Chanting with another Giant fan at work and we got into discussion over Tiki Barber's running style. My co worker was telling me that if we drafted Saquon Barkley it would be the first time the Giants had a running back who could take it to the house on any given carry (i.e. Barry Sanders). I responded skeptically that I seem to remember Tiki Barber having quite a few long runs in his career and that nobody was quite like Barry Sanders. Though I am too young to remember much of Barry Sanders. (We both forgot about David Wilson).
How would you describe Tiki's running style? Was he as big of a threat to score on any given carry as I remember?
Not like Sanders or college Barkley where you weren't going to catch them 1 or 2 steps behind. Once you are even, forget it.
...he didn't gear down that much in his change of directions, and he could string together several change of directions in a flash.
Great, great running back.
Yea... you can ding him for not having top end speed, but I'll take Tiki Barber any day of the week.
Great cut runner who could set up his blockers.
And a very fine receiver to boot.
He was fast enough but def didnt have crazy breakaway speed. His best attributes were his patience, vision, and burst to get through the hole to the second level (in addition to his receiving ability).
Shame how he handled his exit from the giants and NFL becuase he was really one of my favorite players. If he played 2-3 more seasons and produced the way he did the last few years of his career, he'd have a good shot at the HOF.
Meant Chatting.. LOL... yes we do Giant Chants every afternoon... very cool...sometimes accounts payable gets pissed off... but nobody cares about them...
Best quality as pointed out was his balance - a very tough guy foe defenders to fully get their arms around, as Tiki was able to glide with strength through tackles.
His attempted comeback in 2010-/11 just showed that he walked away too soon.
...he didn't gear down that much in his change of directions, and he could string together several change of directions in a flash.
Great, great running back.
Yea... you can ding him for not having top end speed, but I'll take Tiki Barber any day of the week.
Great cut runner who could set up his blockers.
And a very fine receiver to boot.
Agree completely. Was very good at setting up blocks and had real good hands. Very good blocker too. Played hurt and played well in big games.
Home run hitter too. I remember some huge, long runs in Washington and in Oakland that put us in the playoffs.
Understood the physics of a defenders impact and how to position his body to maintain balance and minimize impact/force of hits, even allowing them to assist him at times and break free.
He really became a special running back in the second half of his career.
Barkley is a homerun threat everytime he touched the ball. I wouldnt describe Tiki that way.
Very good summary, Greg. Defenders at the time called him The Ghost, because Tiki would approach the OL and disappear from the defenders view. Once the blocks developed, Tiki would burst through the opening and "reappear". His style was similar to LaVeon Bell and the patience he demonstrates.
It’s a hard quality to define sometimes, one of those you know it when you see it skills. Its the reason Tiki was a borderline Hall of Fame caliber player, while guys like Andre Williams and Ron Dayne wash out after underachieving.
Then came Ron Dayne (Yeah, but TIKI thought he was a threat!) and roughly at the same time THE HILL. The hill was a major ingredient in a new fitness regime that resulted in a much stronger and more physical Tiki that paid dividends in all facets of the game including becoming a much better inside runner.
The final phase of his game came during the last couple of seasons when Coughlin had him put on weight. I would guess at least 15-20lbs. (Tiki was quoted as saying this.) While it did have a marginal effect on his quickness, it made him much more of a power runner, the opposite of how he began his career. He was now even more effective running inside in short yardage, and able to run through some tackles.
Too bad he didn’t play a couple of more years. If his numbers continued, he would have been a HOF lick.
I had hopes for Perkins to have Tiki’s running style but he hasn’t shown it.
Too bad he didn’t play a couple of more years. If his numbers continued, he would have been a HOF lick.
I had hopes for Perkins to have Tiki’s running style but he hasn’t shown it.
It is the vision. As other posters said above, some have and some don't. Tiki had a unique vision in reading the blocks and bursting through. It wasn't as if there were gaping holes that Tiki just ran through. Many times, it looked like there would be no gain as disappeared behind the OL only to burst through a crease. Perkins just doesn't have the vision.
this - ( New Window )
Similar patience/vision as runners, both fantastic pass catching backs. Tiki would have still been an outstanding RB in this era. In fact, he may have been even better.
Tiki was a great player a focal point of your ofifense as a rusher and receiver. He just seems to glide as a runner with his patience vision balance and ability to run through arm tackles
It's a shame because he could've played 2 more years won a ring and been a hall of fame lock with the accumulated stats
Just a shame how it all unfolded for him
.just let the hit move him sideways a bit then reattach his feet to the ground and keep running.
Gallman seems to have great balance but seems higher cut also so it's different.
Then, some have both, i guess, or home run potential with great power...
But in the attempt to put a D on the horns of a delemma suddenness instantness of runs helps.
Noone took his seriously.
It's a serious knock to the Fassel/Accorsi staff that they burned a pick on Ron Dayne when they had the greatest Giant RB in history on their roster!
The fumbles were maddening, but once they addressed that with the bizarre chest-carry method he was using, he was the best back in the game for a good 3-year stretch.
What did he miss Faulk's combined yardage record by, like 30 yards?
Belongs in the HOF, IMO.