Tiki Barber fears for Eli Manning's safety.

The former Giants running back ripped embattled left tackle Ereck Flowers on Tuesday and said he thinks the Giants are going to get Manning, their 36-year-old quarterback, "killed" if they keep Flowers as his blindside protector for Sunday's do-or-die game against the Eagles.

"If Ereck Flowers has a job on Wednesday morning, then Eli Manning might be in a body bag three weeks from now. I'm serious," Barber said on the "Tiki and Tierney on CBS Sports Radio and CBS Sports Network".

"The Philadelphia Eagles' defense is really good, and they get after the quarterback. If Ereck Flowers is allowed to protect Eli Manning's backside any longer, Eli is going to get killed. Ereck Flowers can't be your left tackle any longer. Ereck Flowers either has to go to tackle or has to go inside to guard or sit on the bench.

"Whatever it is, he cannot be on Eli's backside. He's terrible. He gets run over, he gets bulldozed, he gets bull-rushed, he gets swum through - it doesn't matter. He's confused. He's staring up into the third row into the stands. He can't figure out what happened to the guy that was standing in front of him. He is going to get Eli killed."

Complicating the issue: Barber doesn't believe Manning is capable of lifting his teammates up at this point in his career.

"It looks ugly. It looks really ugly. As much as it pains me to say this, Eli cannot do it anymore. I don't mean that as a knock to Eli. I mean this as a knock to all of these inferior players around him. He can't make them great," Barber said. "It doesn't mean he's a bad quarterback. It just means he's at the point where he can't do that any longer."

Barber said the expectation he had for the Giants this season "is so crushed right now."

"They still can't run the ball, they're making bad decisions, they're getting booed at home on the first series, and Ben McAdoo looks overmatched as a play-caller," Barber said. "He was great two years ago, but right now he looks overmatched as a play-caller, and that's frustrating to me and it's frustrating to every Giants fan who thought that this team could be a Super Bowl contender."

TALK IS CHEAP: Who's to blame for the Giants' failures?

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Soundcloud or iHeartRadio.

James Kratch may be reached at jkratch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesKratch. Find our Giants coverage on Facebook.