Would Tiki Be Bad For Bucs’ Chemistry?
March 12th, 2011
The chatter is still flying about former Giants running back and disgraced former network newsman Tiki Barber who is returning to the NFL (in theory) after a four-year layoff.
It’s hard to find a former Giants player who cried when Tiki left and few of his former teammates who are still playing for the Giants seem to be pining for his return. In fact, the Giants have gone on record as saying, “Have a nice second NFL career with someone else Tiki.”
But it seems eye-RAH! Kaufman of the Tampa Tribune has something on Tiki. Twittering on the TBO Bucs Twitter feed, Kaufman insinuated there were locker room issues with Tiki in Gotham.
If the Bucs are looking for a veteran third-down back, they could sign Cadillac Williams and keep the locker room happy in the process.
Now Joe has zero evidence Tiki is a bad teammate and the lone time Joe spoke with Tiki he was gracious to Joe. But this Twitter post took Joe aback. Obviously Caddy is beloved not just by Bucs fans, but by his teammates. There’s no doubt if Caddy comes back he will be welcomed with open arms.
Is Kaufman hinting that Tiki would be a distraction if the Bucs brought him into The CITS?
March 12th, 2011 at 2:36 pm
let him tryout and if he can’t show and prove then release him, simple as that. It not like he hasn’t been durable and has tha deck stacked against him due 2 lack of funds. If he screw up this time no other team will want him and he’ll end in jail due to child support or possibly prison. Make him do a combine type workout and let him go thru tha rigors of training camp and see how things go from there. He has game film to be evaluated so somebody will take a chance on him in a situational role only. If he succeeds then some teams are gonna look stupid,if not then oh well.
March 12th, 2011 at 2:44 pm
“If he screw up this time no other team will want him and he’ll end in jail due to child support or possibly prison.”
/palm-to-forehead
March 12th, 2011 at 3:29 pm
Why not sign him? We need something to generate interest. Nobody cares about this team except for a select few. Signing tiki at least generates interest.
March 12th, 2011 at 4:51 pm
And the countdown begins for WeNeedDefense to give his brilliant insight on Tiki Barber…….
March 12th, 2011 at 5:04 pm
My initial thought isn’t whether or not he’ll boost or diminish team chemistry. That is settled in camp, long before game time. I’m more concerned whether he can perform. If he is cheap enough, I say let him compete for touches. What RunRickyRun did gives me hope for Tiki.
March 12th, 2011 at 5:32 pm
i’d rather take a chance on herschel walker than tiki at this point
March 12th, 2011 at 5:36 pm
There are better options than a 35 year old that has been in a suit and tie for the last 5 years.
I don’t think he will be playing on any NFL team this year. (or ever)
P.S. Thomas…you don’t sign a player to “generate interest.” You sign a player to help win games.
March 12th, 2011 at 6:02 pm
Likely, Joe, IRAn was probably referring to a scenario where Caddy was let go in order to sign Tiki. A lot of players on the team like Caddy.
@Fear The Glo
That’s just simply not true. Take the Panthers this year for example. They are probably going to take a quarterback with their first pick because it will sell tickets (ie. generate interest). Whereas, if they could actually stand behind the QB they already have, he’d likely turn into their franchise QB.
Even if you discount that one example, there have been PLENTY of teams that have signed players in order to generate interest.
March 12th, 2011 at 6:16 pm
I am not for signing Tiki, although I wouldn’t be enraged like some if we did. However, I don’t think for one second he would become a cancer on this team. First of all, the majority of his “bad teammate” perception was created AFTER he retired, when he was becoming a part of the media. He, unlike many former coaches and players (cough cough Jon Gruden), didn’t mind saying negative things about players and coaches in the NFL. However, while he was playing, I don’t recall any player on the Giants having a problem with him. Also, playing in NY is not playing in Tampa. The media coverage and attention you receive in Tampa is minuscule compared to what you receive in NY. There’s a lot less opportunity for him (or anyone else) to say something stupid. Finally, with him joining on his brother’s team, he is not going to (nor be allowed to) become a cancer. He doesn’t have a military general as his coach, nor a QB with a “Aw shucks” mentality. And even if he does show any cancerous tendencies, he knows it’s no sweat off Dominik’s balls to cut his arse in a second.
All that being said, let’s just sign Caddy and not even have to worry about Tiki.
March 12th, 2011 at 6:26 pm
“Whereas, if they could actually stand behind the QB they already have, he’d likely turn into their franchise QB.” – Pete Doucher
Well I guess we know who the least informed person reading JBF.com is…
March 12th, 2011 at 6:34 pm
If that’s what you wish to think, friend.
I find it ironic that no one hated on Tiki in Tampa BEFORE he decided to come back. Now, because people would rather not sign him, they are trying to find issues everywhere. Not once have I read that he was a locker room problem.
As for myself…I wouldn’t mind him being in Training Camp at least. Then leave it up to Morris to decide who is best suited to make the team. I doubt Tiki actually would, but if he does well enough and does not sign elsewhere, he could get a call if injuries occur amongst the RBs.
It would not hurt to have him ready in case we need him, and hte best way to evaluate that is in Training Camp.
March 12th, 2011 at 6:51 pm
Hey Pete Doucher,
If Jimmy Clausen was “likely to turn into their franchise QB”, why did they draft Tony Pike in the later rounds of that same draft. Clausen is as bad as your cooked-up theories.
And no one was trashing Tiki in Tampa before he decided to come back, because HE WASN’T F*****G RELEVANT!!!!
I’ve read your asinine posts here and on Rays Index. You CONSISTENTLY have no idea what you’re talking about.
March 12th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
@HIRE GREG OLSON!
And you, sir, are a liar. I’m not even a baseball fan, so have no need or desire to post on the “Ray’s Index”.
And if you are done crapping in your pampers because you cannot control your emotions or your bowels, you can back the heck off. First off, I do not post here…I comment. Secondly, mister low IQ, I don’t really care what some petty little, hate slinging, wannabee football fan thinks of my comments. Sorry to slam you with reality, but your opinion on my comments is not “relevent”.
You and I have never tangled…in fact I have never tangled with anyone on Joe’s site, but don’t mistake me for an easy target.
March 12th, 2011 at 7:02 pm
As to Jimmy Clausen, the Panthers have Jon Gruden disease. You do not draft a QB and then undermine him like they have to Clausen. Gruden went from QB to QB and the team was never stable as a result. That’s what they are doing.
March 12th, 2011 at 8:06 pm
I don’t see Tiki on the roster. They don’t need him and he doesn’t fit into the master plan. The Bucs have about 65 guys right now that can all make the 53 man roster (after injuries), then they will draft a few more to surely make it, and where does that leave a 35 yr old has been? I don’t know, but sure as hell ain’t here. Let’s keep our eye on the prize and not get sidetracked with speculation.
Tiki may still have some regular/unleaded gas in the tank, but I see him as a side step on a team moving forward. I love Ronde and Tike needs to get in the coaching line if wants back in the NFL. Then again, there is always the sucky Viqueens.
March 12th, 2011 at 8:08 pm
The IRAn comment was funny.
March 12th, 2011 at 11:53 pm
signing tiki makes zero sense to my regardless of how the guys in the locker room percieve him. he’s a 35 year old rb that hasnt been in the league in 4 years, what about that is appealing?
March 13th, 2011 at 12:12 am
Leaving it up to Dom and Rah.. they know what they need for this football team, if by all means they wanna sign him im with it. The choice is there’s either way we have no say so in the end.
March 13th, 2011 at 1:32 am
a couple of accessments of tiki right here from new york….
watching him toward the end of his career, he actually seemed to get better and better…it’s almost like he really honed his skill set from about midway in his career towards the end…he became a real pro’s pro and learned how to do more with less or less effort as time went on while with the g-men…sort of like an aging point guard like kidd, nash or billups continues to do in the nba…so on that note he must think he can just come back and continue where he left off…only problem is that back then he was a 30ish year old back and now would be a 35 year old “older” back…big difference…and he hasn’t played or taken a hit in years i would think….
also in tiki’s time in new york, from early to midway through his career he was really liked as well…from midway till the end, it seems like as he got better his personality and lockeroom presence got worse….thus by the time he left new york, he was pretty much totally hated by the entire giants organization…while he was playing it was more or less under wraps, but once he left a lot of the dirt came out in new york…..
as to his personal life and second career….when i first started seeing him do guest spots on the local news here as a sports commentator fill-in, i was baffled…then it happened more and more and eventually the word was out that he was becoming a sports talk guy…that slowly fizzled to the point where you wondered “where is tiki” as you would watch sports updates from time to time….as i guess he got canned or they didn’t renew his contracts….and to add in the fact of him leaving his pregnant wife of 8 months and kids for like a 22 year old, basically combined with all the giants lockeroom hatred being put out there, the town basically turned on the guy and he was finished here…he went from a toast of the town type to city trash almost over night here…..
when i heard he was coming back, i instantly envisioned him pairing up with ronde in tampa as they have always wanted to play together…and maybe ronde told tiki “come to tampa and unseat caddy here and try to stick around long enough for us to maybe grab another ring”….you never know…i firmly believe he thinks he will land in tampa, and ronde will tell his boy rah to give him a shot….no one knows what type of player he can be anymore, but feasably he could fill the 3rd down role and replace caddy if necessary for a year i would think….
do i want him here?…i really don’t know…it is tough to access a 35 year old pro’s pro who has been out of football for this long with a reputation of stepping on everyones toes he comes in contact with over the past few years….but there is an open spot on the roster that has tiki’s name all over it as caddy shops around for a so called “starting back” job in the nfl.
adam from ny
March 13th, 2011 at 3:46 am
Again- it just doesn’t matter. we don’t have a limit to roster spots right now. If he wants a chance to play with Ronde, let him have his chance. I dont think he can or will do it. I think he will quit about half way thru training camp. Just saving our backs a few hits.I don’t believe he has the right motivation to endure what he would have to, to get back in game shape- if it’s even possible.
But if Rinde wants to try to play in the NFL, hasn’t he earned the right to at least let his brother try out? You know, they are the same age and same genetics. Most people believe last year was one of Ronde’s better years. Just suppose Tiki does what none of us thinks he can- and returns to close the form he had when he quit? Don’t answer yet, because you’ll have an answer during preseason. If he can’t take it, he’ll quit. If he can’t play, we’ll cut him. If he pulls of a small miracle and looks good, we’ll all be Clammering for him to make the team.
Again, it doesn’t really matter. If he comes here, it’ll work it self out. As far as “locker room cancer”, that won’t be the case here. The situation won’t allow it. In NY- he was the man, and most dynamic talent on offense. Here? At best, he is an aging back suppling a vetern presence in the back field. A 3rd down option, and MEYBE give Blount a breather for a play or two. He is not in the future plans. He can’t dream of being” the man”. He can only hope to provide enough of a dynamic to hang on, and hope that he gets another shot at a ring here. This team is a very good option for a “last SuperBowl ring”dream. In my book-we can give Ronde a chance to let his brother play. We owe Tiki nothing, but Ronde has been nothing but class here. We can do him this small favor of giving his brother a chance
It really won’t matter by start of the regular season.
March 13th, 2011 at 9:55 am
Again, I do like Ronde, but they could always trade up in the draft to get Patrick Peterson and give Ronde the option to do what he wants wherever he wants, with Tiki.
March 13th, 2011 at 10:25 am
Pete Douche,
I’m sure you’re old and have no idea what you’re talking about, since you don’t understand that words like “posting” and “commenting” are interchangeable, moron.
And you have NEVER posted a comment (see what I did there?) on Rays Index claiming that YOU, the casual baseball fan, were the target audience for the Rays and that Joe Maddon shouldn’t be resting players? Think long and hard before you answer.
Your assessment of Jimmy Clausen is contrary to EVERYTHING HE’S DONE ON A FOOTBALL FIELD. He couldn’t even beat NAVY, a program with weight and height maximums.
Please take your ignorance somewhere else…
March 13th, 2011 at 12:16 pm
Actually, no…it was not me. I couldn’t even name a Rays player…I take that back…Manny something who signed recently.
If there is a Pete over there, it is not me. The only thing I know of baseball is that you hit the ball with a bat…and I probably will NEVER get into it.
But I did post there once…I think (not actually sure). The year they did really well. I just posted a congrats. Never went back again and could not even tell you what user name I used.
As to the rest…I’m moving on because this conversation is getting us nowhere.
March 13th, 2011 at 11:50 pm
Tiki and Ronde will give us 2 Super Bowl Ring wearing brothers on the same team.
I say WTF, give Tiki a chance, never underestimate the rivalry and love between identical twins. The chance to finally play on the same pro team together in Tampa just might light a fire under Tiki. As far as leaving his pregnant wife for a younger girl, so what ?
That’s his business, and has no bearing on what he does on a football field. I think the 2 Barber Brothers on the same team may motivate both of them to new heights. Tampa will be the media darling of the NFL with that story, and it may provide further motivation for our players to make it to the Super Bowl, maybe ? I say give Tiki a chance in Tampa.
March 14th, 2011 at 12:37 am
sign me please…im broke and horny…lotta cash in the glazers pockets and lotta gurlies in the tampa vicinity to get my rocks off on
March 14th, 2011 at 3:32 am
If you watched the “4-letter” like a responsible journalist, you’d know that Antonio Pierce *destroyed* Tiki Barber the other day—for tearing down the head coach, the quarterback, & therefore, the spine of the team. Tiki would be on his best behaviour, given his money/personal situation, & the team would respect him, strictly out of respect for Ronde. But the fact remains that Tiki did what he did, in his professional & personal life, & those things will probably lead Team Buccaneer away from him in the grand/end scheme. & thank god…
March 14th, 2011 at 11:50 am
christopher:
Responsible journalists don’t watch BSPN.