PHOENIX -- A question: How does a team lose a star player -- a borderline Hall of Famer, one of the best talents in the history of the New York Giants -- and get better?
When that player is Me-ki Barber, the answer is easy.
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| After three Pro Bowl seasons, Tiki Barber's exit might have been his biggest favor to Tom Coughlin. (US Presswire) |
By different the player means more splintered, more finger pointing, less unified.
By different, he means worse.
"It's not a coincidence that he's gone and we're here," the player said. "You're a fool if you think it is."
And if you fail to believe that a significant number of Giants veterans aren't privately chuckling at that coincidence and even mocking Barber now, behind his back, you're a fool, too, because they are.
Less Me-ki, they say, means more wins.
Harsh?
Maybe, but that is what more than a few Giants players feel and state privately. In fairness, not everyone in that locker room and around the team agrees. Ernie Accorsi, former Giants general manager who mostly built this current team and knows Barber well, was asked if he believes the Giants are better off without Me-ki.
"My answer is the same as it is to people who say the same thing about (Jeremy) Shockey," said Accorsi, who drafted Shockey, in an e-mail to CBSSports.com. "You are never better off when you lose great players."
He added: "I will say this. The balance that (running backs) Jacobs and Bradshaw give the running game is a key ingredient of this success. I love two backs (that) are different in style to throw at a defense."
That is indeed part of the reason the Giants running game didn't suffer dramatically, if at all, when Me-ki took his talent and self-centeredness into retirement last season. The Giants have joined a number of other teams relying on a multi-faceted rushing attack. The varying styles of a punisher and quick back can keep a defense on its heels. The Giants this season mastered that process.
