WR Cruz has become an instant success for Giants
Football Betting Lines
08/21/2010 -
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -Just a couple of weeks ago, Victor Cruz was one of 80 players practicing with the New York Giants at training camp.
When workouts were over and he headed toward the locker room, few people recognized him. He was simply No. 3, as in, ``Hey, No. 3, can I have your autograph?''
A little more than two weeks later, Cruz has become an instant celebrity. It's the byproduct of catching three touchdown passes in a 31-16 preseason victory over the rival Jets in the first game at the New Meadowlands Stadium.
The anonymity is gone for the free agent wide receiver from the University of Massachusetts, via Paterson, N.J. ``Hey, Cruz give us your autograph!'' Or even better: ``Victor!'' Just like the other stars that fans call on a first-name basis, like Eli and Osi and Justin.
``I am still humble,'' Cruz said. ``I am still a rookie. Those guys (the veterans) still kick me around and stuff like that. I just want to take it day by day and stay consistent. I am just happy I got the opportunity to go out and show what I could do.''
What Cruz did is extraordinary. No Giants receiver had caught three touchdown passes in a game since Plaxico Burress in a loss against Dallas on Sept. 9, 2007.
The last time a Giant did it in a win was Dec. 22, 2002, when Amani Toomer had three in a win over the Colts.
``Whatever comes, I'll just take it in stride,'' Cruz said. ``I don't want it to stop here. I want it to continue and get better as the practices and games go on. I want to prove I belong in this league and move forward.''
Cruz will get a chance to do that on Saturday night when the Giants play their first home game in their new $1.6 billion stadium against Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Roethlisberger is excepted to play for the first time since drawing a six-game suspension.
Cruz just hopes to do his own thing.
``I wouldn't call myself a star just yet,'' Cruz said with a big smile. ``It feels good. It's about being consistent and going out to practice every day and just continue making plays and catching everything thrown my way.''
Cruz didn't show a lot in the first week of training camp, but he caught three or four long passes in the week leading up to the Jets game. His play was so good that coach Tom Coughlin singled him out after one workout.
Then came the game in which Cruz exceeded all expectations. He caught six passes for 145 yards against the Jets, highlighted by a one-handed grab with his left hand on a 64-yard scoring pass from Jim Sorgi. Cruz also had TD catches of 34 yards from Sorgi and 5 yards from Rhett Bomar. All three scoring pass came on fade patterns.
The one-handed catch with cornerback Dwight Lowery in great coverage was spectacular.
``I stuck my hand out the last minute and he dove and missed, and I just trucked it in and took it into the end zone,'' Cruz said. ``I couldn't believe it. I was smiling. I was like, 'Did I really just like grab it with one hand?' It was surreal when I got in the end zone. It was one of the happiest moments in my life to date.''
The other was seeing his mother Blanca crying her eyes out in the stands after the game.
Getting to the locker room was also interesting. Cruz had 182 text messages on his telephone and was stunned to hear that NBA superstar LeBron James had tweeted about his performance.
Cruz said he returned 90 percent of the texts, including about 70 from telephone numbers that he did not recognize.
``It meant a lot for me for everything to come together that way, especially being at home and having 20 of your friends in the stands,'' Cruz said. ``It was definitely one of the craziest moments in my life.''
The performance definitely will go a long way in helping Cruz make the Giants roster, but a spot is not guaranteed with veterans Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham, Derek Hagan, Ramses Barden and Sinorice Moss all competing for spots.
``I hope it helps a lot,'' Cruz said. ``But you know I have no control over that. Those guys on top make that decision. I'm on the field making plays and running around.''
If he keeps running around like last game, he'll be on the Giants roster for the regular-season opener against Carolina.Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million
In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.
And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.
Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.
So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.
Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)
The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.
As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.
The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.
In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.
Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.
And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.
So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.
There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.
So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.
And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.
There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)
Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.
Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.
Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.
So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.
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