Instead of Shaking Off Tacklers, Tiki Barber Does the Tackling

By David Geller: SPM NJ Writer (Commentary)
Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Tiki Barber - Photo Courtesy of NFL Media

There he goes! Head full of steam, bolting down the sideline, touchdown, New York Giants! The fan favorite, classy Tiki Barber does it again in his last regular season game, with three touchdowns. He has earned a spot in the hearts of Giants fans forever.

And then we blinked.

Nearly eight months to the day following Tiki’s fantastic performance against the Washington Redskins, which carried the Giants into the 2006 playoffs, a new image has taken the place of Tiki’s trademark way of holding the ball or blowing kisses after a touchdown run.

He’s in a suit, flashing his piano-key smile, clutching his hands together on the NBC halftime show, licking his chops for what he’ll say next about his former team.

It’s amazing what can happen in nearly two-thirds of a year. And it’s a shame, too. Rarely before has a player had the type of all-around impact for the Giants franchise that Tiki Barber did. He's their all-time leading rusher, a multiple-season Pro Bowl participant, and earned a well-deserved reputation for carrying the Giants on his back.

Self-promotion is a fickle thing. Tiki now appears willing to sacrifice the loyalty of his many fans in exchange for more eyes and ears focused on him during his NBC on-air appearances, or his radio show “The Barber Shop.” There is nothing wrong with that, either. Tiki is part of the media now, and has every right to express his feelings about anything related to the sports he covers, and that includes his former team.

But where does it stop?

That is the real question. Even though Barber continuously maintains that he is no longer relevant to the Giants franchise, it seems that what he may say is hardly what he believes. Frankly, he jumps at every opportunity he can get to talk about the Giants, and even when the opportunity isn’t there, he still gets in a word or two about his former team.

Note to Tiki: we get it.

We know you have an inexplicable grudge against the Giants franchise that no one can truly understand.

We know that Giants coach Tom Coughlin worked you like a normal player in practice, and that it really wore on your body (bizarrely enough, in the last regular season game during each of his last two years, Tiki rushed for a combined 440+ yards and four touchdowns), and that you didn’t like the guy.

We get it.

After a two month hiatus, during which Barber made no comments about his former Giants coach, it seemed like the never-ending storm was about to die. But shortly before the Giants players arrived at training camp this season, Tiki gave us an extra piece of information. It was about how he wasn’t alone in his dislike of Coughlin. He indicated fullback Jim Finn didn’t like Coughlin either.

Thanks for that tidbit, Tiki. I’m sure Jim left you a message about how much he appreciated that, too.

Finn found himself land on the injured reserve list after the Giants' mini-camp workouts. Now, if he attempts a comeback from his injury while Coughlin's still at the helm, his chances may be hurt by Barber's comment. Sorry, Jim, I guess that’s the way the ball rolls.

The latest controversial comment from Barber came on Sunday Night Football during halftime of the Giants vs. Ravens game. Eli Manning left the game at quarterback after giving Giants fans a great vibe, going 10-13 for 114 yards and a touchdown. He showed great pocket awareness and made some great throws against a stingy Ravens' defense. But Tiki found a way to one-up Eli’s performance with a bullet of his own. Here’s what he had to say about Eli’s leadership ability:

"He hasn’t shown it. His personality hasn’t been so that he can step up, make a strong statement and have people believe that it’s coming from his heart...Last year about Week 12, I turned over the offensive motivational speech to Eli and he was gung-ho to do it, but he was uncomfortable doing it. I think a lot of it had to do with vets being around -- myself, Jeremy Shockey, Plaxico Burress. He didn’t feel like his voice was going to be strong enough and it showed. Sometimes it was almost comical the way that he would say things."

Ouch. Comical? That’s a pretty rough comment about your former quarterback. Maybe Barber was a little bitter because Coughlin shot him down after Tiki asked his former coach for an interview. The fact that Tiki was surprised by Coughlin’s answer is laughable, given Barber's penchant for dissing Coughlin.

Tiki does have the right to say what he wants, but is it possible that he could leave out the "comical" part? Why not leave Manning with just a little dignity?

It’s just another example of that thing called “self-promotion.” With a book due to come out some time in the fall, don’t think these little tidbits about Giants players are just for commentary with insight; they are most likely sneak peaks for his book.

A couple of days after Tiki’s comments, here’s what Eli Manning had to say on ESPN Radio, in an interview with Don LeGreca:

"I guess I was just happy for Tiki that he made a smooth transition into the media world. It will be interesting to see if he has anything else to say besides the Giants and what his comments will be on that. It’s one of those deals – I’m not going to lose any sleep over what Tiki has to say. I guess I could have questioned his leadership skills last year, calling out the coach and having articles about him retiring in the middle of the season saying he lost the heart. As a quarterback, you’re reading your quarterback has lost the heart to play the game and it’s about the 10th week. I can see that a little bit at times. I’m not going to get concerned and I’m going to go out and play ball."

That was a pretty impressive response from the young quarterback. Many expected Eli to shy away from controversy, say “no comment” or something of that sort. Manning stood up for himself and appeared to have sent a message.

Tiki did say something right during the halftime show, which is not contained in his quote above. It was in response to a Chris Collinsworth question, asking if Tiki leaving was a good or bad thing for Eli.

"I think it is a good thing for Eli, to tell you the truth. Quite honestly."

He got that one right. Tiki’s bashing of Manning, along with other Giants players and coaches, really opens the door for Manning to take hold of his new leadership role. And the more Tiki yaps, the more hungry the Giants get to prove him wrong, as if they needed another incentive to come out strong on Sunday Night Football against Dallas. Don’t think for one second that the Giants aren't anxious to dominate on the field and stick it in Tiki’s face, who will be sitting cozily in the NBC Sunday Night Football pre-game and halftime show booth.