Patience of Tiki Barber TIKING AWAY with the Giants

Tiki Barber ain't happy with the New York Giants.

Tiki Barber has heard all of Tom Coughlin's reasons for why the New York Giants abandoned him and their running game in Jacksonville on NFL Monday Night Football. Yesterday, calmly but pointedly, the frustrated running back called them "a cop-out" and "a slap in the face."

"I'm not here to be a cheerleader," Tiki Barber said. "I'm not here to be someone who fades into the background. My job is to help this team win. The opportunities I get will dictate that. If it gets to a point where I feel I'm not doing anything, then generally our team is in trouble."

This wasn't the first time that Barber has complained about the Giants' penchant for abandoning the run. It was the fourth time he's done so publicly in the last 14 months, including his infamous "out-coached" outburst after the 23-0 playoff loss to Carolina.

Barber had hinted his latest rage was coming late Monday night when he said, "We didn't even try to run." The next day, Coughlin fired back, saying, "That's an easy thing to say after a game when you've only run the ball 14 times."

"We're not scared of anyone," the New York Giants franchise running back said. "We've played against the best defenses in this league and we've run the ball and done effective things against them. I think you put yourself halfway to failure when you say we can't do something because of another team's personnel. It's a slap in the face of me, it's a slap in the face of my front five guys. We don't take to that very kindly.''

"You say you have a couple of (bad) plays early on and you just can't do it anymore? That's a cop-out. The one thing you have to do as a team, whether it's passing the ball or running the ball, is establish an identity, believe in something and have faith in it, and do it over and over again - in some ways dare teams to stop you. We haven't done that. And I think that's why we've faltered the last couple of games."

The New York Giants visit the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. Can the Giants bounce back with a win in Tennessee? All Star Sportsbook has the odds.

New York Giants -3

Tennessee Titans +3