Is Tiki Barber the Giants Very Own Terrell Owens?

Here's what Ron Jaworski, the best NFL analyst in the world, had to say about the New York Giants recently:

"What I see from the Giants is a lot of false enthusiasm. It looks like they're playing hard. You've got a lot of guys talking, you've got a lot of guys pointing fingers. But it's false enthusiasm. This team lacks passion for the game of football."

A lack of passion for the game of football. Who's that remind you of?

Tiki Barber's pretty open about his lack of passion for the game of football, admitting that his mind is on other things throughout the week during practices and team meetings. He's a veteran leader on the team in many ways, and especially with Strahan out, he is the face of the New York Giants. It's only natural to wonder if his lack of enthusiasm and passion isn't infecting the entire roster.

His retirement intentions were announced before the first game against Dallas. The Giants won that one, and two more. The downhill spiral began right after that.

I think it's a fair question to ask. I can't tell you the answer, because I'm not in the Giants locker room, I don't know what the other guys on the roster think about Tiki, and I don't know what's going on inside of Eli's, Plax's, and Shockey's head. Certainly, Tiki's indifference wouldn't be the only reason for the Giants' slide -- I'm not a Coughlin fan, there have been injuries and defensive breakdowns -- but it could be a part of it.

Now, I'm not comparing Barber to Owens in the sense that he's that selfish or that crazy. I don't think Barber's going to attempt suicide, I doubt that he has a live-in publicist, and I've never heard him call Jeff Garcia gay. The Barber effect and the Owens effect are two different things, but the end result might be the same, in terms of having a negative effect on his team. In that sense, Tiki Barber might be as bad as anyone else in the league right now.