Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks are one of the league's best and most unlikely wide receiver duos. |
Only two years ago Victor Cruz was a no-name, undrafted rookie out of FCS stalwart UMass. He was vying for one of the final roster spots on an unimpressive 8-8 Giants team from the year before. After a scintillating three touchdown game against the rival Jets, Cruz became somewhat of a folk tale. A guy battling for a roster spot goes out and has a monster three-TD day? That's nuts right? Well, he made the squad, but his 2010 season was unfortunately derailed by a head injury before he even recorded a catch.
In 2009 the Giants selected the highly athletic, super skilled UNC-product Hakeem Nicks with the 29th overall pick. Nicks was most notable because of one of the greatest catches we will ever see, a catch that highlighted his strength, athleticism and dexterity all while showing off the fact that this guy was big time. The hype surrounding Nicks was immense and was only heightened when he reached New York. His trash-talking, swagger strutting style was perfect for the Big Apple. But 2009 didn't bring instant success for the rookie, as he only started six games and was overshadowed for most of the season by the budding Steve Smith.
Some of the most unlikely circumstances brought these two together in 2011. They basically came from two completely different stratospheres. Cruz a quick, soft-handed under-the-radar wideout from lowly UMass. Nicks, the freak athlete with a high school and college pedigree longer than Minute Bol who broke out in 2010. There was no seeing how these two would emerge as the squad's best two receivers, and later on possibly the league's best wide receiving duo.
Nicks and Cruz combined for more than 2,700 yards and 18 TDs in 2011. The UMass product became Eli's big play weapon, while Nicks remained Manning's surefire option. Neither stepped on each others toes during the 2011 campaign as they never had 100 yards in the same game. They fed off one another and shared the spotlight perfectly. Cruz certainly put up the bigger numbers, but no one doubted Nicks role as the possession wideout. The former UNC standout's biggest play came against the Cardinals on an Sunday night early in the season, where he played the "right place, right time," game almost perfectly. Cruz's memorable moment might have been the turning point in the Giants super bowl campaign last season, when he took a 10-yard catch and turning it into a 99-yard touchdown against the Jets, a play that will certainly remain in the hearts of Giants fans forever. Of course, he finished the play by emphatically launching the ball against the wall and seamlessly transitioning into his patented salsa dance. It was a playmaker's dream and it turned a 7-3 Giants first-half deficit into an eventual Super Bowl run (the Giants won every game after that).
2012 has still been a solid year for arguably the league's best wideout duo, even with Nicks struggling to stay in the lineup thanks to a nagging foot injury. The two shredded Tampa Bay for a combined 378 yards and two TDs, helping pull off a wild 41-34 comeback in Week 2. Even with Nicks' shaky health, the pair has put their imprint on the season going for more than 1,000 yards and eight TDs in nine games.
Could you argue that they've been major contributors to Eli Manning's rise over the past year and a half? Certainly. When you have two super dependable receivers who have the after-the-catch skills that Nicks and Cruz have, your life is going to be a bit easier. Every once and a while that eight-yard out is going to turn into a 60-yard Cruz TD and that ball that you over throw? Nicks will go get it. Eli's confidence, just like his brother Peyton's had, has received an immense boost from the safety net these two provide for him (Peyton had Reggie Wayne and Marvin Harrison). With the way the Giants offense is structured (pass first, pass second, ask questions third and run fourth) you could say these two are the pistons of the offense, turning Eli's precision into pure gold.
But unlike the great wideout pairs of Julio Jones and Roddy White in Atlanta or DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, these two Giants came from polar opposite upbringings. The result? A match made in heaven. Sometimes you find gold in Western Mass. and sometimes college hype is fulfilled, and when that happens on the same team? Well, for you Giants fans, you have magic.
0 comments:
Post a Comment