THROWING KNIVES IS NO SHOCK
November 23, 2006 --
by Mike Vaccaro
IF TIKI Barber should ever begin to harbor second thoughts in the coming weeks and months, if he starts to acquire a bad case of retiree remorse, he should realize that the longer he sticks around here, and the more often he opens his mouth, the more people are going to realize that the polished facade he likes to show the public is too often a camouflage for a me-first clubhouse lawyer.
Barber was at it again yesterday, which shouldn't be surprising because if there is one constant with the Giants' running back, it is this: Whenever things aren't going for him the way they went for Frank Merriwell in all of those old Burt L. Standish books, whenever football life throws him a chop block, Barber's reaction is always the same:
Blame someone. Blame anyone. But don't blame me.
This time, one more time, it was Tom Coughlin. Two days after the Giants got drubbed by the Jacksonville Jaguars on national television, two days after Barber got all of 10 carries and all of 27 yards and spent more time blocking than the offensive line did in the second half, Barber did what has always come most naturally to him.
He started throwing knives, aimed squarely at the backs of the people he works with, and for.
"We have to find a way to correct it," Barber said. "That's the bottom line. I talked about this earlier in the season; if you don't have balance you can't win in the NFL. A disproportionate amount of teams that win, win it by running the football.
"That's football. It's not complicated. This is something that teams and kids and coaches do from 12 years old to college and beyond. It isn't rocket science."
Actually, you know what isn't rocket science? Being a good teammate. Being a good soldier. That should be the easiest thing in the world. It should be much easier than being one of your generation's greatest running backs, which Barber clearly is. No one has ever been able to dispute Barber's wonderful bona fides as a star athlete. We may never see his like again around here, at least not for a good, long while.
But his act has officially worn thin. It started a few years ago, when Barber sniped at Michael Strahan (another accomplished locker room litigator) during a protracted contract negotiation. It first really manifested itself after the Giants lost a terrible game to the Texans in Houston in November of 2002, lost a 16-14 game, in part, because Matt Bryant hadn't been able to make a late field goal.
"We couldn't kick a freaking field goal. That was the problem," Barber said that day. "I can't say we played perfect on offense or defense, but when we need a kick, we need a kick."
That, of course, was the warm-up. This was Barber's famous valedictory last January, after the Giants got blitzed by the Panthers in the playoffs:
"They just had a good scheme. I think in some ways we were out-coached," Barber said that day, when he was, not surprisingly, limited to all of 41 yards (it seems Barber is never quite as chatty after he has a good game). "Our game plan wasn't the right one."
Of course Barber backed off that a day later, and only a cynic would suggest this was at the behest of handlers who want the public to believe Barber is an infallibly genuine and humble servant of the people. Because he is who he is, he was given another pass. He has a closet stuffed with similar passes, and he will surely be given another one from this, and from whenever the next time Coughlin doesn't quite stack up to Barber's exacting coaching standards.
Even though this is what he had to say about Coughlin's strategy, two days after the Giants coach thought it more prudent to try and come back against the Jaguars through the air rather than Barber's legs on a night when he clearly wasn't at his best: "It's a slap in the face of me and a slap of my front five guys. We don't take to that very kindly."
One thing's for sure: When Tiki doesn't take kindly to something, you'll know. It'll be ringing in your ears. And stinging in your back. Where the knife sits.
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