New York Giants: Cruz out of control with latest rant

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 “The Breakfast Club” (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 couldn’t tell Cruz apart from any other “me-first” 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. That’s it!

Here’s how Cruz explains it.

New York Giants

"“A lot of people probably don’t know this: Let’s 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,” Cruz said according to the New York Post. “If I’m a 1,000-yard guy, they’re like, ‘Why are you cutting Cruz? He just had 1,000 yards and had five or six touchdowns. That doesn’t make sense.”"

A lot of people don’t know this? Exactly who would that be? In reality, most, if not all, football fans would understand this. Actually, it’s a pretty simple concept that even dumb football fans can wrap their heads around.

At least, Cruz’s thinking is linear in this case, but his underlying “conspiracy theory” is extremely questionable. In a radio interview situation, it’s always possible to misspeak. Keep in mind, however, because of the relaxed nature of the interview, and the perceived audience, these words likely reflect Cruz’s 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.

"“It’s hard to believe,” Cruz said. “Even just to think about someone coming up to the quarterback and saying, ‘Hey, don’t throw it here’ or ‘Don’t give it to this guy’ — it’s hard to even fathom that thought. Which I don’t even know or think happens. I doubt it. But when you look at the film and you look at how it goes down, that’s the only way.”"

Huh?

Upon further review

In essence, the Tweet tells everyone not to believe the only plausible interpretation of Cruz’s own words. Check out interview, and see if you can come up with an alternate interpretation of his words.

Trust me, you can’t.

Sorry Vic, you actually spoke the words you are now disavowing. Perhaps, you did not use the word “sabotage” 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 “business”. So why do they act surprised when the business side rears its ugly head. Good luck in Chicago Victor, you’re gonna need it.