Barber undergoes Giant transformation

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Jan. 5, 2006) -- So what exactly has happened to Tiki Barber in the last two years?

For the first seven seasons of his New York Giants career, Barber was an above-average player who had superb games and outstanding seasons, but was seldom included in discussions of the NFL's finest running backs. But in 2004 and 2005, Barber became one of the NFL's very best players, and arguably its most productive back.

In each of the last two seasons, Barber set Giants single-season rushing and total yardage records. He was selected to his first two Pro Bowls. Along the way, he has set franchise marks for career rushing and carries, put the total yardage record out of reach for the foreseeable future and finished the year one catch behind Amani Toomer on the franchise's career receptions list.

Want numbers? In 2004, his 1,518 rushing yards established a Giants record. This year, he topped that in 14 games and finished with 1,860 yards, just 20 behind league-leader Shaun Alexander. That's a two-year average of 1,689 yards. In his first seven seasons, he averaged 773 rushing yards a year.

Barber rushed for more than 100 yards in a game 13 times in those seven seasons. In the last two years, he accomplished the feat 17 times, including three 200-yard outings this year. He is only the third player in history to rush for 200 yards in a game at least three times in a season.

In 2004, Barber set a franchise record with 2,096 total yards. This year, his 530 receiving yards gave him 2,390 total yards, the second-highest total in NFL history. St. Louis' Marshall Faulk had 2,429 yards in 1999 (1,381 rushing, 1,048 receiving).

Barber is the only player in NFL history with at least 1,800 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in the same season. His 263 yards last Saturday in Oakland increased his career total to 15,232 and moved him into 18th place on the NFL's all-time list.

So we ask again ... what exactly has happened to Tiki Barber the last two years?

"I think I've evolved as a player as far as my intellectual knowledge of the game," said Barber, who will have a heavy workload when the Giants host the Carolina Panthers Sunday in an NFC Wild Card Playoff Game. "Also, a lot of credit goes to this coaching staff, coach (Tom) Coughlin and running backs coach (Jerald) Ingram in particular for forcing me, for lack of a better word, to become more consistent as a player with ball security, with being a blocker and also being a leader. It's made a difference in how I approach each and every game."

And its result is a marked improvement in his production. Remarkably, Barber is improving as he's getting older. He turned 30 last April 7, an age when most running backs are in decline or home pursuing their next career. But Barber altered his offseason conditioning program prior to the 2004 season, and he is not at all surprised he has improved with age.


After a slow start in his career, Tiki Barber has developed into an overnight success for the Giants.
"I've prepared so much to be the player that I've become the last couple of years that I expected success," Barber said. "Obviously, probably not to this magnitude, but I expected to be successful. There were certain things that I knew I had to work on and I attacked them vigorously and it's made me the player that I am now."

"He's very serious about what he does," Coughlin said. "Sometimes, he would work out twice a day. He would have his own regimen, he took great care of his body, and he worked hard on the things that he had to improve upon."

Those things included taking care of the football. In 2003, the year before Coughlin arrived, Barber had nine fumbles. Last year that number dropped to three. This season, he fumbled once.

"I worked on my strength, ball security in particular, but also patience and understanding defenses and understanding this game," Barber said. "I think it has shown up in the way I played this season. I'm not always doing things too fast or too slow. I'm doing them just right and that comes with experience, but it also comes with the right preparation."

Barber's primary professional obsession is to win a Super Bowl, something his twin brother, Ronde, did three years ago with Tampa Bay.

"My paramount thoughts are winning and trying to get a Super Bowl," Barber said. "I can't let my brother badger me for the rest of my life."

If he keeps posting record-breaking numbers, Barber just might be able to get his own ring next month.