Manning Takes a Stance

How's this for irony: During one distant gabfest Tiki Barber may have sparked decibels of emotion in Eli Manning he was never able to register in all his years of side-by-side prodding.

And now, if Giants fans are to be heard and, more to the point, believed, Manning's recent boy-to-man transforming takedown of Barber should only be viewed as poetic justice. Redemption, as it were, for the bill of goods they were so wholly sold four seasons ago when unending promotion heralded the Barber/Manning pairing as one of the game's zestiest new combos.

It never quite worked out that way, never had much of a chance to what with the two main ingredients seemingly bickering from the first moment they took to the backfield together. So strained often seemed relations that at times management's ever-persistent stance on the pairing seemed destined to give whole new meaning to the term shotgun formation.

But that all now seems worlds ago. Nowadays the only variable that seems to remain is the unlikely prospect that all the abuse heaped on Eli Manning back in those formative days may have stilled him to the point where he's now capable of being the unshakeable leader Barber so relentlessly dogged him to be.

Mind you, it wasn't so much what Manning said in his retort to Barber's barbs that matters, but rather the fact he understood the need to be heard. Understood the need to be the last, and most calming, voice his teammates heard amid all the unrelenting chaos.

In some ways, it was akin to him taking the huddle in Dallas or New England late in the fourth quarter of a close game and needing to quell all the madness that is sure to reign. It's in those minutes where Eli Manning will again need to be heard most. Those times that will ultimately come to define his career and legacy.

Having his say in the whole Barber madness may mark a bold new beginning. 

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