Due to a truth and rumor put up by FanNation, I felt compelled to discuss my thoughts on the accusation of Troy Aikman that Tiki Barber's attitude was the essential reason why the team did not win a Super Bowl during his career. A great point, and there are many people who think this is the case, including me. Tiki appeared to be a great man, and was no doubt a great athlete, who was always striving to play his best, but sometimes he got frustrated, as everybody does. In my opinion he should have handled his frustration better, in order to save the humiliation of his teammates and coach. 

           On more than one occasion he criticized his young new QB, who was just getting into the NFL. It is fine to be frustrated, and all of the Giants fans were upset with Manning's slow learning curve. But by throwing him around in the media, the problem didn't get resolved any faster. Manning was already being watched, and with public criticism from a player like Barber, he sure didn't get any less.

          Or his recent and past predicaments with Tom Coughlin. Saying he might have kept playing if Coughlin was fired. First of all, a straight out lie, because he said he was tired of fighting through the "wear and tear" of the season. He would at most have played 1 season, because he also said he no longer enjoyed the game. Other than that, he is ruining any good connections he had with the Giants. He has severed the copnnection, and now sports fannatics will be crucifying Coughlin if his team isn't perfect.

         All in all, I'm not sure if one player's morale can devastate a team, but from what I can discern, the Giants infantalized Barber untill he got too comfortable. I bet the Giants wanted nothing but the best for Tiki, but with him out of the way, they can mold new talent into a system. I never did like Tiki, so I do have a bias, but I think he could have handled himself more respectfully in order to help uplift his teammates to play better.