Manningham praises Cruz after two-TD game

The Giants have gone from "boo-hoo" to "Steve Who?"

With Victor Cruz making two dynamic touchdown catches in Sunday's win over the Eagles, the Giants no longer are fretting about the loss of Steve Smith to Philadelphia in free agency. One of their top three receivers even thinks Cruz brings a dimension to the offense that Smith, a Pro Bowler, never did.

"I like this [trio] better because simple fact is, not to throw nobody under the bus, he can go downfield," Mario Manningham said of Cruz joining him and Hakeem Nicks. "Not saying Steve couldn't, but [Cruz] can go downfield and make people miss instead of making people miss and then going down."

Cruz made his big splash as a receiver Sunday playing not in place of Smith but Manningham, who had to sit out with a concussion. Cruz was the outside receiver on most plays, the position Manningham would have been in, although Cruz did catch his 74-yard touchdown pass out of the slot.

Manningham said he feels fine and that he has passed all of the required tests to get back on the field after his second concussion in two seasons. The Giants, however, were adamant that Manningham had not been cleared to return to practice this week. He could be by the time they work out Wednesday, but as of Monday, he had not been.

Eventually, though, Manningham will be back and the Giants will have three big-play receivers. Better even than the group they had last year with Smith?

"I think so," Cruz said. "I think we have the talent here to do it. It's going to take all three of us and the entire offense to be on one accord to make plays throughout the rest of the season. But I definitely think receiver-wise, us three have the talent to take it to the next level."

That's quite a spike in confidence for a second-year player who caught his first NFL pass a week ago and who was thrust into the starting lineup -- although technically he wasn't on the field for the first snap -- because of injuries to Manningham and Domenik Hixon. Cruz dropped a pass on third down against the Redskins in the opener, and the Giants brought in Brandon Stokley to solidify the slot. Cruz caught two touchdown passes against the Eagles and suddenly, he's better than Smith ever was?

Not yet. But he certainly made a nice splash with his cannonball entry into the waters of potential NFL stardom.

"The fashion in which Cruz came out of the game, that should be an adrenaline boost, that should be a confidence- booster for him and his career," linebacker Mathias Kiwanuka said. "It was a big day for him on a day when we needed him to step up.''

When Manningham returns, the Giants will have to figure out where all the pieces fit. Cruz looked so comfortable in Manningham's "Z" role that it could be hard to move him out of it. The Giants tried Manningham in the slot in the preseason with mixed results.

"That is something we are going to have to go through week by week," Cruz said of the alignment of the receivers. "There is plenty of room for both of us to play and make plays, and there is going to be plenty of opportunities throughout the course of the season."