Surprise! Tiki Barber's Thoughts Wander
Remember when Tiki Barber said he was going to retire after this season?
And remember when people criticized Barber for announcing his retirement in the middle of the year, therefore casting a cloud over the Giants and providing a distraction for the team to deal with?
And remember when Barber, very vehemently, insisted that that wouldn't be the case, and that anyone who criticized his motives or choices was a dirty terrorist and should be shot point blank in the face?
Surprise! Tiki Barber doesn't want to think about football anymore. And probably hasn't for, like, all season.
"During the week I am sitting in a meeting and instead of being solely focused on the Washington Redskins I will be thinking about other things. In the offseason for instance I had a chance to come down your way for the White House Correspondence dinner. These things became more important to me than being up here working out." Barber said.
Barber also claimed that if Michael Strahan's ankle required surgery (it does), that he'd retire this year as well. I'm sure Michael appreciates that, Teek. The season just keeps getting worse for the Giants, doesn't it? Tom Coughlin's got a lot of flack this year and, sure, he hasn't really excelled at preparation, game-planning, preparation, or keeping his players in check. But he can't be that bad. Especially since I don't remember the Jaguars being this dysfunctional during his tenure. Eventually you have to look at the players and think, "Jesus, poor Tom. Look at the collection of jag-offs he has to deal with on a daily basis."
During Chris Mortensen's chat on ESPN.com yesterday (Insider Only), he brought up an interesting point. All of the great coaches believe that the only way to fix such a dysfunctional team is to rid the roster of its respective tumors. That's what Sean Payton did in New Orleans, and he turned that team around right quick. The next Giants coach will have the same problems Coughlin is having unless he gets rid of all of the troublemakers -- Shockey, Burress, Whitfield -- instead of trying to get those players to fall in line.
As for Barber, geez, what a terrible way to end a very good career. I won't portend to know what's causing him to act like this after always being so classy, but c'mon...you've only got a week left. Can't you grin and bear it?
