The Knicks' victory over the Jazz Monday was a tough break for Eli Manning, who now must spend at least three more days as New York's Greatest Sports Concern.
Before I even got around to reading Glauber's column this morning, Boomer Esiason and Craig Carton directed me to it by giving him props on WFAN for getting the Giants' GM to use the word "skittish" about his quarterback.
Rule of thumb in the NFL, as I once learned in the aftermath of a Jim Fassel news conference: The use of the word "skittish" never is a good thing in the macho world of pro football.
Meanwhile . . . I somehow managed to pry some thoughts on Eli out of his former teammate, Tiki Barber. You know how shy Tiki is about public speaking, so this was a coup!
Some of it is in my newspaper column. Click below for more from my Sunday sitdown with the NBC analyst.
Here is a the complete version of Tiki's take on why the Giants got off to a good start - and why his absence has nothing to do with it - which I had to partly paraphrase for space reasons in the newspaper:
"It doesn’t make sense to me . . . but in a lot of people’s minds they think there’s validity in what they’re saying. You want me to tell you the actuality?
"They’re healthy, which is why they’ve been doing well. They have a new offensive coordinator who understands Eli and is better equipped. They have a new defensive coordinator who the guys like. I don’t think it was a secret how much the team disliked Tim Lewis. They like the new scheme. They like the aggressiveness. They have a guy who puts them in position to play to their strengths.
"And Tom [Coughlin] treats them a little bit like men. That’s why they’re playing well. It’s nothing to do with I’m not there, I was a cancer. I don’t know what they’re talking about, because it wasn’t the case."
Tiki on three of Manning's intercepted passes Sunday:
"The first interception he threw, Eli was prepared for it, Jeremy Shockey was not, that’s why it was returned to the house. The second interception, Plaxico [Burress] hasn’t practiced at all and he’s gimpy on his ankle. It’s not Eli’s fault, but he’ll get the responsibility for it.
"The last one was just him pressing. I think [pressure] is an issue with any quarterback. Danny Kanell was a good on-rhythm player, then he started getting sacked and went to crap."
Barber did say Manning's weakness since he joined the league has been operating with pass pressure in his face, but he hardly pinned Sunday's debacle on the quarterback:
"All that stuff isn’t Eli’s fault. They’re second in the league in dropped passes, but no one talks about it because they’re winning games against the Dolphins and the Falcons and the Jets.
"But that’s a serious issue when you play a good team. People won’t notice [after a victory] the fact Shockey didn’t break off a hot route when it’s a blitz. Or they’ll think it’s remarkable that Plaxico doesn’t practice all week and then goes and has great games. But, you know, that affects ---- on the field."
On whether the media spends too much time and energy taking Manning's temperature week to week: "That's New York. It’s what you ask for in New York. You see it all the time in baseball. In football it’s only one day a week so it festers over and over and over again."
On Manning's notoriously laid-back demeanor, even after tough losses. "People want him to jump off a building because he lost a game. Then they kill you for wearing your heart on your sleeve."
By the way, far more than anything said by Fox's Terry Bradshaw or anyone else about him lately, Barber was annoyed Sunday by an article in The New York Times that suggested NFL running backs largely are interchangeable.
Suffice to say, Barber does not believe that to be the case.