When ESPN's Aaron Schatz and Seth Walder put together their All-Quarter Century 53-man team, it was always going to be contentious. There were going to be names that missed the cut — it's the name of the game. Leaving off legends was inevitable.
They were able to choose players who played in the 90s, but only their production from 2000 on would be considered for the exercise.
That's why it wasn't all that shocking to see former New York Giants heroes such as Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and even Michael Strahan not make the list. Strahan likely would have, but writing off seven seasons before 2000 put him at a clear disadvantage to the other edge rushers like DeMarcus Ware, Jared Allen, Myles Garrett, and Julius Peppers.
But one omission stands out above the rest — a Giants legend whose absence makes very little sense. When looking at the running backs, Priest Holmes, Christian McCaffrey, and Derrick Henry made the team, with LaDainian Tomlinson as the practice squad member. That leaves Big Blue Nation with one question: Where is Tiki Barber?
Tiki Barber left off ESPN's All-Quarter Century team
Barber's counting stats speak for themselves. His experiment-worthy numbers are insane: 13,441 all-purpose yards, 58 total touchdowns, three-time Pro Bowler, and one-time All-Pro. This is all while he retired at the height of his career. He would have been a mortal lock had he not retired to pursue the booth.
For comparison, his competition was fierce, but it definitely feels like he could have edged out Holmes or McCaffrey (at least as of right now).
Name | All-purpose yards | Total TDs |
|---|---|---|
Priest Holmes | 9,256 | 85 |
Christian McCaffrey | 10,853 | 81 |
Derrick Henry | 13,074 | 111 |
Tiki Barber | 13,441 | 58 |
Yes, the biggest discrepancy lies with the touchdowns. It's safe to say Barber clearly wasn't the TD machine these guys were/are. Maybe that's what ultimately did him in, but his all-purpose yards were unmatched. Holmes seems like the easiest target to usurp... which makes it all the more interesting that he was the No. 1 running back picked.
Schatz provided the selection behind the pick and he pointed to analytics being the driving factor: "Other running backs might have had longer peaks, but none of them can match the three-year period that Holmes had from 2001 to 2003," he wrote. "In the advanced DYAR metrics for total value, these seasons rank 15th, second and third among all running back seasons since 1978, respectively."
If only Barber hadn't hung up his cleats right in the middle of his prime. He called it a career the year before the G-Men won the Super Bowl, right in the middle of a three-year streak of eclipsing 2,000 all-purpose yards. Imagine if he'd kept playing for just a couple more seasons. What could have been...
If Barber just played two more seasons, this wouldn’t even be a debate. But he didn’t. He walked away too soon, and that choice continues to cost him whenever legacy comes up. Case and point.