Four months ago, around the time Super Bowl 50 was about to happen, former New York Giants running back Tiki Barber claimed he was responsible for Tom Coughlin’s two Super Bowl wins. Now, the outspoken franchise rushing leader believes Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins, not Eli Manning, is the NFC East’s best.
UPDATE from Pro Football Talk:
"“Barber was asked who will be the best quarterback in the NFC East for five years in the future, not who is the best quarterback in the NFC East right now. Considering that five years from now Cousins will be 32, Manning will be 40 and Romo will be 41, it’s completely reasonable to conclude that Cousins will be the best quarterback in the NFC East over the next five years. Manning and Romo will probably be retired in five years.Barber couldn’t have been any clearer about that in his answer. The first words out of his mouth were, “If you had asked me this two years ago, I would have said Eli.” Barber also said, “I love Tony Romo,” but added that at Romo’s age, Barber doesn’t know how much of a future Romo has. Only after explaining that he thinks Manning and Romo are likely to decline in their late 30s did Barber answer that he would pick Cousins as the best NFC East quarterback over the next five years, based on his age.”"
The weird opposition to choosing his former teammate Eli Manning because he is old can only be construed as a front for Tiki’s seething contempt for a quiet and humble leader who never complains. It’s unreal that Barber still has some kind of grudge against Eli, but furthermore, how can Tiki deny Eli’s back-to-back personal best seasons? Eli’s stats have never looked this good.
Sure, most of Manning’s success can be attributed to Odell Beckham Jr., but who does Eli have beyond that? In 2013, when he just had Victor Cruz, he threw career high interceptions. Now that Eli has Odell and second round draft pick Sterling Shepard, Giants fans should expect to see even better numbers from the 12 year veteran.
With the First Pick
Here’s the quote from Tiki – who’s a CBS Sports Radio host – in which he told 106.7 The Fan’s Chad Dukes. on picking Cousins over Manning:
"“None of the guys from the Eagles excite me. Eli and Tony are old, and Kirk just feels like he took the right steps. We were talking early about how Tom Coughlin reinvented himself. Kirk, who is only 24 years old, reinvented who he was. There’s a lot to be excited about with him, especially if he keeps continuity with his coordinators and just keeps taking the small steps forward. You don’t need to take leaps and bounds but just take small steps forward. Especially if you have talent around you, which the Washington Redskins do.”"
Barber has become one bold troll, but I can’t tell if this is an act to get his former team fired up to win another Lombardi without him? Last time couple times he sounded off on the G-Men, they’ve responded with championships.
If you need further reason to get steamed by Barber’s barbs, he recently told MarketWatch that his biggest financial mistake was buying an apartment on the Upper East Side before getting divorced. Just a reminder, Tiki got divorced because he cheated on his pregnant wife with a 23-year-old.
We called Tiki one of the 10 biggest draft steals of the ’90s when he was picked in the second round of the 1997 NFL Draft. I listed him second on my list of the top 10 second round draft picks of all-time. He ended up sixth on our list of the top 10 Giants of all-time. Can you imagine what his rankings would be like if it weren’t for the constant Big Blue bashing?
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But, even after all his records, honors, and accolades, Tiki has almost as long a history of coming off tacky when talking about his old team. His strong, and sometimes misguided or misinformed, opinions have Giants fans booing him at the halftime ceremony in which he was supposed to be honored. Can you name another franchise record holder who only played for one team his entire career getting booed?
Though Eli won’t admit it, I’m sure this latest jab at his prowess will fuel the fire for another top-notch campaign.