WR Victor Cruz
Postgame vs. New Orleans, September 18, 2016
Q: Can you talk about the last catch? You caught the ball up in the air like you were playing basketball.
A: Eli alerted the fly. Gave me a fly route on the outside. I knew he was going to give me a shot and once I got into my route and saw the ball in the air, I knew I had to make a play for my team. I knew I had to go up and get it. And that's exactly what I did.
Q: On the defensive and offensive performance.
A: The defense played phenomenal. For them to battle like that with a Drew Brees style offense is a big deal. I think they did a great job. I think they kept putting themselves in positions to give us the ball back and we’ve got to lean on each other. That's what this team is about, that's the foundation we built this team on, leaning on each other. Offense and defense working together, as well as special teams, and coming out victorious.
Q: On ball security and dropped balls.
A: It can't happen. I came out, broke out on a long run. I was trying to make a move on the safety, not realizing that when I make those moves, there's guys coming from behind looking to strip the ball. So, made that final move, and I put the ball out. It's not what we teach. It's not what our fundamentals are. The defensive back came in and poked it out. Good play by them and a huge error in a crucial part of the game by me.
Q: Did you expect to be making big plays this early into your return?
A: Not necessarily, to be honest. I wanted to kind of just work my way in, catch the ball, catch things that are in front of me, make the plays that are presented to me. But, to make a game-winning touchdown catch a week ago and to come in and make a pretty decisive catch on the sideline, to pretty much seal the game, I can't draw it up any other way, I don't know, I just go out there and play the game. I think I'm getting better as these weeks go on, as these practices continue, and I just want to continue to build off of that.
Q: You, Odell Beckham Jr., and Sterling Shepard combined for nearly 300 yards. What's the ceiling for you guys?
A: I think the sky is the limit for us. As long as we continue to understand what each other’s best roles are and what our best attributes are, and continue to do them, I think the sky is the limit for us. I think we can really do some things that probably have never been done before in a Giants uniform. I'm excited about the opportunity. The best part about all three of us is that we have no ego. All of us love each other, we are encouraging each other, we want to see each other do well, we want to see each other succeed and that's what it's all about.
Q: About his fine for celebrating last week.
A: I got a nice little appeal hearing in T-minus 24 hours, so I'm going to prove my case on that one. So, we'll see how it goes.
Q: How big was Janoris Jenkins’ return?
A: It was huge. It pretty much changed the complexion of the game. And for that return to get us started, get us points on the board, it was huge for our morale, it was for our team. Some of that we needed, especially at that time, to get us going a little bit.
Q: Are you concerned about how many turnovers and dropped balls there were?
A: Obviously. Those are uncharacteristic things about us that we did today, the turnovers, some of the drops and things like that. We’ve got to change it, we’ve got to fix it. We understand that we have to take care the football in order to win in this league and win in this game. Today was kind of up and down, a little bit of a rollercoaster in that regard. But we came out victorious and now we just have to go to the drawing board and understand what we did wrong and correct those mistakes.
Q: Is it a comfort to know you can rely on your defense this season?
A: It's a great feeling. Understanding and knowing that your defense can go out there and hold you down and get your back when you go three and out or when you have a turnover. They can go out there, and they're excited and they're pumped up to defend their end zone and give us the ball back. It's an amazing attribute to have and we just want to continue to build on that.
Q: On having the new receivers.
A: Makes me feel old. No, I mean it's my seventh year in the league and the last two years I've become such a mentor and such a person for people to ask questions and teammates to ask and just how things are, how do I go about this or that. It's just a testament to my tenure with this team. To this organization to keep me around and to keep me a part of the team and a part of the game, even though I wasn’t suiting up last year. I think it's just helped this year, it's helped me to become that leader that my team wants me to be, that my teammates expect me to be week in and week out. To be able to watch Sterling, and to watch these young guys perform each and every day during practice and during these games, it's a beautiful thing.
Stay Healthy Bro.