The New York Giants are in a lot of trouble as a franchise when it comes to their short-term future. But Tiki Barber does not want to hear anyone talking about a potential tank. Not for the Giants, or anyone else.
After losing Saquon Barkley to their division rivals in the offseason and having the indignity saved for posterity on Hard Knocks, Giants fans watched their team sleepwalk through a horrible 3-14 season. There appears to be no plan, no quarterback, and with GM Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll inexplicably being given another year on the job, it doesn’t look like the 2025 season is going to go any better.
You couldn’t blame Giants fans for throwing in the towel on the season and looking ahead to 2026. But when Tiki Barber and company on WFAN took a call suggesting that on Monday afternoon, the former running back was apoplectic at the thought of losing football games intentionally.
“You don’t try to lose, dude,” Barber said. And he was just getting started.
“That’s the most ridiculous phone call I’ve ever heard in my life. No player or coach is ever going to try to lose a football game. And if someone calls this station again and says they should lose a game I’m hanging up on you and banning you from the station. It is the stupidest, most ridiculous thing I’ve ever freakin’ heard. So stop saying ‘lose games, lose games so you can draft higher.’ The draft is not a guarantee. Rookies suck too by the way. So forget thinking you’re’ going to change your franchise by losing games. It doesn’t work that way, because you end up firing people, everybody has a negative connotation about the organization, free agents don’t come, and it all starts because you want to lose one game.”
Tanking has grown in popularity amongst fans especially in recent years as the most effective and efficient way to build a contender. It’s becoming harder and harder for teams to compete on an elite level without a signal caller. And those are usually acquired through the top of the draft, unless you make a once in a lifetime free agent signing like Drew Brees.
But Barber’s wider point is that losing isn’t just about accumulating draft picks, it’s about building a culture that becomes accustomed to losing with no way out. And you don’t have to look far across the NFL landscape for the evidence of that conviction – just look at anyone who has ever played quarterback for the Chicago Bears or Cleveland Browns in the modern era. And with the Giants in freefall, they may become the next in line.
“When you suck, suck, suck guess what? People say you suck,” Barber exclaimed. “So stop calling and saying lose games I hate it, you guys drive me freakin’ insane.”
The other aspect of tanking is that everyone on an NFL roster (especially those without guaranteed money) is fighting not just for their current job, but any future contracts as well. Teams might get put in tough positions and stars can be shut down, but it’s 99.99% likely that whoever steps on the field is going to give their best effort. Of course, there is the rare example where that’s not the case. But it’s not for draft picks.
