New York Giants greats Eli Manning and Tiki Barber have a complicated history. Their relationship has had many peaks and valleys, and fans are intimately familiar with how things played out in 2006.
Midway through the season, Barber announced his intent to retire. That didn’t sit well with many, including Manning himself. And following Barber’s retirement, things only got worse when he made critical comments about Manning and then-head coach Tom Coughlin.
Over the years, Barber has apologized and thrown his support behind Manning in the Hall of Fame debate. And now, Manning is acknowledging that Barber saved his career early on.
“Tiki, he saved me early on in my career,” Manning told Cam Newton during a recent episode of Funky Friday. “And probably made me look better than I was at certain times and in certain games. He was a heck of a running back.”
When asked to pick his all-time Giants lineup — an ideal offense to complete a game-winning 80-yard drive — Manning also named Barber. His 11-personnel team broke down as follows:
- WR1: Plaxico Burress
- WR2: Odell Beckham Jr.
- Slot: Victor Cruz
- TE: Kevin Boss
- RB: Tiki Barber
“That’s heavy,” Newton said of Manning’s choices at receiver. “That’s venomous.”
Newton wasn’t nearly as impressed with Manning’s choice at tight end, letting about an immediate “what?!”
“(Jeremy) Shockey was there for a little bit, but he was kind of all over the place,” Manning said. “So, Kevin for the two-minute drive.”
Drilling things down even further, Newton asked Manning who his most cerebral teammate was — which guy he essentially shared a brain with. Manning answer wasn’t surprising.
“Victor Cruz. We put a lot on his plate,” Manning explained. “He’s the one who just kind of took… When we gave a guy maybe 2-3 options he took it and would say, ‘hey, I can handle all six of them.'”
Great stuff from Eli as usual.
