Coughlin, Barber Iron Out Differences
By DAVID PORTER
Associated Press Writer
January 09. 2006 5:42PM
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New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin and running back Tiki Barber appeared to have resolved their differences Monday over remarks Barber made after Sunday's NFC wild-card game loss to Carolina.
Barber said after the game that the Giants were outcoached by Carolina's John Fox, a former Giants defensive coordinator. Coughlin was clearly displeased with the comments, and expressed that on Monday after taking the unusual step of calling Barber in to look at game films of the 23-0 loss.
"I was upset because in the true concept of team it is not about pointing the finger," Coughlin said. "It is not about that. We are all in this together. We have tried to engender this thought process since we have been here. Occasionally out of frustration, something happens where someone says something that they haven't thought out well."
Barber - who was not the only Giant to question some of the coaching decisions - backtracked from his earlier statement Sunday that it seemed the Panthers "were in our huddle" during the loss.
"We had a good conversation about what we needed to do for next year," Barber said. "It shouldn't be an issue. It wasn't the game-planning, it was execution and them getting more attuned to the opponent than we were. If you look at the tape, there were plays out there that we missed that we shouldn't have."
Sunday wasn't the first time Barber had spoken out about the coaching this season. After a 16-13 overtime loss to Dallas on Oct. 16 in which he carried the ball just 14 times for 64 yards, he remarked that the Giants seemed to be ignoring their rushing attack in favor of a vertical passing game.
Barber went on to rush for a career-high 1,860 yards, which included three 200-yard performances. But he was held to 41 yards on 13 carries by a voracious Panthers defense that held New York to 132 total yards.
Barber insisted his comments were not a sign of a larger rift between him and the coaching staff.
"We are on the same page," he said. "It's just a matter of us getting in rhythm. When you're in a rhythm it's easy to call plays, and we didn't have that."
Coughlin would not divulge the details of his discussion with Barber but seemed satisfied with the outcome.
"That is private," he said. "We had a good conversation. It is always a good conversation with Tiki. He is a very positive guy. He said something that, hopefully, he regretted. I didn't want to see it. I saw it, we talked, we looked at some tape together and we continued to talk. And it ended up as it always does, a unified situation."
