The New York Giants are far from the glory days Victor Cruz was living 13 years ago.
In his first full season, Cruz won a Super Bowl after setting a franchise record with 1,536 receiving yards.
Now, the Giants are basement dwellers at 2-5 with injuries to stars on both sides of the line, and the clock seems to be ticking on quarterback Daniel Jones in East Rutherford.
A year and a half ago, Brian Daboll was named the NFL's Coach of the Year after his first year as a head coach, but now, the jury is out.
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Cruz, though, is still confident in Daboll, and instead is placing blame on the players and roster.
"I think he is a good coach. I just think the physical makeup of our football team over the last couple years hasn’t been well and hasn’t been competitive, and that’s where you see us suffer," Cruz said in a recent interview with Fox News Digital.
"A lot of these games, at least early on, we’ve been in. We’ve been in some of these games. I just think when it comes to the brunt of the season and the game, fourth quarter when it’s time to win it, I don’t know if we have the offensive personnel to really get it done. Whether it’s up front, mental errors, running game not being there, not making a play when we need it the most. It’s a lot of things culminating (that) don’t really match up to the synergy we’re looking for to have a successful season or a winning recipe that they can formulate week in and week out."
Cruz shied away from placing most of the blame on Jones, but he understands that's what comes with the territory of being under center, and he knows Jones' time might be up soon.
"It’s unfortunate because he is the quarterback. So, he’s going to get a large percentage of the blame just because. And after six years and getting a big contract, people want to see results. People want to see the level of quarterback skills that we see in other places. You see a guy like Jayden Daniels in Washington, Brock Purdy, some of the young quarterbacks that are making a name for themselves. We don’t get that same feeling when we see Daniel Jones.
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"We just have to make the decision and be real with themselves if this is the guy of the future or if they need to go in a different direction. I think they’ve been sticking with him because when you pay a guy that kind of money, you gotta ride the horse. But if it doesn’t improve in a drastic way, I think they’re going to potentially be looking for a quarterback in the draft next year."
Cruz was a part of some crummy Giants teams after that Super Bowl, and he admitted it's "definitely not easy" going to work on Sundays with a bad team. But, that's why, he says, it's time for the vets and coaches to step up.
"That’s when you lean on leadership, the older guys that have been there, like Dexter Lawrence and some of the leaders on that football team, to really earn their keep. And guys know this is their livelihood, this is how they put food on the table. They gotta put the right type of things out there on film to get paid, whether it’s for this football team or somebody else."
Despite the mess, Cruz says the fans he tailgated with last Sunday were still excited. He has partnered with Tide to help hand out cleaning products.
"It was incredible when they called me to do it and told me I’d be out there with the fans. It was a no-brainer. No one does tailgating like New York. No one cleans better than Tide. So, they go hand-in-hand," Cruz said. "They always got energy. I’m a homegrown guy, so I get some extra love. I’m always excited to be around the people and shaking hands, always a fun time.
"I was handing out Tide pods all over the place," he added. "My former teammates were getting dirty, and I was making sure they were taken care of. It was a fun time, fun moment, and I hope those people took care of their dirty clothes after a rough loss on Sunday."
The Giants have scored just one touchdown in three home games this season, so perhaps they could use their next game on the road. The downside? It's against the 5-2 Pittsburgh Steelers.
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