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Giants all-time leading rusher wants Super Bowl ring to finish career.
By Adam Streicher, Giants.com
August 9, 2006
ALBANY, N.Y. – Although the Giants don’t play their first preseason game until Friday, they are already thinking about the start of the regular season. For Tiki Barber, this is the most important season of his career.
Despite setting the franchise record for rushing yards in a season (1,860) and recording the second most total yards in NFL history (2,390) in 2005, his year ended in disappointment as the Giants fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Wild Card Game.
The loss provided another example for what is missing from his career.
“I play this game for a few reasons,” said Barber, 31, who is entering his 10th NFL season, all with the Giants. “But I think as you get older, as you start to understand the history and the importance of the game, what you really want to do is win a Super Bowl. That’s what my focus is right now.”
Though the NFC East is full of talented teams, Barber is confident the Giants had the best offseason of all of them and has put them in prime position to make a run for the title.
“I think we did great,” he said. “We made some great additions to our defense, with LaVar (Arrington), Sam Madison, and Will Demps and some of the other people we picked up this season in our secondary, which was the Achilles’ heel for us last season and we haven’t changed much offensively, which is a good thing because we were very effective last year.”
Barber is aware of how difficult the Giants’ schedule is this season, but he sees that as a positive.
“I think as the cliché goes, in order to be the best, you have to beat the best,” he said. “It’s a great test for us as a unit to see where we are right off the bat. Our first five weeks are challenging, we’re only home (twice) and we go on the road to Seattle.”
No matter how confident he is, Barber does not deny that he is reaching the age when many quality running backs break down.
“It happens…it’s a function of wear and tear,” Barber said. “There’s a finite number (of years and carries) and it’s different for every guy. Marshall Faulk hit it probably a couple years ago and he’s fighting through it. Curtis (Martin) unfortunately seems to be struggling right now with his knees and once they go, they don’t come back.
“So you’re always worrying about that, which is why for me this season is so important to push for a Super Bowl. If I don’t get it this year, I might not get that opportunity again. Strahan and I have had many conversations about our chance that we had in 2000 for a Super Bowl title, where we faltered. Our biggest fear is that we won’t get that chance again”
Even though he is very aware of the pounding taken by running backs, Barber still feels he has plenty left in the tank.
“I didn’t have much (wear and tear) earlier in my career,” he said. “I wasn’t that good, quite frankly. When I hit my peak I was older, so I know that I have a finite amount of years and carries, etc. in me but I don’t think that I’ve hit that number yet.”
Nor does his head coach.
“He’s such an incredibly well-conditioned athlete that he puts himself in the best position to take full advantage of his opportunities,” Tom Coughlin said. “When he’s at training camp, he gets into the football. He’s a student of the game – he studies hard, he asks good questions. He’s a guy who is very serious about his profession and handles and carries himself very well. He doesn’t waste any time, in terms of his study, his preparation and his on the field activities. He tries to take full advantage of the number of reps he gets out here.”
Growing older has helped Barber gain more perspective on his play and his future and he is certain as to what his goal is.
“Everyone talks about the Hall of Fame,” Barber said. “I think my brother (Ronde, cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) is going to get in. I’m excited about it for him and he always tells me, ‘Well, if you play three of four more years, you can do it.’ But in my mind, especially as I started to get good, I never wanted to be that guy who hangs on and just becomes a compiler. If I can’t play at a high level and/or my team is not competing at a high level because of me, I’ll go do something else.”
Fortunately for Giants’ fans, Barber had something else to add.
“I’m still going strong.”
By Adam Streicher, Giants.com
August 9, 2006
ALBANY, N.Y. – Although the Giants don’t play their first preseason game until Friday, they are already thinking about the start of the regular season. For Tiki Barber, this is the most important season of his career.
Despite setting the franchise record for rushing yards in a season (1,860) and recording the second most total yards in NFL history (2,390) in 2005, his year ended in disappointment as the Giants fell in the first round of the playoffs to the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Wild Card Game.
The loss provided another example for what is missing from his career.
“I play this game for a few reasons,” said Barber, 31, who is entering his 10th NFL season, all with the Giants. “But I think as you get older, as you start to understand the history and the importance of the game, what you really want to do is win a Super Bowl. That’s what my focus is right now.”
Though the NFC East is full of talented teams, Barber is confident the Giants had the best offseason of all of them and has put them in prime position to make a run for the title.
“I think we did great,” he said. “We made some great additions to our defense, with LaVar (Arrington), Sam Madison, and Will Demps and some of the other people we picked up this season in our secondary, which was the Achilles’ heel for us last season and we haven’t changed much offensively, which is a good thing because we were very effective last year.”
Barber is aware of how difficult the Giants’ schedule is this season, but he sees that as a positive.
“I think as the cliché goes, in order to be the best, you have to beat the best,” he said. “It’s a great test for us as a unit to see where we are right off the bat. Our first five weeks are challenging, we’re only home (twice) and we go on the road to Seattle.”
No matter how confident he is, Barber does not deny that he is reaching the age when many quality running backs break down.
“It happens…it’s a function of wear and tear,” Barber said. “There’s a finite number (of years and carries) and it’s different for every guy. Marshall Faulk hit it probably a couple years ago and he’s fighting through it. Curtis (Martin) unfortunately seems to be struggling right now with his knees and once they go, they don’t come back.
“So you’re always worrying about that, which is why for me this season is so important to push for a Super Bowl. If I don’t get it this year, I might not get that opportunity again. Strahan and I have had many conversations about our chance that we had in 2000 for a Super Bowl title, where we faltered. Our biggest fear is that we won’t get that chance again”
Even though he is very aware of the pounding taken by running backs, Barber still feels he has plenty left in the tank.
“I didn’t have much (wear and tear) earlier in my career,” he said. “I wasn’t that good, quite frankly. When I hit my peak I was older, so I know that I have a finite amount of years and carries, etc. in me but I don’t think that I’ve hit that number yet.”
Nor does his head coach.
“He’s such an incredibly well-conditioned athlete that he puts himself in the best position to take full advantage of his opportunities,” Tom Coughlin said. “When he’s at training camp, he gets into the football. He’s a student of the game – he studies hard, he asks good questions. He’s a guy who is very serious about his profession and handles and carries himself very well. He doesn’t waste any time, in terms of his study, his preparation and his on the field activities. He tries to take full advantage of the number of reps he gets out here.”
Growing older has helped Barber gain more perspective on his play and his future and he is certain as to what his goal is.
“Everyone talks about the Hall of Fame,” Barber said. “I think my brother (Ronde, cornerback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers) is going to get in. I’m excited about it for him and he always tells me, ‘Well, if you play three of four more years, you can do it.’ But in my mind, especially as I started to get good, I never wanted to be that guy who hangs on and just becomes a compiler. If I can’t play at a high level and/or my team is not competing at a high level because of me, I’ll go do something else.”
Fortunately for Giants’ fans, Barber had something else to add.
“I’m still going strong.”
