As I watched the Giants lose at home to the Saints last week, and possibly have their playoff hopes eliminated, I couldn?t help but think what might be going through the mind of Tiki Barber. Barber has rushed for 1428 yards this season and has caught 55 passes for an additional 441 yards. Barber will be making another Pro Bowl appearance at the conclusion of this season. It will be the last time NFL fans will have a chance to see this under-appreciated running back do his thing on the football field. As many people know, Barber decided to announce his retirement in the middle of the season, causing football experts like ESPN?s Michael Irvin to question his commitment to his teammates and the Giant organization. At times this season, the New York media has blamed Barber for teams struggles and locker room problems. Many felt his retirement announcement was selfish and took away from what the team was trying to accomplish this season. Barber received all this criticism despite putting up big numbers that rank him among the NFL?s elite backs. First of all, let me applaud Barber and commend him on the way he has carried himself throughout his career, both on and off the field. New York can be a very tough place to play, and Barber has done so with dignity and grace. My question to Barbers critics is simple: If Barber were working for Microsoft, and decided he no longer wanted to work for them would you expect him to give his employer one day notice, or would you expect him to extend the common curtsey and give them a traditional two weeks notice. I would think most of you would say two weeks. In my opinion, that is what Barber intended to do when he announced his future plans after this season. Being that Barber wants to enter the broadcast profession where timing is everything, he had every right to let all potential broadcast outlets that he would be on the market after this season. To me this doesn?t make Barber a selfish player, it makes him a smart player. I guess it is okay for a player to announce his retirement at the end of the season, and then sit around and wait for someone to call him for a job. Where would Barbers teammates be if that were to happen? What people fail to realize is while football is a team sport, once you step off the field the only person you have to take responsibility for is yourself and your family. I get sick of hearing all the backlash directed at Barber, especially from guys like Irvin, who has gone through his share of problems that were much more of a distraction to his Cowboy teammates. What fans have to understand is Barber viewed his NFL career as a stepping-stone to bigger and better things in life. A lot of players that make it to the NFL feel that they have reached their ultimate goal in life. They wanted to play professional football, make some money, and have some fame. Society supports this attitude in a number of ways. I cannot tell you how many people use to come up to me and tell me how lucky I was to make it all the way to the NFL. I would do speeches and kids would ask is playing football is what I wanted to do with my life. My answer to them was football was one of the things I wanted to accomplish in my life, not the only thing I wanted to accomplish in my life. Just like Tiki, I understood that most of my life would be spent not having a football in my hand. If playing in the NFL were truly a sign that I had finally made it, what and how should I interpret the rest of my life after I am done playing? You will see a lot of players struggle with this because all their aspirations and goals were put on making it to the NFL. Once that?s taking away from them, they have only one place to go, and that is down hill. I wish more players would have Barber?s approach and use their NFL careers as stepping-stones to bigger and better things in life. As players we have all been trained to look at our current situation, not our futures. That?s way you hear coaches and players alike, say things like ? Were taking this one game at a time? or ? Were not looking at our opponent down the road, we are focus on the game at hand.? This way of thinking has been embedded into player?s heads and has shaped the way they look at things. There is a fear among players that if you look too far in the future, you miss opportunities in the present. Barber looked at what he wanted to do in the future and was confident that he could still focus on his current task. His numbers and the number of post football opportunities he has created for himself is a true indication that this man should not be looked on in a negative light, in fact he should be promoted as a role model to every current and retired NFL player. I applaud you Mr. Barber for standing and doing what you know is right. Upset of the Week: Green Bay Packers over the Chicago Bears: Just how bad was the NFC North this year? Well in case you didn?t know, the Chicago Bears are the best team in the division posting a fabulous (13-2) record and clinching home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. While we all know how good the Bears have been, many of us have overlooked the fact that the Green Bay Packers were the second best team in the division and finished second behind the mighty Bears. But unlike the Bears the only thing the Packers have clinched this season is a Bret Favre retirement ceremony that will more than likely take place right after their Bear win this week. The fact that the Bears won the division by 6 games makes you question the quality of wins they have beating their division rivals twice in one season. The Bears have beaten the Lions, Vikings twice, and with a win on Sunday will have beaten the Packers twice as well. If this were college we would all question the strength of schedule. The Packers are (7-8) and after the year they had last year should be proud about being in front of the Minnesota Vikings and the Detroit Lions in the North division. These standings and the performance of the Packers and Bears so far this season, all add up to a week 17 upset, with the Packers knocking the Bears off in Chicago. I wouldn?t classify this a traditional upset, but an upset of circumstances. With the Bears having already locked up home field advantage throughout the playoffs, head coach Lovie Smith will most likely rest his starters for this game and make sure everyone is healthy heading into the playoffs. This will be the best post Christmas gift Bret Favre has ever received and it comes from a guy named what else but Lovie. With Lovie given some Love to Favre and the Packers playing for a shot in the dark chance at a playoff birth the scene is set for a non-traditional upset. The Packers will look to make sure that if it is Favre?s last NFL game that he goes out with a win. Packers upset the Bears, while the normal Bear starters look on and eat hot dogs on the sideline.