Tag: Tiki Barber

Giants great Tiki Barber fires back at ex-teammate Ryan Clark

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.”

“Wow, Ryan Clark. You are making blank up,” Tiki said on his WFAN radio show last week. “Because you don’t know me like that, dude.

“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.”

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Giants great Tiki Barber, Saquon Barkley trade barbs after Philly deal

Retired New York Giants RB Tiki Barber and Saquon Barkley exchanged some emotional words after Saquon left New York for Philadelphia.

The New York Giants have a long and historical rivalry with the Philadelphia Eagles, so when Saquon Barkley turned in his blue uniform for green, he should have expected some flack.

That’s exactly what former Giants great Tiki Barber was doing when he learned of the signing during the daily Evan & Tiki show on WFAN.

“He’s dead to us now. He’s dead to us. You’re dead to us, Saquon. Good luck. You’re dead to me,” Barber said with a smile on his face.

Clearly, the comment was in jest but Barkley still didn’t appreciate it. At all.

Barber has since indicated that his original comment was indeed meant to be tongue-in-cheek. He spent his entire 10-year career with the Giants at a time when the rivalry with the Eagles was tense.

Barber’s comment has far less to do with Barkley as a person than it does with the Eagles as a landing spot.

Still, Barber responded to Barkley’s tweets.

“I don’t even know what he’s talking about. I’ve done nothing but support Saquon Barkley,” Barber said. “I’m not sure what he’s talking about.”

Barkley signing with another team because he received an offer he liked is not the underlying issue. It’s that he went to a division rival and then couldn’t handle the reaction.

The signing may have been about more than money, though, as Barkley grew up an hour from Philadelphia. He may have grown up a Jets fan, but this move sends him home. Now the Giants have to prepare to face him twice a year.

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Eagles-Giants set to reach new heights after Saquon Barkley, Tiki Barber back and forth

The Eagles rivalry with the Giants will reach new heights of hatred after Saquon Barkley’s social media back and forth with Tiki Barber

Saquon Barkley is officially an Eagle in the minds of fans and media after his Monday afternoon exchange with Giants legend Tiki Barber.

Barkley was celebrating a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Philadelphia Eagles when Barber fired this shot at the former Giants superstar.

“He’s dead to us now. You’re dead to us, Saquon,” Barber said Monday. “Good luck, you’re dead to me.”

Barkley responded as only an Eagle could, calling the former Giants running back a “hater.”

The Eagles and Giants are already must-see TV every season, but the two games this year will certainly be prime-time affairs, especially after New York acquired Brian Burns via trade.

Here’s social media reaction to the back and forth.

Giants great Tiki Barber goes off on Saquon Barkley potentially joining Eagles

New York Giants great Tiki Barber warns Saquon Barkley against joining the Philadelphia Eagles or Dallas Cowboys: Don’t cross the line.

New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley will be an unrestricted free agent come next Wednesday unless he and the team can agree to a new, long-term deal.

If a deal is not struck, Barkley will be eligible to sign with any team he chooses. Former Giant great Tiki Barber — now a top sports radio host at WFAN in New York — is urging Barkley to not sign with one of the Giants’ most hated rivals, the Philadelphia Eagles.

Barber advised Barkley not to cross that “thick green line.”

“I still want him here,” Barber told his co-host, Evan Roberts, on Thursday.

“The last thing I want him to do is go anywhere else. But if he goes to Philadelphia, I’m not even saying his name. I might not say his name again.”

Barber said that he would address Barkley by his middle name (Rasul) if he signed with Philadelphia and also had the same warning about signing with the Dallas Cowboys.

Both the Eagles and Cowboys are expected to make offers to the top running backs in this year’s free agent class. Dallas appears to be moving off Tony Pollard and the Eagles are not expected to re-sign D’Andre Swift. Both players will also be free agents next week.

Meanwhile, the Eagles and Barkley reportedly have a “mutual interest.”

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Evan and Tiki: Giants must sign Saquon Barkley to long-term deal

WFAN’s Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber believe the New York Giants have to sign RB Saquon Barkley to a long-term deal for several reasons.

The New York Giants and star running back Saquon Barkley are at a crossroads again this offseason. The window to apply the franchise tag to players headed for free agency opened this week now the dance begins.

Barkley is angling for a multi-year deal with guarantees that will make him a Giant for the foreseeable future. The Giants are wrestling with the idea of paying a running back huge money in a league in which the position has been getting devalued with each passing season.

Last year, the Giants slapped the tag on Barkley and eventually came to terms on a modified one-year deal. This year, the tag price will be approximately $12.1 million and Barkley will again refuse to sign the tender which will send both camps back to the negotiating table.

WFAN hosts Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber both chimed in on how they believe the Giants should handle the situation this time around.

“The New York Giants have to keep Saquon Barkley,” Evan said. “But let me start off with the number one thing that kept jumping into my head. Oct. 31, 2023 that was the NFL trade deadline. Let me ask you this, if they couldn’t trade Saquon Barkley on Oct. 30 and October 31, why months later?

“Would it be OK to way let him walk away for nothing? That seems like a complete, utter contradiction. So, in my opinion, the Giants made their decision on October 30. They didn’t trade Saquon, they wouldn’t even listen on trade offers. So what possibly could have changed?”

Barber, a former All-Pro running back who is the team’s all-time leading rusher, believes the Giants have to look behind the numbers at the intrinsic value Barkley brings to the franchise and its fan base.

“Saquon Barkley is not fully necessary, but my emotion to Saquon is something that I think a lot of Giant fans feel and it’s, I love this kid,” Tiki said. “I loved him when he came in.

“He is the perfect example of a star player that you would want on this team. So emotionally, you want to hold on to that guy because he’s an example of guys who are the favorite player on the team, finishing their careers as a Giant or whatever team it is. . . I feel like he should be that guy.”

Both sentiments are valid. The Giants have to weigh their options here as they have very little salary cap room to fit all of their key personnel under one roof.

The Giants have until March 5 to place the franchise tag on Barkley. Free agency begins on March 13.

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Giants great Tiki Barber not a fan of NFL’s playoff overtime rules

Retired New York Giants great Tiki Barber isn’t a fan of the NFL’s playoff overtime rules — particularly as they relate to the clock.

Super Bowl LVIII between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs went into overtime, testing the new rule approved by the league two years ago.

Under the old rules adopted in 2010, if the team that possessed the ball first in overtime scored a touchdown on that drive, it won the game. The other offense never got a chance to even take the field.

On the other hand, if the team possessing the ball first kicked a field goal, the other team got a chance to win the game with a touchdown or tie it with a field goal. At that point, the game becomes a sudden-death scenario.

The playoff overtime rules approved in 2022 guaranteed each team a possession. If the team that possesses the ball first does not score a touchdown, or if the score is tied after each team has had a possession, then sudden death sets in, and the next score wins the game.

Former New York Giants great Tiki Barber believes the overtime rules in the postseason are nonsense, claiming they make the clock irrelevant.

“The new NFL overtime rule in the playoffs is nonsense. It’s absolute nonsense. To make a clock mean nothing is nonsense,” Barber said Monday on WFAN. “The clock has to end the game. I understand why they do it this way because you want to be fair. But it takes all urgency out of football.

“I hate that. Football, in my mind, is competing against an opponent. But it’s also competing against these forces that constrain you. It’s the field, it’s the officials, and it’s the clock. And overtime in the NFL playoffs, they have neutered the clock, and it makes no sense to me.”

I understand his point, but keep in mind, it’s the postseason. The game needs to produce a winner. In the old days (think the 1958 NFL Championship between the Giants and Baltimore Colts) it was a true sudden-death affair — first team to score wins.

The clock ticked, but it clearly was irrelevant when it came to urgency as Tiki was intimating. Isn’t that basically still the case? The only difference between 1958 and today is that both teams get a shot as the clock ticks in the background, albeit pointlessly.

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See it: Giants’ Tommy DeVito, Tiki Barber appear in Pizza Hut commercial

New York Giants rookie QB Tommy DeVito stars in a brand new Pizza Hut commercial that also briefly features retired RB Tiki Barber.

The New York Giants didn’t play in Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday night but shortly before kickoff, they did make their presence felt.

Pizza Hut released a brand new ad campaign to showcase their Hot Honey Pizza and Wings and they chose Giants rookie quarterback Tommy DeVito and actress Antonia Gentry as their “power couple” spokespeople.

Retired Giants great Tiki Barber also got in on the action a bit.

Check it out:

DeVito rose to fame this season after quarterbacks Daniel Jones and Tyrod Taylor suffered multiple injuries. He took over and led the Giants on a three-game winning streak, also taking the country by storm during that time.

Although DeVito’s flame burned hot and fast, it was enough for him to secure several endorsement deals and promotional opportunities. His Italian-inspired celebration also won him the Bug Light Celebration of the Year at the NFL Honors Award Show last week.

DeVito, who is still under contract (non-guaranteed), is expected back with the team in 2024.

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Giants great Tiki Barber: Taylor Swift ‘obsession is getting annoying’

New York Giants great Tiki Barber has had enough of the Taylor Swift sideshow, saying the obsession has gotten annoying.

If you’ve had the misfortune of watching a Kansas City Chiefs game this season, you’re well aware that the broadcast is less about football and more about auto-tune pop star Taylor Swift.

Not a minute goes by that cameras aren’t showing Swift in the high-priced luxury suite or announcers aren’t mentioning her for some reason unrelated to football.

Swift has become the show. Not the Chiefs. Not superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes. And not even her boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

It’s Taylor Swift hour every time the Chiefs take the field and many NFL fans are tired of it. Current and former players are also tired of it, including retired New York Giants great Tiki Barber.

“(Isiah Pacheco) scores a touchdown, and they pan immediately to Taylor Swift! Again? It’s not even Travis Kelce,” Barber said on Monday during WFAN’s afternoon drive show. “Maybe it’s the Taylor Swift influence that has made me — I don’t want to say turn sour — but just be slightly annoyed with the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s also because they’re always here. After you’ve been somewhere for so long and have had the success they’ve had, it becomes inevitable.”

That would be fine if it were simply about the Chiefs but it’s not. And it’s not the Chiefs that most people are annoyed with — it’s Swift and the networks’ obsession with her.

“Why are you guys continuing to show Taylor Swift? The obsession is getting annoying,” Barber said. “Why do we need to see her?”

On Sunday, everyone outside of Kansas City will be rooting for Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens to put an end to this sideshow. If they don’t, the Super Bowl — the holiest of football Sundays — will be taken over by Swift madness and that just can not be allowed to happen.

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Tiki Barber comes to the defense of Giants head coach Brian Daboll

Tiki Barber once criticized his former coach relentlessly but he doesn’t want to hear the same when it comes to Giants coach Brian Daboll.

A man once known for his repeated criticisms of one New York Giants head coach is now coming to the emphatic defense of another.

Retired Giants great, Tiki Barber, has grown tired of the Brian Daboll criticism in recent weeks and shredded the narrative that Daboll is the reason some coordinators, assistants, and staffers are unhappy and reportedly want out in East Rutherford.

“I keep hearing these nonsense takes, ‘It’s an indictment on Brian Daboll that Mike Kafka might not be here,'” Barber said on WFAN this week. “Maybe Mike Kafka just wasn’t good here, and it was more of an indictment on Mike Kafka.

“Same thing with (special teams coordinator Thomas) McGaughey. I’d watch special teams for the Giants and be frustrated that those guys didn’t know what the hell they were doing. Is it on Daboll, or is it on Daboll to hold him accountable, which he did? Is it on Daboll to hold his offensive coordinator accountable? He did, sometimes taking the play calling away from him. That’s what a good head coach does.”

Ultimately, all failures fall at the feet of the general manager and head coach. That’s the nature of the business and all business — you know what rolls downhill.

But it is true — the Giants underwhelmed in all three phases of the game, largely due to injuries and an already lacking roster. They didn’t have the depth to overcome those issues and rushed to compete during a rebuild, which was the Achilles heel for the previous three regimes as well.

Still, those aren’t the issues that have allegedly caused such dissatisfaction within 1925 Giants Drive. Reports from Jay Glazer, Pat Leonard, Jordan Raanan, and others all suggest the problems are the result of disrespectful person-to-person interactions.

Barber still isn’t buying that, however.

“The narrative of, ‘This sounds like trouble for the Giants because Daboll has problems with his coordinators,’ maybe the coordinators sucked in those moments!” Barber said. “You should have a problem with them. I’m serious.”

Maybe. But when everyone at the party gets along except with one guy, is it that lone guy who’s the problem or is it all of the other partygoers?

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Giants great Tiki Barber not among finalists for Hall of Fame

Retired New York Giants RB Tiki Barber is not among the finalists for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

Former New York Giants star running back Tiki Barber is not among the 15 Finalists in the Modern-Era Player category for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.

On Wednesday, the list of 15 former standouts were announced as finalists by the Hall. Barber was among the group of semifinalists being considered for possible enshrinement.

From the Hall of Fame:

Comprising the Class of 2024’s Modern-Era list of candidates are nine players who reached this stage in the selection process when the Class of 2023 was chosen, two players in their first year of eligibility and four players who are Finalists for the first time after a combined 40 years of eligibility.

The slate of candidates in the Modern-Era Player category will be considered when the Hall of Fame’s Selection Committee meets prior to Super Bowl LVIII. The Class of 2024 will be unveiled publicly Feb. 8 during the “NFL Honors presented by Invisalign” broadcast from Las Vegas on CBS Television Network and NFL Network at 9 p.m. ET.

Barber played his entire career for the Giants from 1997-2006. He is the team’s All-Time leading rusher, a Ring of Honor enshrinee and a three-time Pro Bowler.

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