Victor Cruz and the New York Giants will head into 2012-2013 season as the defending Super Bowl champions. They can expect teams to be tougher on them week after week. So who will be Eli Manning's biggest and most trustful weapon, Cruz or Hakeem Nicks?
Whether he takes credit for it or not, in other team's eyes the Giants' No. 1 receiver is Victor Cruz. They claim that the wide receiver will not be dancing around them when they take the field against New York.
At the start of the 2012 season Cruz was seemingly on the roster to occupy a spot for the third down expert Steve Smith, who had signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. Hakeem Nicks was the No. 1 option for Manning until Cruz and his salsa burst onto the scene.
Last season, Mario Manningham was not the receiver the Giants expected him to be, so Cruz overshadowed his production, but he also overshadowed Nicks' numbers.
Nicks is the Giants' deep threat. He is fast, strong and can go up to get passes, just ask the Green Bay Packers. Victor Cruz came out of the slot and was successful at turning short catches from Eli Manning into big gains that ended up in the end zone, just as the New York Jets.
Nicks is coming off foot injury that has still not fully recovered, as he told NFL.com, he is still fighting through pain. "I probably just got to break it in. That's about it. It might take a week, it might take two weeks, it might take three or four days. You never know," Nicks told reporters.
With Nicks' injury, the Giants' crowned as champions and Cruz's rise to stardom, he will become the target for all of the Giants' opponents.
Last season, Cruz led the Giants in receptions, yards caught, touchdowns and first downs. Nicks will only be a very dangerous secondary distraction, which will work to the Giants' advantage.
The better question is will Victor Cruz duplicate his 2011 performance? We will get a feel for what he will bring to 2012 in the first game against Eastern rival, Dallas Cowboys on Wednesday,
