Once upon a time, Tiki Barber was a very vocal critic of New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning, causing quite a stir in the year after his retirement when he said Manning’s leadership attempts were comical.
Barber’s comments led to some sour feelings between he and the organization, as well as between he and the fans.
While Barber eventually apologized to Manning for his comments, it took years for things to settle. And it wasn’t until the Giants hired Pat Shurmur as their head coach that Barber was extended an invite to return to East Rutherford.
Now things have changed. Drastically.
Appearing on FOX Business on Friday, Barber addressed the team’s recent changes and then went on to defend Manning, who he believes has received too much of the blame for the Giants’ recent struggles.
“Look, Eli brought two Super Bowl wins to the biggest city and the biggest media market in the country. And, we want to malign him. I don’t but a lot of people want to malign him because they feel like everything is his fault. And, it’s a little bit unfair,” Barber said, adding that Manning played well in 2018. “Next year, Eli will get a chance to ride off the right way.”
Additionally, Barber said the Odell Beckham Jr. trade, however difficult it may have been, was the right move for the organization.
“Trading Odell sucks because he’s so exciting and he’s internationally known and he has a great individual brand that you just want to grab a hold of and the Giants have lost that in a sense but I don’t think they’ve lost themselves,” Barber said. “I think they’re finding themselves as opposed to letting themselves waffle or float in the wind.”
It’s a strange day when Barber is defending Eli Manning and the decisions being made within the organization, but perhaps it reflects more of a reality than many others would have you believe.
