report, which aired Aug. 19, 2005, on Channel 4 Action News at 5 p.m.

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As a first-round draft pick in 2000, Burress was expected to be the big-play receiver the Steelers were looking for. It never seemed to quite work out that way.

Now, the 27-year-old Burress is wearing a different set of colors in a different conference. He has traded in the black and gold of the Pittsburgh Steelers for the red, white and blue of the New York Giants.

Plax says he loves his new team, but his old team is never far from his mind.

Burress: "I definitely miss the guys that I played with. Over the five years, I really grew close to some of the guys, like Casey (Hampton), James (Farrior), Joey (Porter). But as far as me as a person, being in the situation I was in, I can't honestly say that I was happy to go to work in the morning."

Why was Burress so unhappy? The answer is simple. In a run-oriented Steelers offense and a passing game designed to get the ball to Hines Ward, Plax felt his skills weren't being used properly.

Burress: "I always felt like I could do more, you know? The more opportunities that I got, the better I was getting as a player. I felt my opportunites were kind of limited, so to speak, and at times, I kind of felt myself like playing in shackles. They weren't going to change, and I wasn't going to change."

Plax says he knew the end was near in January, during the AFC Championship loss to the Patriots. He couldn't come down with a touchdown pass that could have gotten the Steelers back in the game, and he took heat from fans for announcing immediately afterward that he would probably not return.

Burress: "It kind of seemed like that one game -- all the years that I played there, five years -- kind of boiled down to one play. It kind of seemed like everything was thrown on my back off of one play that I didn't make, and I took that kind of personal, from the people in that city and some of the things that were said about me."

For five years, it seemed like Steelers fans had a love-hate relationship with Burress. But why? He thinks he has the answer.

Burress: "You've got to admit, I was never really liked in that city. I mean, I don't think I was liked as a person. I was kind of seen as a black kid, young African-American, cornrows, drives fancy cars, wears diamond earrings, things like that. They just kind of based their perception off of what I drove and what I did and things like that. All those things were never a part of any other player on that team but me."

Now, Plax is in the Big Apple. He says he feels right at home.

Burress: "I'm over here in New York, happy. I fit New York more than what I fit Pittsburgh. Nobody's worrying about my big truck or my Rolls-Royce or what I have on. That makes me feel good. People just accept me how I am instead of looking at me and judging me."

Burress: "I've always said that change is good, and I just felt like I needed a change, to wake up in the morning and be happy where I'm at and just enjoy my NFL experience. You know -- work hard, try to take my game to the next level, and just keep progressing as a player and a person. I'm very happy to be where I'm at right now."

Burress was a teammate of Ward, who has contract issues of his own. He said the Steelers need to show Ward the money.

Burress: "I've seen this guy take hits over the middle and get up -- like, crying, can't breathe -- and run and score a touchdown. To see him having to go through the situation he's going through... People need to realize that this is a business. We didn't make it that way. That's just how it is. I hope and pray that his family gets everything that he's very deserving of."

Burress signed with the Giants on March 17. That's why he now wears number 17.