blaming the drill sergeant.

One day after putting the ink on a contract that will have him on NBC's Football Night in America and the Today Show, Tiki Barber is sniping back at his old coach Sgt. Hartman (maybe not sniping, but adding fuel to the Tom Coughlin hate that swarms in NFL quarters) by saying Coughlin's demands forced him into retirement, breaking him down.

"We were in full pads for 17 weeks, and with the amount of injuries that we had, it just takes a toll on you. You just physically don't want to be out there when your body feels the way you do in full pads," Barber told reporters. "And while it probably doesn't have a really detrimental effect on how you practice or how you play, it does on your mind. And if you lose your mind in this game, you lose a lot. And that's something that [Coughlin] has to realize. And I think he does [now]."

Again, this is why Coughlin loses locker rooms -- it happened to him in Jacksonville, and he's lucky he still has a job in New York for next season. This point has been made over and over by myself and others -- the authoritarian coach method is going out the window, and while these guys are conditioned to withstand physical brutality, there's a limit that even the most devoted and built athlete is able to take. Tiki's also noted a very veiled threat to Coughlin's job security -- either he has realized it or he'll lose again.

This was the best part of the piece, though:

NBC News President Steve Capus also said Barber came with a backup. "On those days when you're not feeling well, we'll just call Tampa Bay and get your brother," Capus said.

You have no idea how much in favor of this I am: