Tiki Barber - Hall of Fame?

rzor — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 19:56:20 -0000

This discussion has been brought up before in other forums, but I'm not sure if it's hit here at BBV. There's obviously a little bad blood and hurt feelings between some Giants fans and players regarding Tiki Barber, but looking back at his career I think it's valid question to wonder whether Tiki Barber is worthy of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This might even seem like a crazy premise, until you consider Eric Dickerson has already been enshrined, so really anything could happen.

In full disclosure, I was and still am a huge Tiki Barber fan. I was rooting for him while he was a Virginia Cavalier, and I was thrilled when he was picked by my hometown NFL team. So, you already know which side of the fence I stand on.

I think the first hurdle to clear is what the player meant to his team. Tiki Barber owns a bevy of team records, from career rushing touchdowns (55) to Most 1,000 yard seasons (6). Tiki Barber is also only the third player in NFL history to be the career leader in both rushing yards and receptions with their respective NFL franchises. To me one of the most impressive stats to discover was he actually led the Giants in rushing for every game from the beginning of the 2002 season until end of the 2006 season. That was an NFL record 80 consecutive games.

The next item to note is how he stacked up against his contemporaries. It might surprise you to know for more than half a decade he was one of the most prolific backs in the league. From 2000 through 2006 Tiki Barber gained the most yards from scrimmage by any NFL running back in that seven year stretch. He also led the NFL in total yards from scrimmage during the 2004 and 2005 seasons. Tiki named to the pro bowl and all pro roster three times as well.

Now lets get into the serious number and stat crunching:

Tiki Barber is one of only ten running backs to have over 400 receptions and 10,000 yards rushing. Tiki is the fourth player in NFL history to have four 2,000 total yard seasons. Not exclusive enough for you? He joined Marchall Faulk and Marcus Allen as the third player in NFL history to gain more than 10,000 rushing yards and 5,000 receiving yards. He is also one of three players ever to have at least three 200+ yard rushing games in a single season, adding to his total of five for his career. Tiki Barber is the first player in NFL history with 1,800 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards in one season. There's more, of course, but that all puts him in some pretty rarefied air.

There are some things that hold him back. Tiki Barber earned a reputation for fumbling early in his career. During a rough four year stretch (2000-2003) he averaged 8.75 fumbles per year (losing 4.25 on average). He played in only one Super Bowl, but never managed to be part of a world championship. Tiki was never league MVP. His trophy room is just pretty bare in general.

That's all I've got for now. I'd love to hear what you think.

SB Nation User Blog: rzor

Tiki Barber - Hall of Fame?