Tiki Barber and Michael Strahan do their talking in television studios now, and Jeremy Shockey does his in New Orleans, where there are far fewer people available to listen.

Sure, Plaxico Burress still is around as a flaky foil and Antonio Pierce is a strong voice on defense. More than ever, though, the public face of the Giants is the often-expressionless face of Eli Manning.

That suits coach Tom Coughlin, whose 2007 motto was, "Talk is cheap; play the game," and whose '08 team has become a methodical juggernaut behind its charisma-challenged field general.

En route to winning 13 of 14 games since New Year's Day, Manning further has established himself as second only to Derek Jeter among grand masters of the New York sports media game.

In short: Be friendly. Be accessible. Be careful.

"It's natural, just me being me," Manning said after Sunday's victory and before holding his news conference, which attracted only six reporters, and one camera crew soundman who briefly dozed off. "Early on, you learn you can make mistakes if you say things, kind of get tricked into saying things. I do not want to cause controversy, but I don't want to cause controversy in my normal life, anyway. I just try to be friendly, talk to them, answer questions and try to be myself."

That sums up his style. He will answer anything, but not in a way that fills notebooks, be it controversial or simply interesting.

Remember what Brett Favre said after Thursday night's Jets victory about the start of overtime? "I was nervous as hell. I was thinking, 'My God, why can't we make this easier?' There was no one in that building more nervous than me."

It is doubtful Manning ever would be that nervous, even more doubtful he'd admit it if he were.

"I'm not trying to make headlines," he said. "I just try to talk and give them answers, whether we win or lose."

Yesterday, reporters tried to get him to open up about returning to the site of Super Bowl XLII on Sunday (no dice) and about the notion of tension between him and Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner when they were teammates in 2004 (nope).

Manning's job is to win, of course. But the stability he offers both in the locker room and the media is a plus - for the organization, if not for reporters who would like more juice.

None of this is new. Manning arrived fully formed as a media figure, thanks both to his background and his personality. The Giants' communications staff offered him advice if he needed it. He hasn't.

Jeter has expressed admiration for Manning as a player and person. Eli said the feeling is mutual, down to Jeter's media demeanor.

"I've watched Derek in interviews and listened to what he said, and he does an outstanding job of staying very modest and answering every question," he said. "That is why he's respected and admired not only by the fans, but by the media."

Jeter is less bland than Manning, having loosened up a bit after 14 seasons and four rings. Then again, Manning won a championship only eight months ago, compared with eight years ago for Jeter.

So he can say (or not say) pretty much anything he wants.

"You have to earn your spot and earn that position," he said. "If you're winning, you get a little bit more freelance to do whatever you want. If you're not playing well then you can't do it."

Obama wants playoff

Barack Obama is not wavering on a key campaign issue, even now that he has gone from a candidate to president-elect.

On "60 Minutes" on Sunday, he reiterated what he said on "Monday Night Football" on Nov. 3: that college Football should institute a playoff system.

"I don't know any serious fan of college Football who has disagreed with me on this," he said, proposing an eight-team tournament. "So I'm going to throw my weight around a little bit. I think it's the right thing to do."

Oy. It's nice most of our recent presidents have been sports fans. But Obama ought to throw his weight at more weighty matters.

Anyway, his timing is off. The BCS is expected to announce any minute now a deal that will take its bowls away from Fox and send them to ESPN from 2011 through 2014 at $125 million per year.

Nantz walks line

It always is amusing hearing network TV types coyly refer to Football betting lines without discussing them specifically.

NBC's Al Michaels is the master, but Sunday, CBS' Jim Nantz gave it a shot after the chaotic finale of the Chargers-Steelers game, which was of enormous interest to bettors.

(Only in the NFL can a play that has nothing to do with the outcome of a game become a topic of huge national interest.)

"I know there's a lot of people now who will be happy there was an 11-10 final," he said. "It deserves it, as strange as it was."

A spokeswoman said the league does not instruct the network to avoid direct mentions of gambling but that the network has its own informal policy against doing so.