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Post-Game Transcript: WR Victor Cruz

Eric from BBI : Admin : 8/28/2016 12:42 am
WR Victor Cruz

Postgame at Jets, August 27, 2016

Q: General thoughts about your return?

A: It felt, felt good to put that jersey on again and go out there with my teammates, from the warmup, the pregame, and then during the game to be in the position to make a play and be out there running routes against an opponent, it felt good.

Q: Did you feel rusty out there?

A: A little bit. Obviously you're just trying to get your feet up under you again and things like that. On that one move where Eli just missed me, I felt like I was shaking some of the rust off a little bit - so it was definitely a good feeling.

Q: Health-wise, all okay?

A: Everything's great. Unscathed, if you will.

Q: What did you think when Gilchrist came over?

A: Eli was getting some pressure in his face when he threw it, so the ball kind of faded inside a little bit, so I had to come, turn back inside and kind of go after the ball. Thought I had a shot until I saw Gilchrist come late, but I definitely had a step on the DB at the time, so I think if Eli was untouched I think we had a shot.

Q: Did Darrelle Revis say something to you early on?

A: No, he just said hello to me after the first run play and whatnot, and he just said 'it’s good to see you,' and then we just carried on about our business.

Q: Did it make the return a little less sweet that you guys struggled on offense?

A: No. But it did, obviously, raise some concerns for ourselves offensively, understanding that we have to figure out how to get off to a better start. And figure out how we can get the ball moving and get into a little bit of a groove. But that's nothing we can't fix, watch the film, see the good and the bad and go from there.

Q: Coach McAdoo said with a whole week to game plan, it’s a whole different situation with offense, do you believe that?

A: I’m not sure. I think coach obviously does a good job of game planning and figuring things out and what advantages we have going into the game, so I can't really speak on that. I just know that we go in there with a very, very detailed game plan week-in and week-out and those are the plays that we execute.

Q: What are your thoughts on Colin Kaepernick not standing during the anthem?

A: I think, personally, the flag is the flag. Regardless of how you feel about things that are going on in America today, and the things that are going on across the world with gun violence and things of that nature, you’ve got to respect the flag, and you’ve got to stand up with your teammates. It’s bigger than just you, in my opinion. I think you go up there, you're with a team, and you go and you know you pledge your allegiance to the flag and sing the national anthem with your team and then you go about your business, whatever your beliefs are. Collin is his own man, he decided to sit down and that is his prerogative but on a personal standpoint, I think you have to stand up there with your team and understand and it's this game and what’s going on around this country is bigger than just you.

Q: What was it like catching your first ball?

A: It was great, man. That ball felt like it was forever in the air before it got to my hands but it was good to kind of catch that ball and get a little contact, get a little hit out of bounds and hopefully I can build on that. But it was definitely good to get one in.

Q: Was there anything you wanted to see from yourself in this game?

A: I just wanted to see myself get open, continue to go out there and do the things that I’m accustomed to doing and I felt that way, I felt good about the things that I was putting out there. I felt good about how I was running my routes, the things that I was doing and things of that nature, so step one was definitely being out there, getting out there with my teammates, and then step two was not just being out there, it was making an impact.

Q: It was a while before you got that first catch, were you getting antsy out there?

A: A little bit, I was kind of looking up at the clock. I was like, alright we don't have a lot more reps left, but I got one there in the second half and I was happy about that.

Q: How did it feel to hear the 'Cruz' chant?

A: It was unreal. It kind of gave me goosebumps, especially that first walk out onto the field to have the fans do that. I mean, it was just humbling and it really showed how much I mean to the fan base here in this tri-state area and to all the Giants fans across the world, how much they’ve anticipated this moment, and how much I anticipated this moment to be back in front of them and it was a pretty surreal moment for me, to say the least.

Q: Are you expecting to play the next game?

A: I would like to. I know in the Coach Coughlin era, if we didn't play well in the third one, he'd give us a series or two in the fourth. We'll see how it goes, I definitely would love to play and obviously to continue to build some rapport with Eli and kind of just continue to build on what I’ve already put out there, but that’s obviously up to coach McAdoo and we'll see what he says.

Q: Do you feel like you need to play the next game to be ready for Sept. 11?

A: I don't think so. Again, it'll be up to Coach Mac. But obviously, from a personal level, I would like to play, even if it’s just a series or two. Do I need to play? I don't think, I think it's just a matter of continuing to understand what we want to accomplish as a team and as a game plan and from a receiving corps. I think I can go out there September 11 and be okay.
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