Poor Form, Tiki

Tiki Barber just sealed the fate of Tom Coughlin. I don't think there's any way Coughlin makes it through next season with the Giants.

Speaking after signing a contract with NBC, Barber reveals that according to him the big man upstairs was the only reason he didn't get injured more often.

Barber, who will work on NBC's "Today" show and on the network's Sunday night football coverage, said his problems with New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin had "started to take its toll on me" and that it was an "act of God' that the physical demands Coughlin placed on him did not result in serious injuries.
"Coach Coughlin is very hard-nosed, and I didn't get a lot of time off, couldn't sit down and rest myself, and so it was a constant grind -- a physical grind on me that started to take its toll," Barber told reporters Tuesday after his introduction the "Today" show's newest correspondent.

Talk about an indictment. There is a lot that bothers me about this. The first is that its obviously a cheap shot at his old coach. But why go public with it? If you don't like the guy, that's fine, but its not as if Coughlin refused anything less than what he demanded. Barber says himself:

"There'd be days where I couldn't move on Tuesday or Wednesday at practice, and he'd get mad at me for going half-speed. And I told him, 'Coach, I can't do it. I'm gonna be out here, I'm never gonna miss a practice, but I can't give you what you want all the time.' And he understood."

Read that bold line again. He understood.

So, lets clarify: Coughlin ran them ragged, made them practice when they didn't want to, and forced them to do more than what they felt their bodies could...but when he was told that it was too much, he understood.

Isn't that just coaching? What has he done wrong here?

Shame on Barber (one of my favorite players of all-time due to the amount of times he won me a fantasy football league). Now wasn't the time to bring this up. How can Coughlin expect to get things done next year?