New York Giants great Tiki Barber is firing back at Ryan Clark, who insinuated Barber was a bad teammate and didn’t embrace young players.
In the continuing war of words between New York Giants legend Tiki Barber and former NFL defensive back Ryan Clark — who are now both veteran media voices — Barber has answered the recent criticism laid on him by Clark over the departure of Saquon Barkley.
Barber, in tongue-in-cheek fashion, said Barkley was dead to him after signing a free agent deal with the rival Philadelphia Eagles.
Clark, in a congratulatory social media post to Barkley, ripped Barber as a bad teammate during the two seasons he spent with him as a Giant in the early 2000s.
Barber thinks Clark is making himself “sound like a fool.”
“I didn’t even realize how long you were on the Giants. Your first year, you were a practice squad player, and you were on the defensive side of the ball. What is he talking about, that I didn’t embrace young players? Ask Brandon Jacobs if I embraced him. Ask Derrick Ward if I embraced him. Ask David Diehl, or Richie Seubert, or any of those guys on my side of the ball if I embraced them. What the hell is he talking about? It’s like he’s fitting a narrative. He’s acting like I’m still a player when it pertains to my comments on Saquon Barkley, and he’s kissing Saquon’s (expletive) to ingratiate himself with Saquon. His comments make no sense because he’s not talking about someone he knows well enough to talk about.
“I honestly don’t remember interacting with him as a player. . . I thought he was a decent player, went on and had an okay career, won a Super Bowl, I give him kudos. But now that he’s the big wig at ESPN, he thinks he can just take shots, and his word is gospel? That Michael Strahan and Shaun O’Hara aren’t still my friends? What are you talking about?”
Barber wasn’t the only WFAN host to rebut Clark last week. Morning show host Gregg Gianotti blasted Clark, calling him classless and a “D-Bag.”
Quarterback will remain the hottest topic of debate in the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ realm until their dilemma is laid to rest. And there’s no telling when that will be.
The ever-vocal former Steeler Ryan Clark, an analyst for ESPN, had this to say on Wednesday morning’s “Get Up” about what ultimately sounds like the Steelers rolling with Kenny Pickett heading into 2024.
What they’re going to do is they’re going to try to go out and get a veteran that can push Kenny Pickett. A veteran they can have an unbiased competition with. And if Kenny Pickett wins that, they can walk into the season and say ‘OK. We went out and we tried to improve at the position,’ whether it’s a Ryan Tannehill or Russell Wilson. And Kenny Pickett was a better choice than they were to lead the team this year. So now we have the confidence in the guy we drafted in the first round.
If they do all that, it is going to be on-brand for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it’s going to be dead wrong in this situation. You’re going to strap your team to a quarterback that can’t lead you to the promised land. The reason the Terrible Towel means something, the reason that six Lombardis mean something is because that organization was built on excellence. Kenny Pickett is not going to be your leader to the promised land of excellence. And if he’s not, I do believe it is time to do something different at that position.
The truth of the matter is, no one knows what Pickett can do under the guidance of a capable offensive coordinator. While he’s shown promise, he did previously struggle in key areas. However, until we see the big picture, it’s not entirely fair to be so harsh on the third-year quarterback. Many first-round signal-callers have taken years to develop, and some never do.
Pickett could surprise everyone in 2024. But in case he doesn’t, the Steelers really should have Plan B waiting in the wings via this year’s free agency and/or the draft. Kevin Colbert thought he did, but it was too little, too late. It would be a shame for them to make that same mistake twice.
Ryan Clark on Kenny Pickett:
"The Steelers organization was built on excellence. Kenny Pickett is not going to be your leader to the promised land of excellence.”#steelers
Antonio Pierce confirms, yes, Magic Johnson helped recruit Kliff Kingsbury to Washington.
As it turns out, Magic Johnson did help deliver Kliff Kingsbury to the Washington Commanders as offensive coordinator.
Two weeks ago, it appeared that Kingsbury was landing back in the NFL as the offensive coordinator for the Las Vegas Raiders. Then, the next day, we heard Kingsbury was in the mix to be the next offensive coordinator for Dan Quinn and the Commanders.
We didn’t hear anything else regarding Johnson and Kingsbury.
Until this week.
New Raiders coach — and former Washington linebacker — Antonio Pierce joined “The Pivot” podcast with another former Washington player, Ryan Clark, where he was asked about Kingsbury ending up with the Commanders.
Pierce gave a nod to Johnson.
“National Football League, not for long,” Pierce said when Clark asked him what happened with Kingsbury. “So, you’re right; I thought we had a guy, but not for long. Til you put pen to paper, that’s the one thing I’ve learned. No different than in free agency. Teams are recruiting, and things are going on. Listen, Magic Johnson is pretty good. I guess he can still dish it out a little bit. If I’m losing to Magic, I’m ok with that. At the end of the day, if it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be. That’s fine.”
Here’s the exact clip:
Raiders HC Antonio Pierce on @thepivot thinking Kliff Kingsbury was his new OC and @MagicJohnson dialing up a play to lure him away to Washington in the final seconds. pic.twitter.com/Li46OTuGlP
Pierce and Clark go way back. Pierce entered the NFL in 2001 as an undrafted free agent from Arizona. Marty Schottenheimer gave him a chance, and he’d eventually become a starting linebacker. Clark joined Washington in 2004, and they instantly became friends as former undrafted free agents and unsung heroes on a terrific defense.
As for Johnson, it’s good to see the Commanders using every resource available, including one of the best athletes of all time, to help them land the coach they wanted.
“Sean Payton has behaved as a thug since he became the coach of the Denver Broncos,” Ryan Clark said on ESPN.
The Russell Wilson-Sean Payton fiasco has taken the NFL and sports world by storm, and Payton has decided to bench Wilson for the remaining two games of the 2023 season.
While the source of the conflict involved Wilson refusing to modify his contract, perhaps it comes down to the fact that Payton and Wilson may not be the best fit for the long term.
While reactions are strong on the internet, the likes of Shannon Sharpe and Chad Johnson on Nightcap, Colin Cowherd on his show The Herd, and other sports pundits have kept the topic in heavy rotation the past few days. ESPN’s Ryan Clark chimed in on Friday, stating that Payton “behaved like a thug” for how he has treated Wilson from the very beginning.
"Let's be honest: Sean Payton has behaved as a thug since he became the coach of the Denver Broncos. Immediately when he gets in the building, he starts to undercut Russell Wilson personally and professionally from his first press conference on." – Ryan Clark on "Get Up" this… pic.twitter.com/u3KxreAaIb
While we could debate the terminology that Clark used, it will be hard to deflate the perception that maybe Payton didn’t put his best foot forward in his relationship with Wilson.
Antonio Brown did not apprecaite what Ryan Clark had to say.
There is no denying when it comes to wide receiver, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had their share of good and bad outcomes. Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark took it a step way beyond that when he was talking about current wide receiver George Pickens.
Clark called out many former Steelers wide receivers in comparison to Pickens including Antonio Brown referring to them as “a cancer in that room.”
Brown took some serious offense to this and took to Twitter to go after Clark big time. You can read the full post below.
What I got to do with this keep my dick out your mouth Ryan Smalls! I’m the best Steeler WR all time check stats hell u talm bout cancer I was the savior ! Matthew can u post me n Hines stats here 🤔🗣️ https://t.co/hnefxgocqq
The reality of the situation with Brown is he is right. And so if Clark. Brown’s entire career was a story of two halves. No doubt Brown is one of the best receivers in the Steelers history. Just based on the numbers he’s No. 2 but in terms of talent he was amazing. However, he was also a real problem that the rest of the team had to tolerate until he actively forced the team to trade him which lead to his completely meltdown to a Hall of Fame career.
On Monday, former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark was on the Pat McAfee Show to talk about the Steelers and their struggles. Clark is one of the most outspoken former Steelers in media and he never holds back.
Clark is also uniquely qualified to critique this team as he was part of a Steelers defense that was easily one of the most feared in NFL history. It was a unit that was all in on the “Steelers Way” as it were. In fact, the entire team on both sides of the football was the standard we all talk about when we say “the standard is the standard.”
According to Clark, when discussing the locker room he made it blunt when he said “Zero people care about the Steeler way.”
While we don’t disagree, it’s a bitter pill to swallow when you consider guys like Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick are on the team. These are the players you hope are still in that mold and can pull this team back. But the truth is even if those three are still all in, there are just too many guys on the roster right now who are playing for themselves.
Joe Flacco reportedly had something else in mind before returning to the NFL.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Joe Flacco could’ve had a different career entirely before his mini-comeback in the AFC North.
While talking on ESPN’s morning show Get Up, NFL veteran Ryan Clark revealed that Flacco actually auditioned for Inside the NFL, which Clark hosts, before making his leap back into the league to play for Cleveland.
“I’m glad we didn’t take him,” Clark quipped about Flacco, who could very well be a playoff-starting quarterback next month as the Browns attempt to secure an AFC Wild Card spot.
This is a fascinating twist of fate, as Flacco has gone from potentially being out of the league and on television to playing for a likely postseason-bound Cleveland.
Ryan Clark reveals that before joining the Browns, Joe Flacco tried out for "Inside the NFL."
We’ll see how long Flacco can keep playing at this level, although history does suggest that he’ll be at his best in January if Cleveland can indeed get there.
At the least, Clark insinuates that Flacco has a good plan of what he wants to do when his playing days are over.
The Steelers gave one away on Sunday and Ryan Clark isn’t happy about it.
The frustration with the Pittsburgh Steelers continues to bubble to the surface as this offense stays stuck in neutral with no end in sight. Former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark took to X on Sunday afternoon after the Steelers collapsed and lost to the Cleveland Browns to rail about how poorly the team played.
Clark called the performance disgraceful and called out the team for allowing it to happen. Clark spent 8 of this 13-year NFL career with the Steelers and was part of some of the best defensive units in the NFL at that time.
Disgraceful for the Steelers to lose to this Cleveland Browns’ team with DTR at QB. Not executing down the stretch offensively while DTR leads the game winning drive is inexcusable. Not making any changes is allowing it to happen. They can’t continue to allow IT to happen!!
It’s hard to lay too much blame at the feet of the Steelers defense given how poorly the offense played. However, Clark is right about that final drive. The Browns seemed to be able to just flip a switch and march the ball down the field for that game-winning drive with a rookie quarterback. After the game, head coach Mike Tomlin seemed to be in complete denial about the problems this team is having, even in wins which does make you wonder if he has any interest in making substantial changes going forward.
Ryan Clark breaks down Chiefs DC Steve Spagnuolo’s successful gameplan vs. Dolphins
Last Sunday, the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense slowed down the best statistical offensive team in the league so far this season, the Miami Dolphins. The unit led by defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo created a masterful game plan that held Miami to only 14 points, catching the eye of many critics around the league.
Former NFL defensive back and current television analyst Ryan Clark took an interest in the defense’s Week 9 performance. On the latest episode of Inside The NFL, Clark broke down two defensive plays that he felt changed the game in Kansas City’s favor.
“Let’s look at how they were able to attack Tua Tagovailoa and the Dolphins with “two safety high defenses. Here, you’re going to get a corner cat, which is a corner blitz from Jaylen Watson. He’s going to roll the safety over to number one, but they play this from a too-high look, which gives Tua Tagovailoa the feeling that he can’t push the football down the field.” Said Clark, “George Karlaftis drops right into the zone where you want to hit Tyreek Hill. It’s a hitch in the backfield, a sack. Now that’s how they bring the pressure.”
The @MiamiDolphins’ Tyreek Hill ( @cheetah ) was mic’d up and praised @JustinqReid & the Chiefs’ defensive plan afterward. They seem to solve a puzzle that many teams are perplexed by.
It all came from a two high shell whether it was blitz, man, or zone. It’s not easy to do,… pic.twitter.com/QxLmiADJw3
“The way they played man-to-man. It wasn’t single high, two safety high, press. You’re going to see here they’re going to attempt to attack Trent McDuffie in the slot who, because he’s pressing, is able to get right up on Tyreek Hill,” said Clark. “you get the strip and the fumble. Now you get a pitch from (Mike) Edwards to Brian Cook.
“It’s a huge play that puts points on the board. What I love about this last play is now it’s just a straight zone. You’re not affected by the exit motion from Raheem Mostert in the backfield. It’s the hands of Willie Gay Jr. It gets Tua Tagovailoa off of his first read, and we see when he has to come off of his first read, that’s when teams have success.”
The Chiefs’ scoring on defense was the difference at the end of the game and further proved that Spagnuolo’s unit is a respected group this season. On Monday Night Football, they will have another challenge in Week 11 against the Philadelphia Eagles under the lights.
