NYP: Giants and Tiki Barber reconciliation continues

are bad fits. That was TC and Tiki.

RE: his marriage. Nobody's business.

In comment 13999075 bc4life said:

Quote:

RE: his marriage. Nobody's business.

Agree and by the way, Strahan's marriage was ugly at the end too. Who really cares about all of that?

In comment 13999075 bc4life said:

Quote:

are bad fits. That was TC and Tiki. RE: his marriage. Nobody's business.

Yet, TC was the best thing that happened to Tiki. He elevated him to elite, imv

Life is too short. He was a great RB & helped us win countless games.

Barber had 4 consecutive years of 8+ fumbles and averaging well over 1500 yards from scrimmage when Coughlin arrived. He wasn't anywhere close to being out of the league because of fumbling.

It was a major issue and kept him from reaching his potential, and Coughlin and Ingram deserve a lot of credit for propelling Barber from good to great player.

The Manning comments were awkward and goofy, but nowhere near the tragedy Manning fans made it out to be.

The more shitty thing was the retirement charade and the bone he had with Coughlin.

I suspect I'll never get an answer to the question I posed last night. :)

I wish on his comeback attempt he would have gone to the jets, averaged 2ypc and never played again.

Refer to photo for favorite Tike Barber moment.
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/qdxXNDcWI7U/hqdefault.jpg - ( New Window )

criticizing Tiki for not crediting Coughlin for solving his fumbling issues and how he'd be out of the league without him. That's complete bullshit. Not only would Tiki still be in the league, but more importantly, Tiki has -- on several occasions-- credited Coughlin with changing his running style and fixing his fumbling issues. One example:

Quote:

But on the field, it was obvious Coughlin’s style worked, Barber said. In Coughlin’s first season, with Barber coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, the coach told Barber he was not afraid to bench him if he did not clean up his mistakes, namely his propensity to fumble. Coughlin demanded that Barber carry the ball high and tight, to the point where Barber held the ball just under his chin. “It actually made me a better player,” Barber said. “It made me a non-liability as a fumbler. But it also shortened my stride length and made me stronger, more compact as a runner. And because of one little nuance, detail that Tom Coughlin was trying to drill into my head, I became a Pro Bowler. I became one of the elite players in the National Football League because Tom Coughlin was a pain int he ass.”

But why does the general sentiment of how much Tiki owes Coughlin only flow one way?

One could also argue that Coughlin should credit Barber for saving his job If it weren't for those monstrous performances in 2006 where he carried the offense, Coughlin likely would have been fired. In the last game of the season against Washington, they were 7-8. If they lose, there was chatter that Coughlin would have been fired. Instead, Tiki rushes for 234 yards with 3 TDs and the Giants win, go 8-8, and Coughlin keeps his job.

Not only that, John Mara asked Tiki after the season about his thoughts on Coughlin. From the same article:

Quote:

“I said, ‘You can’t fire Coach Coughlin because he’s a great coach, but he has to change,” Barber said. “And with John’s urging, with (general manager) Jerry Reese’s urging, with, now that I’ve read, his wife’s urging, he changed. And for a man at that time, who was 60 years old, 61 years old maybe, to change the way that he’d done things at Boston College, at Jacksonville, probably even earlier when he was a wide receivers coach with the New York Giants, change all of that in the interest with creating familiar relationships with his players is a credit to him.” Barber said he received a text message the next training camp from center Shaun O’Hara saying Coughlin told the team a joke and took players bowling, gestures that seemed alien for Coughlin before then. “And all of a sudden, the Giants became a team that was very well coached, attention to detail, focus on the particulars, finding a way to win games that maybe you should lose on the field, that was a team that was tighter than any maybe in the National Football League off the field,” Barber said. “Is Tom Coughlin a Hall of Famer? You damn sure better believe he’s a Hall of Famer,” Barber added.

Even the 2007 America's Game documentary had clips from Strahan talking about the way Coughlin softened up and completely changed his style in 2007 and that the players began to love him.
------------------

Credit goes both ways.

In comment 13999164 arcarsenal said:

Quote:

I suspect I'll never get an answer to the question I posed last night. :)

Probably not.

Tony Dorsett fumbled 46 times in his first five seasons. According to our resident Midwestern gay scene expert he should have been long gone from football before that.

... to finish as one of the most beloved Giants ever.
And he blew it.

For an obviously smart guy, he was an idiot.

I could care less about his comments to the media. As many here said, it wasn't all that incorrect even if viewed as backstabbing, which I get, but as i've said before - I dont think it mattered to Eli, if it did he'd need to man up. The rest of us? It should matter even less

The personal stuff isn't good no doubt. But none of that supersedes the value he could have on this team - whether a coach leading by example by "being forgiving" for the greater good of team culture (somewhat parallel to TC's softening & the team becoming closer in 2007) or 'just' his value as a great RB passing the knowledge to our players / RB room

And as Csonka put well, he was an idiot given how easy a ride into the sunset should have been. Reminds of a great Jon Voight quote from Varsity Blues "You are the damn dumbest smart kid I know"

Some of you hold grudges for a really long time.

I wasnt happy with his comments right after he retired but we've since won 2 Super Bowls and its now over 10+ years ago. I'm over it.

In comment 13999075 bc4life said:

Quote:

are bad fits. That was TC and Tiki. RE: his marriage. Nobody's business.

A player's personal life is an important ingredient of his value. The interviews at the combine often tell more to the GMs than the numbers. So the fact that Tiki was a scumbag is a legit part of his legacy.

In comment 13998614 WeekendLife56 said:

Quote:

I'll say when I used to attend camp in the early 2000's. Barber was always very cool to the fans.

My memories are the same. Really good with the kids.

In comment 13998601 Moondawg said:

Quote:

is another reason people were really pissed about Tiki is that Eli at that time was really in an insecure position, and it did come off as piling on. It's not just "Eli apologists" but rather people who were sympathetic to an awkward kid trying to find his voice, being mocked by a former teammate. BTW, if there's ever a definitive biography of Eli it should be called "America's kid brother".

Lol. Are you a shrink? You perfectly described the way I have felt about Eli pretty much his whole career. I am only a slight bit older than him and always have had a weird protective instinct about him like he's my younger brother or something.

Love the Eli. Can't spell "man" without....

... is seeing Strahan, his old rival, get the post-football career he worked hard for and dreamed about instead.

Let him back in.