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Victor Cruz News & Rumors

Jerry Reese praises Victor Cruz for doing it the right way
May 2
Pro Football Talk
 
"The relationship between Giants General Manager Jerry Reese and defensive end Osi Umenyiora may be strained, but Reese points to another player on the Giants who would be justified in wanting more money, but is handling everything the right way. Victor Cruz, who emerged not only as the Giants' top receiver but one of the best receivers in the league last season, is scheduled to make the league-minimum third-year player salary of $540,000 this year. But Reese pointed out that not only is Cruz not threatening a holdout or publicly complaining about his contract, but he's also passing on opportunities to make outside income — including an appearance on Dancing with the Stars — so that he can"
Giants WR Cruz vows no holdout
April 4
New York Post
 
"Midway through the Giants' championship season, Victor Cruz had already supplanted Mario Manningham on the depth chart and on the field and exploded onto the NFL scene as one of the NFL's breakout stars. Manningham is gone, signed with the 49ers, and Cruz understands his already-significant role is going to expand in 2012. "I know I'm going to be asked to do a little bit more and just asked to be a little bit more accountable and get more targets,'' Cruz said. On Tuesday, Cruz was surrounded by so many members of the media that you would think he was back in Indianapolis for Super Bowl XLVI. He was the Giants player designated to model his team's version of the NFL's new Nike uniforms and,"
Giants receivers know how to run routes; Dez Bryant makes up his own
February 10
Dallas Morning News
 columnist Gerry Fraley
"Comparing Dez Bryant to Giants receive Victor Cruz. Fraley: The Giants receivers seemed to know the routes they were running, unlike Dez Bryant who makes up his own as he goes along. Victor Cruz and Dez Bryant have been in the league the same amount of time. Who would you want right now?"
Victor Cruz looks to shed 'underpaid' label following record-breaking season
February 10
New York Post
 
"Judged strictly on production based on dollars earned, it is hard to imagine another player in the NFL who provided a bigger bang for the buck than Victor Cruz. His 2011 salary was $450,000 and for that money he broke the Giants' franchise record for receiving yards, put together one of the greatest pass-catching seasons in team history and electrified fans with his big plays and end zone salsa dances. Well, nothing lasts forever and it sounds as if Cruz is anxious to shed the "underpaid'' label attached to his name. "I think I was paid, you know, relative to where I came in this year and, you know, I came in as a free agent so that's the salary I was on, so I don't feel like I was"
Victor Cruz: "I feel like I deserve to be paid more money at this point"
February 9
Pro Football Talk
 
"Last year, Victor Cruz earned $450,000. In return, the Giants received a franchise record for receiving yardage, with 1,536 yards. Next year, Cruz is due to make $490,000. He believes he should get more. Appearing on a special non-live edition of PFT Live, Cruz talked about winning the Vizio Top Value Performer Award, which goes to the NFL player who does the most for the least money. I told Victor that, several weeks ago, finalist Matt Forte said he'd prefer not to be nominated for the award, because it means he's underpaid. So I asked Victor if he thinks he's underpaid. "I think I was paid, you know, relative to where I came in this year and, you know, I came in as a free agent so"
NY Giants' Victor Cruz, who went from unknown to Super Bowl XLVI star, inspires city of Patterson through success story
February 6
New York Daily News
 
"Three blighted blocks from the old factories that once made Paterson the silk capital of America, another story was spinning here Sunday night, spinning fast and loud. It was the best hometown story in the Super Bowl, and it centered on the unlikeliest player in the game, and it played out across the street from a bail-bonds store and an abandoned building, and right next door to a Laundromat. It played out behind the rich, burnished wooden door of a place called Jacksonville, a well-kept bar with a handsome brick wall in the front, and a party room and solarium in the back, and every single person on staff — maybe two dozen of them —wearing blue No. 80 Victor Cruz T-shirts. You wouldn't"
Cruz shows off moves after scoring Giants' first touchdown
February 6
New York Post
 
"Victor Cruz ran off the field afterward, pointing a finger at the crowd. Then in the interview area, he took off his jersey, put on a white t-shirt that said "Super Bowl Champions" and hugged Kenny Phillips. Cruz's incredible season finished with a championship, with the Giants' remarkable wide receiver – and Post diarist – scoring the game's first touchdown in his team's 21-17 Super Bowl XLVI win over the Patriots. Cruz had failed to score in each of the Giants' first three postseason games -- his first three career postseason games. But last night in the Super Bowl, he finally did."
NY Giants' Victor Cruz and New England Patriots' Wes Welker aid evolution of slot receivers in NFL offenses
February 5
New York Daily News
 
"Wes Welker still remembers the old days. When the Patriots receiver broke into the league in 2005, he remembers the stigma of being a No. 3 target. As a slot receiver for the Miami Dolphins, he hardly saw the field. He made things happen in his rare playing time, earning praise from opposing teams (Bill Belichick, his current coach, says the Pats never knew how to cover him), racking up 96 catches in three years of incredibly limited action with the Dolphins. "When I was in Miami, I only came in on third downs, for the most part," Welker says. Such was life in the NFL for the slot receiver. But these days, that's changed, and that will be evident in Sunday night's Super Bowl XLVI showdown"
Cruz says Giants are ready to bring title home to New York
February 5
New York Post
 
"Tonight's the night! We're more than ready. We all understand the task that's at hand and we know the time is now. I could look in people's eyes and tell we want this more than anything in the world, and we're gonna take advantage of the opportunity. All of us want it so bad, we don't take failure as an option. We plan on bringing it home. I'm big on visualization, and I see confetti falling down from the sky onto all the players, a sea of confetti ... wearing the Super Bowl championship hat ... we're all going up on that stage... holding up the Lombardi Trophy, and just celebrating with my teammates. That'll be a surreal moment for me, coming from where I came from — getting sent home"
Cruz discusses championship hopes in Super Bowl diary
February 3
New York Post
 columnist Victor Cruz
"We had one of our best practices of the year yesterday, and it strengthens my belief we are a Team of Destiny. Guys were flying around, and I loved the way we took care of business, in and out. We made very few mistakes. It was really high-energy and up-tempo. Eli Manning looked sharp. Today was our third-down day, and we converted a lot of them. He really led us today, and we were catching everything. The defense was yelling and running around and batting balls down. I have a really good feeling the way we've been practicing."
Giants salsa-dancing wide receiver Victor Cruz elevates to stardom, but family keeps him humble
February 2
New York Daily News
 
"Victor Cruz has known for months that he was becoming something of a sensation, even as he tried to hold onto his child-like innocence, to pretend he didn't truly know how big he was becoming. That all changed on Saturday, one day before he departed with the Giants for the Super Bowl, when he was convinced to attend a rally at School 21 in Paterson, N.J. What he thought would be "a little pep rally" turned into a gathering of 3,000 — a group so large police had to close off an entire block. "They were just flooding the streets and they blocked the streets off and all kinds of fans were wishing me good luck," Cruz was saying from the Giants' team hotel on Wednesday. "They were really happy"
Nate Collins, marvels at Victor Cruz's path to stardom
February 1
New York Daily News
 columnist Mike Lupica
"It was the spring of 2010 and they were roommates at a Meadowlands hotel for more than a month, a couple of undrafted free agents, telling each other at night what they were going to do with the Giants if they ever got a chance. Nate Collins was a defensive lineman out of Virginia, Victor Cruz was a wide receiver out of UMass, a couple of dreamers trying to make it through Organized Team Activities, known as OTAs, and rookie mini-camps, make it to training camp in Albany and then somehow into the big time. "Yeah, we talked about our dreams every single night when we'd get back to the room," Nate Collins was saying Tuesday, with the Jaguars now, having gone there from the Giants' practice"
Three-week-old daughter gives Cruz Super strength
February 1
New York Post
 columnist Victor Cruz
"I don't want to pinch myself, so I can stay in the moment and soak it all in. It's been an amazing journey for me, and I don't want it to end. Yesterday was a whirlwind with Media Day. It was exciting to see what it was all about. They got me to dance the salsa, of course, that was pretty cool, and a TV lady from Azteca Sports asked me to put on a sombrero and say hi to everybody in Mexico — saludos a Mexico! I signed a deal with IMG, which was huge for me to have someone like that market my off-the-field stuff and all the ventures I want to do and a lot of stuff I've dreamed about doing. It's the start of something special."
At UMass, Cruz was always in control
January 28
New York Post
 columnist Mike Vaccaro
"At first, as he watched the play unfold on the television screen, Liam Coen was just like any other football fan who has grown enamored with the work of Victor Cruz this season: He heard himself screaming mindlessly, shaking fists at the set. He saw Eli Manning roll a few yards to his left on third-and-1, 10 minutes into a scoreless do-or-die game with the Cowboys. He saw Manning flick a short pass to Cruz in the flat, maybe 4 yards, a step ahead of Dallas' Terence Newman, saw Cruz tuck the ball away, as all good possession receivers are supposed to."
Giants' Eli Manning makes phone call to put Victor Cruz on route to succeed
January 27
New York Daily News
 
"Victor Cruz hadn't caught a pass from a quarterback in months, when his cell phone rang one day during the NFL lockout. He looked down and saw it was Eli Manning. It was not a call he was expecting to get. "I looked at it and I was like, 'Eli Manning?' Is this working?" Cruz recalled. "It was cool to see his name pop up on my phone." That was back when Cruz was an unknown, unsure of his spot on the Giants' roster, and still hoping for his first reception in the league. This phone call wasn't just a thrill, though. It was one of the most important calls he ever received."
Speedy trio all set to stretch its legs
January 27
New York Post
 
"Hakeem Nicks has already studied the Patriots defensive backfield. So has Mario Manningham. The verdict: It can be beat. "There's some things we can take advantage of within the schemes of their defense," Nicks said. "It's all about doing it when the time presents itself." "Outside, out-breaking routes, some in-breaking routes,'' added Manningham. "There's gonna be plays out there for us to be made.'' Any and every play the Giants make will be on the fast, indoor artificial turf inside Lucas Oil Stadium, site of Super Bowl XLVI, which the Giants have no problem turning into a track meet. If speed kills, the Giants are lethal, and this time around, unlike this battle four years ago, it's"
Cruz controls first half with 8 of his 10 catches
January 23
New York Post
 
"Sounding 75 instead of 25, an aching Victor Cruz needed to be helped down from the interview podium outside the Giants' locker room last night. That wasn't a surprise, because there wasn't much more the sensational young wide receiver could have given Big Blue in their 20-17 overtime win against the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. No longer unsung after the former undrafted free agent put together one of the best receiving seasons in team history, Cruz helped send the Giants to Super Bowl XLVI against the Patriots with an epic performance on a chilly, soggy night by the bay."
Giants' Cruz was in total control
January 23
Boston Globe
 
"Giants receiver Victor Cruz didn't think this moment was coming, standing in an interview room after winning the NFC Championship game, with his team headed to the Super Bowl. "Definitely not,'' Cruz said. "Coming out of UMass, I was praying for an opportunity, praying for a team to believe in me, put me on the roster, pick me up and get me through training camp and hopefully I can do some positive things and get myself on the roster.''"
Victor's heroics vs. Jets saved lost season
January 17
New York Post
 columnist Mark Cannizzaro
"The Giants season was on the brink. Tom Coughlin's job security was in question and the future of the franchise hung in the balance on Christmas Eve, just four short weeks ago, with the Giants in desperate need of a catalytic moment to save their 2011 season from its maddening inconsistency. Enter Victor Cruz. If not for that electric 99-yard catch-and-run touchdown against the Jets on Dec. 24, where would the Giants be today? Home, probably. Whenever sports teams author the kind of special season the Giants are inking right now there are always moments that stand out as pivotal turning points — plays of consequence that enable the team to continue on, to survive and advance."
Cruz excited to play 49ers again
January 17
New York Post
 
"The last time the Giants played the 49ers, Victor Cruz was standing in the end zone awaiting the tying touchdown pass from Eli Manning. But on fourth down at the 10-yard line with half a minute remaining, the pass was batted away by defensive end Justin Smith, in a 27-20 loss. "I was pretty open on that specific play. If the ball had gotten through I think I would have ended up with that football," Cruz said last night at Sofrito restaurant in Manhattan where he unveiled the official Super Bowl XLVII poster. "It was a good game. Obviously we were one play away from winning that ball game and it's just exciting to play them again. Exciting in these circumstances. It should be a pretty good"
NY Giants' Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz lead the way against Packers, 37-20
January 16
New York Daily News
 
"Hakeem Nicks ended the first half by catching a Hail Mary touchdown pass, and Victor Cruz helped end the game with a critical fourth-quarter catch. And for the umpteenth time this season, the Giants' two receivers served notice that they are a tandem to be reckoned with. Nicks and Cruz combined for 239 receiving yards and two TDs in Sunday's 37-20 NFC divisional playoff dismantling of the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. Add in Mario Manningham's 31 yards and one TD, and the Giants wideouts easily outplayed Green Bay's hyped trio of Greg Jennings, Donald Driver and Jordy Nelson. The Pack's three targets combined for 114 receiving yards."
Giants' new daddy Cruz star of the home team
January 15
New York Post
 
"Becoming a father last week meant more to Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz than to many first-time dads. The birth of his daughter, Kennedy, occurred just as Cruz has emerged as an NFL superstar, something his father predicted years ago. But dad Mike Walker, a hero firefighter in Paterson, NJ, died under mysterious circumstances in 2007 — and has missed it all. "It's definitely bittersweet," said Cruz, who delivers a silent prayer to Walker in the end zone before each kickoff. "It's been such a great year so far. I know he's looking down and he's proud.""
Super Bowl hero Tyree lauds Cruz
January 8
New York Post
 
"Former Giants receiver David Tyree, known best for one magical moment, has kept a close eye on the current Giants receiver Victor Cruz, who has been stringing together a series of magical moments this season. Tyree has found himself thinking: What does Cruz have in store for an encore? Will Cruz add to his record-breaking regular season with more memorable moments as the playoffs begin for the Giants today with a home wild-card game against the Falcons? Will he write his own chapter in Giants postseason lore the way Tyree did? "I'm in love with the story of Victor Cruz," Tyree said by phone this week. "We're both from New Jersey and know about being the underdog, having to overcome things"
Victor Cruz turns down opportunity to appear on ABC's 'Dancing with the Stars'
January 7
New York Daily News
 
"Yes, Victor Cruz can salsa with the best of them in a one-of-a-kind TD dance. No, that doesn't mean he has any interest in showing off that salsa on ABC. Cruz said Friday that he turned down an offer from ABC's "Dancing with the Stars." He said he "kind of knew" the offer was coming, but as soon as his agent mentioned the letter from ABC, Cruz knew he'd decline. "Probably a no," Cruz said. "Definitely a no. Because I just want to be focused on football and focused on what's to come. I'm just not at the point in my career where I feel like I need to do that." Cruz said ABC would have wanted him "like March through June or May or something like that," and the time commitment was just too"
Darrelle Revis laughs off criticism from NY Giants' Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks
December 23
New York Daily News
 
"The chant started from about 40 feet away from No. 24's locker, two words lampooning comments made by Giants wide receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks on Wednesday. "Revis sucks! Revis sucks!" cornerback Marquice Cole playfully shouted as Darrelle Revis gave his two cents about the latest bit of trash talk in the run-up to Saturday's showdown at MetLife Stadium. Nicks referred to Revis as a "decent" cornerback before calling him "great." Cruz took it a step further by claiming that "teams aren't really scared (of Revis) anymore" and "he's got to earn his money this year." "These guys can say whatever they want to say," Revis said on Thursday. "And you just laugh at it. You laugh, and"
Cruz guarantees Giants playoff spot
December 14
New York Post
 
"Did Victor Cruz just do what it sounds like he did? Cruz, having a breakout and potentially record-breaking season at receiver, went on SiriusXM Mad Dog radio on Tuesday and guaranteed the Giants will make the playoffs. Asked his gut feeling about the playoffs, Cruz said "Yes. We will be in the playoffs." Asked if that was a guarantee, Cruz said "Uh, yeah." Asked if the Giants are going to get into the playoffs by winning the NFC East, Cruz said "I think that's the only way we're going to be able to get in, is to win the division, win these last three games and get in there.""
Cruz: Big Blue can beat Dallas DBs
December 11
New York Post
 
"Before facing the Packers, Giants receiver Victor Cruz mentioned Green Bay's cornerbacks often gambled and played extra-aggressively, which the Giants could use to their advantage with big plays in the passing game. Cruz's assessment turned out to be dead-on, as quarterback Eli Manning ravaged the Packers secondary in a 38-35 loss. Cruz this week turned his focus to the Cowboys defensive backfield and once again has noticed a vulnerability he believes the Giants can exploit tonight at Cowboys Stadium. "Watching the film we see a lot of different things,'' Cruz said. "They like to mix it up, play a lot of different coverages but we definitely see some areas of weakness early on and some"
Giants' Cruz on record-setting receiving pace
December 11
New York Post
 
"When Victor Cruz first started as a Giant last season, he didn't wear No. 80, he wore No. 3. Maybe that is appropriate. The last time a New York athlete emerged like this — from nowhere to stardom, from undrafted roster fodder to probable franchise record-setter — it was John Starks, who also wore No. 3. The former Knicks guard was a bagger at Safeway after going undrafted — then inexplicably exploded on the scene. This has been a breakout season for Cruz. The Paterson, N.J., native isn't just contributing. He has gone from somehow making the roster to becoming one of the most productive wide receivers in the NFL."