War of Words: Tiki Barber and Eli Manning

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

Tiki Barber, the much-ballyhooed and recently anointed (for reasons unknown to me) god of football broadcasting, raised doubts about Eli Manning’s leadership ability in his outspoken debut as a halftime analyst for NBC’s Sunday Night Football. He described Eli as being “uncomfortable” when it came to motivating teammates, adding:

“Sometimes it was almost comical the way he would say things.”

The next day, Eli shot back with:

“I could have questioned his leadership skills last year — calling out the coach, retiring in the middle of the season — that he’d lost the heart.”

Tiki was wrong in his outspoken comments about his former teammate. He began his “heralded” broadcasting career by making a jerk of himself. (Note: I didn’t say Tiki was a jerk. I said he made a jerk of himself — although he’s a couple comments away from being a jerk.)

I agree with Eli that Tiki made very bad timing of his comments in the middle of last season when he confirmed a report that he intended to leave the game at the end of the 2006 season. What was he thinking in making this kind of an announcement in the middle of a season? Tiki, who cares? Do what’s best for the team. Talk about lack of leadership ability. He later said his heart was no longer in the game and he blasted head coach Tom Coughlin on numerous occasions. This is a classic example of a spoiled athlete who was (is) only concerned with himself.

Eli Manning is a quiet, soft-spoken, low-key guy. That’s his nature. He can’t be something he’s not and for a former player to criticize him like this, essentially demeaning his true personality — it’s distasteful and in very poor judgement. I realize Tiki has joined “the dark side” (as many NFL players refer to the mainstream media), but this seemed entirely inappropriate.

Eli would later say:

“I’m fine talking with Tiki. If I see him, I’ll talk to him. I’ll be friendly to him. I’m not trying to start something. That’s just the deal. It happened. Hopefully, when we see each other — and we will — it won’t be awkward, because I don’t want it to be.”

That’s taking the high road and I respect Eli for handling the situation the right way. As for Tiki, I hope he adjusts his method of halftime analysis.