Giants rookie Cruz ready if Manningham can't play
The Giants' Victor Cruz stiff-arms the Jets' Dwight Lowery. (Aug. 16, 2010) Credit: AP
When Victor Cruz got his foot in the door in the first preseason game against the Jets, he killed in the interview. Cruz pulled in three touchdown passes, including a one-handed grab, to win a job with the Giants.
But they have one of the best-balanced receiving trios in the NFL with Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham, so Cruz was relegated to special-teams duty. That changed Wednesday when Manningham experienced concussion symptoms in the morning walk-through and was ruled out of practice.
Now Cruz is on standby, working as the third receiver in case Manningham can't go against the Bears Sunday night at New Meadowlands Stadium. The undrafted rookie out of UMass is excited by the prospect of making his first official NFL catch.
"It's big," Cruz said. "You want to make sure Mario gets healthy and is feeling better, but I just want to come in and help my team whichever way I can.''
Cruz said Manningham called it "minor" and hopes to return quickly. Eli Manning also suggested Manningham could be back at practice as soon as Thursday.
But Manningham must follow a medical protocol before being cleared to play. He showed no signs of a problem in Sunday's 29-10 loss to Tennessee, but he called the training staff that night when he experienced concussion symptoms.
"He really appeared to be fine Monday when we saw him," Tom Coughlin said. "We didn't expect there would be any slowdown in his performance today in practice. There was, so hopefully, we can do the tests again and see how that comes out."
Manningham made six catches for 78 yards Sunday, and a 43-yard reception was wiped out by a penalty. He's averaging a team-best 17 yards on 14 catches. But Cruz's performance against the Jets gave him confidence.
"Sure," Cruz said. "You always want to put yourself in the receiver's place and say, 'I can make those plays, too. I'm that good of an athlete.' You're happy for the receivers in front of you, but it's always a competition . . . Mario has played an integral role in our success. I want to continue that trend so we don't lose a step."
