Gotta love this article!!!
JINTS RIP COACHES
By PAUL SCHWARTZ
January 9, 2006 -- Standing behind a lectern, analyzing a game he wanted to forget, Tiki Barber, in full public view yesterday, stated, "I think in some ways we were out-coached," and later willingly explained precisely why.
A few minutes later, off to the side, after posing for pictures, greeting family and friends and receiving a big hug from his wife, Ginny, Barber was asked again about his critique of the Giants coaching staff.
"It was obvious," he said. "They knew what we were doing. We didn't adjust."
It was the most stinging but hardly the only abuse heaped on the strategies employed by the Giants in their desultory 23-0 playoff loss to the Panthers at Giants Stadium. Players far and near in the locker room sprinkled frustration with their own shoddy performance along with disgust at the game plan they were handed, and the inability of the Giants to alter an approach that clearly wasn't working.
"We knew they were going to try to stop the run," Amani Toomer said. "I just felt like we didn't adjust quickly enough. I don't know what happened."
The worst game of the season for Barber (13-41) came after the Panthers, predictably enough, brought safety Mike Minter near the line of scrimmage, adding an extra defender to contain a running back who gained 1,860 yards and finished fourth in the league's MVP voting. As a result, Toomer and Plaxico Burress were often left in single coverage against the talented Carolina cornerbacks.
Burress did not have a catch and was thrown to one time.
"That's just a testament to our game plan not being the right one," Barber said.
Knowing Panthers coach John Fox — the former Giants defensive coordinator — would load up to stop him, Barber wanted to see his team accelerate its pace and change up its usual running style.
"We spend a lot of time at the line of scrimmage sometimes dissecting the defense, and that allows them to bring up an extra guy in the box," Barber said. "When we have gone on quick sounds, we were effective. I think we played into their scheme and it ended up ultimately costing us the game."
There were times when Jeremy Shockey waved his arms in disgust after he ran free but Eli Manning did not spot him.
"They had a good game plan against us," Shockey said. "They really forced us off the run in the first quarter. We kept trying to pound the ball and there was nothing there.
"The second half they came out and did some different things, forced us to pass the ball. They were in zone and they did a great job. If I were their defensive coordinator I would have done the same thing. They knew we were going to do something different and they had the better hand. They definitely called it."
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