NFL

BIG BLUE STREAK

ALBANY – Shaun O’Hara yesterday morning read with a hefty amount of shock and awe that Eli Manning laid into former Giants teammate Tiki Barber, and the veteran center had an immediate reaction.

“Good for him,” O’Hara said of Manning.

That was an overwhelming sentiment, as players, many others in the organization, and fans were pumped up after Manning for the first time in his four years as Giants quarterback used his words to stir the pot.

“I guess I’ve always been kind of just even-keel, never really responded back, try to always make things smooth and easy, and that was probably the first time I just kind of fired back a little bit,” Manning said the day after what some viewed as a coming-of-age moment. “Just one of those things I felt I needed to do.”

Manning felt he needed to respond to the critique of his leadership ability (or lack thereof) by Barber during halftime of Sunday night’s NBC telecast of the Giants-Ravens preseason game. Barber said Manning has “been very good as a quarterback” and has “a great demeanor” but described how uncomfortable Manning was when asked to deliver a motivational speech to the offense.

“Sometimes it was almost comical the way he would say things,” Barber said.

That dig annoyed several Giants.

“He speaks before a game, you listen,” said unsmiling guard Chris Snee. “I really didn’t notice anyone laughing.”

Center O’Hara said, “I admire [Eli] as a third-year player because I don’t know many third-year players who would be comfortable enough to get up and talk in front of a team. I know I certainly wouldn’t have in my third year. I’d be interested to see if Tiki ever did that in his third year.”

The response from Manning on Tuesday was startling, considering his mild personal resume. He openly questioned Barber’s leadership skills in the wake of the running back “calling out the coach and having articles about him retiring in the middle of the season, saying he’s lost the heart [to play].”

Manning said his instinct is to remain mum but this particular salvo hit a nerve.

“It just came out,” he said. “Just one of those deals where it seemed like the right thing to do.”

Firing back, Barber on Tuesday night misinterpreted what Manning actually said about him.

“He also said that I didn’t have any heart and he could see it on the field,” Barber said on Sirius NFL Radio. “I guess I really would have been a Hall of Famer if I had played with heart instead of rushing for 1,650 yards with no heart. Who knows?

“And another thing that I think every Giants fan knows and why, in some ways, some things ring hollow that Eli said, is I have never, ever, ever not left 100 percent of myself on the football field. And you can say whatever you want, but don’t say that because that’s offensive.”

In an attempt to clarify his comment, Manning said, “I was just saying what I read in some articles, that [Barber said] his heart was not in it.”

The Giants in training camp mostly have abided by this year’s theme, scripted by Tom Coughlin: “Talk is cheap. Play the game.” The novelty of this situation, though, made it impossible for players not to chime in.

“I think that’s what everybody wanted to see, some fire in his eyes and some roaring from his mouth like a dragon,” linebacker Antonio Pierce said of Manning. “I think Eli did a very good job of representing the New York Giants.”

And what happens if Manning and Barber meet up somewhere?

“If I see him I’ll definitely talk to him; I’ll be friendly to him, I’m not trying to start something,” Manning said. “It’s just a deal it happened, hopefully when we see each other, I’m sure we will, it won’t be awkward by any means. I don’t want it to.”

paul.schwartz@nypost.com