The man who helped Tiki Barber become the best running back in Giants history says he can help whip Barber into shape and return him to the NFL.
“I think this guy is going to get back and do what he does,” Joe Carini yesterday told The Post.
It was Carini — owner of Carini’s House of Iron in Pine Brook, N.J. — who knew before almost everyone the shocking news that Barber, four years out of the game, is planning a comeback. Under Carini’s high-octane workouts, Barber got better with age and left the Giants after the 2006 season at the top of his game.
During the NFL playoffs this winter, Carini, Barber and twin brother Ronde, the Buccaneers’ cornerback, were watching the Jets-Patriots game together at the home of Barber’s agent, Mark Lepselter. “I said ‘Hey, when are you going to get off your [butt],” Carini, who always felt Barber retired too soon, asked Tiki.
“He shrugged it off,” Carini said.
On Feb. 18, Barber called Carini and said he was serious about getting back into football. The next day, Barber was in Carini’s gym and he’s been there every day since, including weekends. Barber weighed in at 195 pounds, well below his playing weight of 205-208 pounds. Carini wants to get Barber up to around 212. “I can put that on him in a matter of weeks,” Carini said.
Barber on the leg press is working with 980 pounds (he was at 1,100 five years ago) and 600 pounds in the dead lift (down from 760 in his playing days).
“He’s got a little work to do,” said Carini, who has worked with Giants offensive linemen Chris Snee and Shaun O’Hara as well as Jets running back LaDainian Tomlinson. “He keeps coming every day, we’re going to get it done. The truth of the matter is he has no injuries. His knees feel great, his back is great, his shoulders are in great shape.”
But he turns 36 in April, an age when most running backs are long gone from the NFL, not mounting an improbable comeback.
“Listen, I’m not going to put anything past him,” Carini said. “I’d say he’s more motivated than before because he’s got a bug up his [butt]. He’s going to hook up with a team that will put him in the right situation, maybe as a third-down back. The age factor, that’s nonsense. I’m not going to put anything past what we can get done.”