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Tiki Barber's running style?

Pascal4554 : 3/20/2018 5:13 pm
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?
Barber was quick but not the fastest  
NoGainDayne : 3/20/2018 5:15 pm : link
I remember so many runs where he got caught after being behind the last man.

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.
Tiki wasn't a burner  
Greg from LI : 3/20/2018 5:18 pm : link
He was a very patient runner who could wait for a hole to develop and then had a very quick burst to get through it and on to the next level. Wasn't a punishing power back but could run through arm tackles. He was good at kind of hiding behind blockers and scooting through small openings.
Tiki Barber had incredible balance  
Dave in PA : 3/20/2018 5:19 pm : link
As mentioned he wasn’t a burner, but he was quick and decisive through the LOS with ridiculous vision. Part of me is really intrigued by Barkley, he would be just plain fun to watch.
One thing about Tiki...  
M.S. : 3/20/2018 5:20 pm : link

...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.

Are the rest of your colleagues cool with the chanting?  
Gatorade Dunk : 3/20/2018 5:21 pm : link
I feel like it would annoy me.
Barber was quick  
Beer Man : 3/20/2018 5:21 pm : link
and had great vision. He couldn't cut on a dime without loosing a step like Barkley or Sanders, but he could still change direction and reverse the field as well as anyone. Wilson was quick, fast, and could make people miss; but unfortunately, due to the narrowing of his spin we'll never know what he could have been.
Tiki became a much more physical runner late in his career  
g-baby : 3/20/2018 5:24 pm : link
He really transformed his body in the early-mid 2000's and honestly took his game to the next level those few seasons where he dominated total scrimmage yards.

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.
Plus ....  
Beer Man : 3/20/2018 5:24 pm : link
Barber was a master at using the giant screen to see how close would be tacklers were that were trailing him (either that or he liked watching himself run).
RE: Are the rest of your colleagues cool with the chanting?  
Pascal4554 : 3/20/2018 5:24 pm : link
In comment 13876437 Gatorade Dunk said:
Quote:
I feel like it would annoy me.


Meant Chatting.. LOL... yes we do Giant Chants every afternoon... very cool...sometimes accounts payable gets pissed off... but nobody cares about them...
Tiki Had 3-4 Years Left  
TheVette : 3/20/2018 5:27 pm : link
Could have had 14K-15K yards and would be talked about as HOF RB, in the top 3-4 all-time rushers. Showed no signs of slowing down at all - his last 2 years were all world.

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.
RE: One thing about Tiki...  
kinard : 3/20/2018 5:32 pm : link
In comment 13876435 M.S. said:
Quote:

...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.
Vision & awareness  
Motley Two : 3/20/2018 5:34 pm : link
Understood & calculated where he was on the field, where the defenders were,his blockers & the lanes.

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.
Tuck said that Barkley like Tiki has great vision. He wasn't  
Blue21 : 3/20/2018 5:35 pm : link
comparing speed just vision which he said all the great backs have.
thanks everyone  
Pascal4554 : 3/20/2018 5:37 pm : link
for the responses. Really makes me miss having a great running back and a strong running game.
Tiki is comparable to Barkley  
gmen9892 : 3/20/2018 5:38 pm : link
In terms of vision and the ability to cut on a dime and a great ability to bounce off of defenders to keep going. Barkley and Tiki also are comparable in the passing game, where they were both weapons. The big difference is speed, where Barkley is a burner once he hits top speed, and Tiki didnt have that breakaway/take it to the house speed.

Barkley is a homerun threat everytime he touched the ball. I wouldnt describe Tiki that way.
RE: Tiki wasn't a burner  
Diver_Down : 3/20/2018 6:00 pm : link
In comment 13876433 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
He was a very patient runner who could wait for a hole to develop and then had a very quick burst to get through it and on to the next level. Wasn't a punishing power back but could run through arm tackles. He was good at kind of hiding behind blockers and scooting through small openings.


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.
Echo what y’all are saying about his vision  
mfsd : 3/20/2018 6:08 pm : link
The best we’ve ever had at seeing the creases, having the patience for holes to develop, then hitting them with quickness.

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.
The Three Faces of Tiki:  
TC : 3/20/2018 6:33 pm : link
Tiki Barber was a very good RB, possibly the best the Giants ever had. And while he was effective throughout his career, it had 3 distinct phases. His first few years he was strictly a scat back with little ability to run inside or confront tacklers physically.

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.
Tiki's greatest assett was he is smol  
Coach Red Beaulieu : 3/20/2018 6:33 pm : link
And defenders seem to lose sight of him amongst the big bodies. Reminiscent of Emmitt Smith.
Tiki  
steve in ky : 3/20/2018 6:41 pm : link
IMO He excelled at having the patience to let the hole develop and know when to hit it and exactly what direction to run. He had the confidence in his blockers to allow the plays to develop and then take full advantage. Very few master that as Tiki did.
I thought Tiki was kind of a glider and a great cutback runner  
Ivan15 : 3/20/2018 7:11 pm : link
He was great running left. That is where he got a lot of big gains. I don’t know if that was on him or the line.

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.

RE: I thought Tiki was kind of a glider and a great cutback runner  
Diver_Down : 3/20/2018 7:16 pm : link
In comment 13876536 Ivan15 said:
Quote:
He was great running left. That is where he got a lot of big gains. I don’t know if that was on him or the line.

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.
It looked  
Daniel in MI : 3/20/2018 7:17 pm : link
a lot like
this - ( New Window )
Tiki was the greatest RB  
Reb8thVA : 3/20/2018 7:35 pm : link
The Giants have had in their history. Unfortunately, there were too many “Is” in Tiki. He was his own worst enemy.
Greatest Giants RB I have seen.  
Boy Cord : 3/20/2018 7:38 pm : link
But he is a Total. Medal. ^unt.
.  
arcarsenal : 3/20/2018 7:43 pm : link
Tiki was kind of like a smaller version of Lev Bell.

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.
Defenses approached Tiki as if he had the potential to  
compton : 3/20/2018 8:24 pm : link
take it to the house any time he touched the ball and they were right to believe so. I think fans are forgetting those long break away runs Tiki did routinely.
Watch the Raiders game from 2006.  
Ten Ton Hammer : 3/20/2018 8:36 pm : link
.
Plaxico Burress  
GoBlue6599 : 3/21/2018 2:24 am : link
One thing you notice in that video is Plax downfield blocking.. what a advantage to your running game to have a physical WR to block down the field
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
Tiki  
Dragon : 3/21/2018 3:22 am : link
Was a perfect in between back not super fast, not to big, not overly powerful but a complete combination of all those. He had two to three more years left of 1000 plus seasons which puts him in the top 15 backs numbers all time. Unfortunately he walked away one year for sure to soon in his prime but he did it on his terms which not many players do. At the time he walked away he was as good as any HB to have played the game for about six seasons.
Go '" added a good word  
idiotsavant : 3/21/2018 7:21 am : link
Balance. That helped him absorb hits
.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.
If given a choice between possible home run  
idiotsavant : 3/21/2018 12:59 pm : link
Vs great initial vision and burst (especially if with balance and low center of gravity) i will take the second every time.

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.
His Giant career began as a receiving threat...  
x meadowlander : 3/21/2018 1:13 pm : link
...became apparent very early on that he was deadly in space. Became significant contributor in the passing game.

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.
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