New York Giants: Cruz out of control with latest rant
By Curt Macysyn
Another day, and another Big Blue receiver lights up the tabloids.
This time, it is former New York Giants wideout Victor Cruz who became tabloid fodder. Cruz took the âThe Breakfast Clubâ (how original) on Power 105.1 FM in New York City on Wednesday morning.
The two takeaways from the interview are this: 1. Cruz has not adjusted to the fact that he is longer an elite NFL player, and 2. his carefully crafted reputation seems to be more of a facade than anything else (more on that another time).
Both areas may be difficult to swallow for Big Blue fans, and certainly part 2 may be more difficult for some.
The interview coincided with Cruz signing a one-year deal to revive his career with the Chicago Bears. From that standpoint, Cruz gets a chance to continue in the NFL and possibly prove detractors (myself included) wrong.
Get me the damn ball
For a healthy chunk of the interview, I couldnât tell Cruz apart from any other âme-firstâ receiver in the NFL. In my view, the most damaging part of the interview relates to Cruz essentially being tone-deaf about the lack of interest on the part of NFL teams this offseason. After coming off serious leg injuries, Cruz stumbled to a mere 39 catches for 586 receiving yards in 2016.
He had one touchdown catch in Week 1 of the season. One. Thatâs it!
Hereâs how Cruz explains it.
New York Giants
"âA lot of people probably donât know this: Letâs say I played well, was a 1,000-yard receiver last year, it would have been more difficult from a fan perspective to cut me,â Cruz said according to the New York Post. âIf Iâm a 1,000-yard guy, theyâre like, âWhy are you cutting Cruz? He just had 1,000 yards and had five or six touchdowns. That doesnât make sense.â"
A lot of people donât know this? Exactly who would that be? In reality, most, if not all, football fans would understand this. Actually, itâs a pretty simple concept that even dumb football fans can wrap their heads around.
At least, Cruzâs thinking is linear in this case, but his underlying âconspiracy theoryâ is extremely questionable. In a radio interview situation, itâs always possible to misspeak. Keep in mind, however, because of the relaxed nature of the interview, and the perceived audience, these words likely reflect Cruzâs accurate thoughts on this subject.
But we need not worry about misinterpretation because the veteran receiver then takes time to connect the dots for the ill-informed.
"âItâs hard to believe,â Cruz said. âEven just to think about someone coming up to the quarterback and saying, âHey, donât throw it hereâ or âDonât give it to this guyâ â itâs hard to even fathom that thought. Which I donât even know or think happens. I doubt it. But when you look at the film and you look at how it goes down, thatâs the only way.â"
Huh?
Upon further review
In essence, the Tweet tells everyone not to believe the only plausible interpretation of Cruzâs own words. Check out interview, and see if you can come up with an alternate interpretation of his words.
Trust me, you canât.
Sorry Vic, you actually spoke the words you are now disavowing. Perhaps, you did not use the word âsabotageâ explicitly. But the words were uttered by you in a broadcast interview, and clearly the sabotage innuendo was created by you.
Must Read: New York Giants: Odell Beckham antics hit low point
Football players constantly decry that the game is a âbusinessâ. So why do they act surprised when the business side rears its ugly head. Good luck in Chicago Victor, youâre gonna need it.