a new contract, and Tiki Barber publicly criticized Michael Strahan's negotiating stance. He felt Strahan should have agreed to the contract the Giants offered and remarked that Strahan was greedy. The contract impacted the team as Strahan's cap number exceeded $12 million and the new contract would have lowered Strahan's cap number, greatly helping the team get under the 2002 Salary Cap. "I don't know if he realizes how much $17 million is," Barber told the NY Post. "That is absolutely ridiculous, to turn that down. He's already the highest-paid defensive player in the league. He's already making more than most quarterbacks...Michael is not thinking about the team; he's thinking about himself". Keith Hamilton, a teammate of Strahan and Barber at the time, then responded with comments critical of Barber. Players generally believe that they should not speak about the contracts of other players. Beyond that, some members of the Giants defense harbored resentment of the offense, which was lackluster and unproductive in the 1990s. "The defense has carried the offense, carried the team, since I've been here," Hamilton told The Star-Ledger. "[Barber] hasn't been here long enough or done enough to say anything. For him to shoot his mouth off, acting like he's Mr. New York, yeah, I'm ticked off. Strahan is the single-season sack record-holder. He's the AP Defensive Player of the Year. He's one of the best - if not the best - defensive ends in the game. And you tell me this guy is being greedy? That's a bunch of crap. I've heard enough. Who is Tiki Barber to shoot his mouth off? What has he done? He talks like he's acting in the best interest of the team. Tell him to give his $7 million (signing bonus) back. Since he's so charitable, why doesn't he volunteer his $7 million? He says all the politically correct things. Ask him if he's giving up some of his money." Despite this incident, Strahan and Barber are currently friendly with each other in public. Coaching criticism Although Barber's statistics improved greatly after Tom Coughlin became the Giants' head coach, Barber disliked and criticized Coughlin's coaching style. During the coach's tenure, Barber publicly questioned the team's coaching on two occasions. After being shut out at home in the first round of the 2005 playoffs by the Carolina Panthers, Tiki made a post-game comment that he felt the Giants had been