A lot of people point to the offense being better last year with Randle in the line up instead of Cruz. Well it may even look that way on the surface but in reality that couldn't be further from the truth. The main difference is that Cruz i s smart enough to run the right route and not cause and interception overtime he's targeted. Now i know some of toucan't wait to give ol Cruz the boot but i can argue that maybe's he doing something that counts because I can argue without atlas 5 plays from Cruz this year we lose at least five more games.
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By chance can you tell what makes the post stupid??
Cruz is playing outside opposite OBJ. That's what Randle was doing.
So they're in exactly the same roll.
Randle has proven to be unreliable, but there are things that he can do just based off his height that other WR's on our roster can't bring to the table. He was still someone defenses had to account for on deep passes, and probably was our best last year at running the slant.
However, on the outside, I thought he provided a bigger target than does Cruz for moving the chains and being a possession guy.
One of the biggest problems with the passing game is that the Giants lack possession guys, or big targets, or anyone who can keep a drive alive. As bad as Randle was, I thought he was a better sit-down into a route receiver than Cruz on the outside.
Both are dreadful for the Giants situation though.
Just spitballing here, but I think the assertion in the post that this is a 6-10 team without 2016 Victor Cruz is not particularly insightful.
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but he's our #3 WR, Randle wasn't. Yes we need someone else on the outside, but I don't really see the comparison since the scenario isn't the same.
Cruz is playing outside opposite OBJ. That's what Randle was doing.
So they're in exactly the same roll.
No they aren't. Randle was our #2 on the outside because he was all we had. Shepard is our new #2 and plays the slot and our offense is different because of it.
In order of it to be exactly the same Shepard would have to not exist, Cruz would have to be our #2 option, and our #3 option would have to be even worse than Cruz.
I remember Cruz lining up in the slot preseason a lot against the Jets and struggling to get open but it seems mostly Shep out of the slot now, I'd like to see Cruz run some more routes from the slot now that he has a full season under his belt. He was never a good outside receiver.
Cruz should only get a few reps from the slot. Use a fast, fairly tall receiver as your Z guy. Simple fix.
I remember Cruz lining up in the slot preseason a lot against the Jets and struggling to get open but it seems mostly Shep out of the slot now, I'd like to see Cruz run some more routes from the slot now that he has a full season under his belt. He was never a good outside receiver.
So jam Cruz, shep and tye in the slot?
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Cruz needs more opportunities out of the slot. Put King on the outside since he is fast and teams will have to respect that (especially after his catch against the skins) also in some 4 WR sets with Cruz and Shep out of the slot...
I remember Cruz lining up in the slot preseason a lot against the Jets and struggling to get open but it seems mostly Shep out of the slot now, I'd like to see Cruz run some more routes from the slot now that he has a full season under his belt. He was never a good outside receiver.
So jam Cruz, shep and tye in the slot?
Yes one right behind the other.
Of course not lol. But slot was the only place Cruz ever excelled, try to get him some more targets there especially since we seem to have some speed on the outside with Tavarres King.
I never thought of bringing RR back, but his production, at least statistically, was better than Cruz.
However, on the outside, I thought he provided a bigger target than does Cruz for moving the chains and being a possession guy.
One of the biggest problems with the passing game is that the Giants lack possession guys, or big targets, or anyone who can keep a drive alive. As bad as Randle was, I thought he was a better sit-down into a route receiver than Cruz on the outside.
Both are dreadful for the Giants situation though.
This nailed it, IMO.
Cruz really can't do that on the outside.
You are missing my point. We need someone else in the receiving corp to step up. I'm not saying it is King (although that would be nice). Say what you want about King, he is fast and teams have to respect that at least a bit. Putting him on the outside with OBJ allows you to put Cruz in a spot where he was a top producer before he was injured. People are writing Cruz epitaph but he was never an outside threat even pre-injury. I myself would like to see him get some specific targets from that spot again.
No team is going to give him much more that the Giants. I just don't see that given his age, declining production and injuries.
Maybe so but it'd be nice to know for sure. Especially since we haven't broken 20 points in 5 games.
Yes, Cruz is more or less done, as a second or third WR....I can see him as a fourth, next year, but at a reduced contract....
As for King and Lewis, they are one trick ponies....go deep....both have bad technique in running patterns....we either get lucky in the draft, or find a free agent....I'd prefer a free agent.....
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in the slot but I don't think that's saying much. He's lost a couple of steps. Shepard has been solid in the slot too. Cruz is simply not part of the solution.
I don't see the Giants cutting Cruz outright. I think it is more likely he'll take a "paycut" down to say $1.1 million and a few incentives for production. He can play the slot at age 30 - 31 next year, a # backup slot guy.
No team is going to give him much more that the Giants. I just don't see that given his age, declining production and injuries.
As of now the Giants will have ODB, shep, Cruz, harris, king and Lewis on the roster. They need at least one upgrade. Harris is a candidate to get cut but he's solid on STs (but not so much as a returner which is what he's getting paid to be good at). But even if they cut harris for some reason are they going to carry 6 WRs next season and pay the backup slot receiver $1M?
Randle was shite. Cruz is a slot WR playing outside. He isn't "done" --not by any stretch. He's playing out of position. He might not be the same player he was in 2012 but he's still a serviceable player.
That said, I am guessing no matter what he will probably be on a different team next year.
Randle was shite. Cruz is a slot WR playing outside. He isn't "done" --not by any stretch. He's playing out of position. He might not be the same player he was in 2012 but he's still a serviceable player.
No one may have said that but it's true-the offense WAS better when Randle was here and Cruz wasn't. How much of a correlation is there between those 2 facts, probably little.
For all intents and purposes Cruz doesn't really fit in NY. The biggest issues with this offense is that there are no red zone threats. Replacing a 6'2" outside receiver with a 6'0" one who probably runs a 4.7-4.8 40 at this stage raises a few red flags. Doesn't mean Cruz is signifcantly worse than Randle by any means but something is certainly wrong with what they are doing.
Heading into next season this team needs an actual TE and an actual outside receiver. When those two spots are (hopefully) filled where does that leave Cruz? As a backup slot receiver getting paid a lot of money who doesn't play special teams?
Cruz may very well be more useful than he is right now but as long as he's on the Giants I don't think he really fits all that well.
This year's offense is better. I don't care what stats you shove on my face. 11 wins is 11 wins.
This year's offense is better. I don't care what stats you shove on my face. 11 wins is 11 wins.
Lol ok. So our offense is better than GBs and as good as atlantas (which has an all time great offense this season). Sounds logical.
Our problems last year were pretty similar in lack of TOP and running game, but we could score points. OBj seemed to score a lot more last year, and I remember Harris getting in on the action as well. Not sure how we have gone backwards in the scoring regards, it just doesn't make a lot of sense.
Our problems last year were pretty similar in lack of TOP and running game, but we could score points. OBj seemed to score a lot more last year, and I remember Harris getting in on the action as well. Not sure how we have gone backwards in the scoring regards, it just doesn't make a lot of sense.
I'll take Shepard over Randle 12 times out of 10 but at the end of the day he's a rookie still and hasn't been all that consistent. Very solid pick though and hopefully he's a mainstay in this offense long after Eli retires.
As mentioned Cruz is playing out of position and Eli has only connected with him on half his attempts in his direction. Good riddance of Randle but I don't think you can make an argument that Cruz is better on the outside than Randle. He's a slot receiver.
There's a total of 0 receivers that are taller than 6'0 on this roster that can run a route deeper than 6 yards downfield
Last year Jennings didn't fall over the cliff and (I think) vereen played in 15-16 games last season. Vereen was a big part of converting broken plays into first downs and could get 5+ yards on that stupid draw play they ran for Jennings non stop this season. The run game wasn't great but they got more than 4 ypc out of their backs last season (it's at what like 3.3 ypc this season)? Perkins came on but fairly late. Jennings was decent last year and vereen was a weapon. They didn't have that this year.