Eli-Eli-Oh!

I have one more reason to hate Eli Manning.
His response to Tiki Barber's comments questioning Eli's comfort level with being the leader of the offense was contradictory, if not hypocritical, at best.
Peyton's little brother took another step into No. 18's shadow by telling the press in so many words that he wasn't worried about what Tiki said and he wouldn't make an issue of it. He followed that up by sporting that stupidly sheepish grin you see on a seventh-grader who doesn't know the answer to an algebra question when called on in class.
He went on about how he "could have" questioned Tiki's leadership skills when he called out head coach Tom Coughlin in the media and announced his retirement prematurely. He also noted how nice of a transition Tiki has made to the media profession so far.
First of all, if it wasn't for Tiki the Giants would not have scraped by at 8-8 to make the playoffs. They could have dropped Eli, however, at any point in the season for Kelly Holcomb or Ryan Leaf and still had a chance at the playoffs.
That aside, Tiki may have been out of line, but the failure to recognize that you, Eli, have the upper hand and could have simply ignored Tiki, like Peyton would have done to any former teammate who called him out* and then proved yourself on the field during the season.
*Mike Vanderjagt doesn't count because he's a kicker and an idiot whether he's "liquored up" or not. Plus Peyton broke one of Dan Marino's records and has a ring so he has some more leeway.
If Eli had anything to show for himself on the field, he would show it instead of running his mouth and hiding behind his name and his expectations every time he's criticized.
Maybe he should have just went to San Diego. I'd like to think Tiki would still be in New York if Kerry Collins and/or Phillip Rivers were in town.