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:
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
blaming the drill sergeant.
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5 comments:
In general I'm in favor of this move, in a "man's gotta do what a man's gotta do" sense. If your heart's not in the game anymore, by all means retire and give someone else a chance.
That said:
"My dream has always been to be on the `Today' show," Barber said.
Yes! Even as I was rushing for 1200, 1300, 1400 yards a season, I held tight to my dream. Knowing that if only I was good enough, had enough faith in my God and myself, that one day I could fulfill my true potential: wrapping up my "golden retriever plays wide receiver" story and tossing back to a bubble-headed bleach blonde and a simpering Ken doll at fuck-me o'clock on a weekday morning.
--- Ajax.
Ajax, you can talk smack about Matt Lauer, Meredith Viera, and Ann Curry all you want (and are encouraged to do so), but if you so much as attempt to insult Natalie Morales, just know that them's fightin' words 'round these parts.
I wonder if the other injuries on the Giants this season can be correlated to these tough practices.
As an Eagles fan, I couldn't be any happier about Coughlin's return next season. They'll be in the tank by Week 9.
I suspect Brandon Jacobs is more than happy to take the abuse Tiki's forfeiting.
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