Victor Cruz grew up in the rough city of Patterson, New Jersey. Going into college Cruz was recruited by several 1-AA schools to play football, but none who weren’t nationally recognized for the sport. With so very few options, Cruz settled on the University of Massachusetts and was delighted by the fact that he just got the opportunity to continue to play football, even if that meant studying more to earn higher grades. He red-shirted his freshman year and practiced with the team until he was able to start during his junior season. Overall Cruz finished with 11 touchdowns, 131 catches and just under 2,000 yards receiving for his final two years in college. Not bad for a guy of his stature now.

In the 2010 NFL Draft, Cruz went undrafted as he watched teams draft player after player that he matched up well against. No teams made any commitments to him therefore leaving Cruz little, if any hope of the NFL dream. It wasn’t until the Giants picked him up that Cruz was finally going to get his prime opportunity to shine.

Cruz exploded in his rookie year during the pre-season helping him gain significant recognition. He finished first in receiving yards amongst all wide-outs with 297 yards during the pre-season, having a huge game against the New York Jets with six catches for 145 yards and three touchdowns in a 31-16 rout. Unfortunately, the injury bug bit hard and Cruz only appeared in three regular season games without a catch before going on injured reserve with a hamstring injury.

It was in 2011 that Cruz became the team’s fourth receiver due to the loss of receiver Steve Smith. His role was expanded when Mario Manningham and Domenik Hixon were hindered due to injury giving Cruz a chance to prove his worth to a Giants team desperate to make a Super Bowl run. Cruz had a standout season ending with a franchise record 1,536 receiving yards on 82 receptions, while snagging 9 touchdowns for the year. His agility, quickness, and ability to read the play have stunned many teams alike and he is now one of the most nationally recognized players in the NFL.

So what is it about this guy that has Giant’s fans bellowing out his name every time the ball is tossed his way? Your guess is as good as mine but Victor Cruz does indeed have the dynamic speed, agility, ferocity, talent, and mentality of a great football player. Time after time Cruz has proved himself on the gridiron with aw aspiring catches, juke moves, and salsa touchdown celebration dances. It’s his character on and off the field that have Giants fans going crazy for the guy.

So what’s next in this Cinderella story come to life? The Giants are coming off a remarkable season (due in big part to Victor Cruz) and now look to repeat in the 2012 season. One thing is for sure though; Cruz is going to be a vital part of the Giants future success.

Fantasy Football:

With a history of being dubbed NFL penny-pinchers, the Eagles have always made it known that they do not reward hot streaks. A contract signed is a contract fulfilled as far as they’re concerned. Although laying the law for expectations has come at a hefty price.Terrell Owens was the most publicly exposed contract dispute, but the long list of dollar versus value transaction dilemma’s has been arguably not worth it for the city of Philadelphia. While throwing money at a situation can make a problem go away, it does create a push-over environment that encourages players to hold-out or demand more from their management. It’s a balancing act that the Eagles have been fairly good at over the years, yet last season the team may have bitten off more than they could chew.

Asante Samuel summarized it perfectly last summer in a rant about how the team was playing fantasy football with the personnel. The Eagles were buying up everyone they could, trying to put together a Super Bowl contender. With money being tossed around daily, players like DeSean Jackson were expecting new deals. Instead money was wasted on signing players like Steve Smith who barely made it onto the field in 2011. Fans were left scratching their heads, wondering why they would not re-sign a player that has “T.O” characteristics and seems like he could be a locker-room headache. DeSean not only made it publicly known through the media that he wasn’t happy, but his production on the field took a noticeable drop as well.

The end result was an 8-8 season that the team should be thankful it ended as well as it did. After a Thursday night meltdown in Seattle the team was 4-8 and were officially the biggest bust team of the NFL season. Andy Reid was able to pull things together and ended strong with a 4 game winning streak that arguably kept him from being handed a pink slip.

Today, the team seems completely revamped from within. It seems that 2012 is all about improving team morale, and I for one am very impressed with how the Eagles have modestly turned a new leaf. The Eagles simply got together and began re-signing their talent and addressed the needs at the linebacker position for the first time in years. Ego has taken a backseat and Andy Reid along with the front office are not publicly admitting they messed up, but are doing their best at making things right.

• On March 13 the team extended Todd Herremans’ contract another three years to 2016. $21 million with $11 million guaranteed.
• On March 14news broke that Trent Cole had also re-upped with the Eagles with a four-year contract extension worth up to $53 million with $15 million in guaranteed money
• DeSean Jackson signed a $51 million dollar deal over five years ($15 million guaranteed money)
• Eagles addressed their troubled linebacker corps with a trade to acquire DeMeco Ryans.The team sent a 2012 fourth round pick (acquired from Tampa Bay) and swapped third round picks with the Texans.
• LeSean McCoy re-signed a 5-year contract extension worth $45 million overall and $20.765 million guaranteed

Do the moves this year translate into a more productive season? Are the Eagles stronger from a year ago? Of course only time will tell. The Boo-birds are in one of the toughest divisions in football and have issues with their offensive line. The team will always be holding their breath with the style in which Mike Vick plays, but for the most part I believe they are definitely sleepers in the NFC. If the team can glue together some protection for Vick after the unfortunate loss of Jason Peters this team could go far in 2012.

Fantasy Football:

10 Fantasy Players I Refuse to Draft

Every year the summer rolls around, I can’t stop thinking about how great my fantasy teams are going to be this year, and inevitably, the players who I absolutely won’t draft. We all have them, and we do our absolute best not to touch them. Unfortunately, they sometimes drop three rounds and we get them, anyway, but that’s just bargain shopping. Its hard to turn down a good sale. With that in mind, let’s peep my top-10 players I will avoid like the plague this fall.

Adrian Peterson

Dont get me wrong, I love this guy. He’s talented, vicious, and talented. Yeah, twice talented. But he’s now dealing with a history of injuries. With five NFL seasons under his belt, he’s played in all 16 games only twice. He has appeared to solve his fumbling problems, with only two over the last two seasons, but his ACL is now a much bigger problem. Granted, ACL tears aren’t career-enders like they used to be, but it still scares me. Also, did I mention he’s still going to be facing eight in the box on every play and he comes off the field on third downs? This guy has officially been dethroned from the top overall pick.

Michael Vick

I’m tired of hearing about Vick. I don’t care about the dog fighting, or the protesting, or any of it. He won a lot of people their leagues in 2010, but that was clearly an aberration. In 2011, he reverted right back to same ole Vick. He was poor from the pocket, ran too much, and got injured. He had a career-high 3,303 passing yards, but also threw a career-high 14 interceptions with only 18 passing touchdowns. Add in that he only scored one rushing TD, and yeah, I’m tired of hearing about him. Hes not going to win you anything but the ‘I Have the Most Frustrating QB’ award.

Shonn Greene

Like many, I was captivated by Greene’s aggressive and productive running style during the 2009 playoffs. Like many, I was sorely disappointed after I drafted him in 2010 and watched him flounder all season behind LT. However, like few others, I drafted him again in 2011, thinking it was surely time for him to blossom, and on the tails of Rex Ryan spouting ground and pound mantras. While he was actually fine, statistically, I will never drafted Greene again. Why? Hes so vanilla. If you’re looking for the all-boring team of the NFL, Greene is your starting tailback, hands down. In his three seasons, his longest run is only 33 yards. He averages a middle-of-the-road 4.3 yards per carry, and has only 10 career rushing TDs. Talk about a sleeper.

Jamaal Charles

Not only did he tear his ACL last season (see: Peterson, A.), but this guy is on a stupidly stacked offense. The Chiefs have got two receivers who have put up 1,000-yard seasons and another first-round pick from 2011. They just acquired Peyton Hillis from the Browns, another former thousand-yard rusher. Not to mention the always active Dexter McCluster. This offense is going places, and there’s not enough room for Charles to get the touches other top RB options will get.

DeSean Jackson

DeSean Jackson goes as Vick goes, and last year that wasn’t too well. In fact, it wasn’t that well in 2010, either, when he finished with just over 1,000 yards and six touchdowns. Jackson’s premier year was all the way back in 2009, when he recorded almost 1,200 yards receiving and 12 total touchdowns. Since then, hes become increasingly prima-donna and money-hungry. Now that hes got the big contract, will he Chris Johnson out and forget how to play football? I’m not about to use a valuable draft pick to find out.

Drew Brees

In 2011, this guy was lights out, setting a brand new record for NFL passing yards in a season. He also led the league in passing TDs with 46. This off-season, though, the New Orleans Saints have fallen apart. First the bounty program, then the weird GM listening to opposing sidelines story, and still Brees remains unsigned to a long-term deal. With Coach Sean Payton suspended for the entire season, will this offense run at the same level it did last season? I’m sure they will be okay, based on their personnel, but  I have my doubts.

Matt Forte

About eight games into last season, the number one guy in my league was undefeated, rocking Forte and Fred Jackson at RB. I remember thinking, how could somebody get so lucky? A few weeks later, both backs sidelined for the season, I remember thinking exactly the opposite. I think Forte is going to suffer this year. He’s been in a huge contract struggle with the Bears, he’s coming off injury, and the Bears just signed big-money backup Michael Bush. Something tells me its going to be an off-year for the Bears’ star back.

Vincent Jackson

This guy is the ultimate boom-or-bust in fantasy football (excluding Michael Vick). He will show up one week and get you two catches for 17 yards. Then the next week he’ll throw down the gauntlet and snatch three touchdowns on 175 yards. And that was with Philip Rivers. This year, I expect it to be even worse. With Josh Freeman, his lows will be lower and his highs will be, sadly, lower. Freeman is no Rivers. Keep in mind that hel’l also be competing with Mike Williams for looks.

Dwayne Bowe

I hate good receivers with bad quarterbacks. Matt Cassel has a decent arm and a crazy array of weapons to work with, but his decision-making is lackluster at best. It never ceases to amaze me when I watch the Chiefs play, the guy is just confused out there. I have nothing bad to say about Bowe, other than he relies on such an abysmal passer to record his own stats. There’s nothing worse than watching your fantasy players fail because of their teammates mistakes. Its haunting.

Antonio Gates

While hes definitely fallen down some boards, hes fallen completely off of mine. His upside is limited, his injury risk is huge, and the Chargers offense suddenly doesn’t look all that great. Who is their No. 1 WR? Robert Meachem? Malcom Floyd? The point being, the running game is going to suffer, which means more guys in coverage. The commonly used reason that Philip Rivers had such a down year last season was exactly that: too many guys in coverage. With Vincent Jackson gone, its only going to get worse. And with Gates advanced age and injury history, he no longer has the athleticism to single-handedly take over a game. He is likely to struggle this season.

Fantasy Football:

“Bountygate” has caused Sean Payton to be suspended for the entire 2012 season, making him the first head coach in modern NFL history to be suspended for any reason. Linebacker Jonathan Vilma will also miss the entire 2012 season, along with Saints defensive end Will Smith who was suspended for four games.

The team was also robbed of draft picks, a crushing blow in a arguably deep NFL draft year.

Yet despite the fact that some would say the team got what they deserved from the Bountygate fiasco, the handling of their franchise quarterback’s future is an ordeal that doesn’t need to be another bump in the road.

Fantasy Football:

Madden fans are very critical towards change. Each year EA sports tries to perfect one of the most anticipated video games of summer by adding enhancements to what is arguably the greatest sports game to ever be created. With yearly record sales, massive online play, tournaments, and even a reality show, Madden 13 has a loyal fan base eager to get their hands on this years version. -Release Date August 28th.

One of the biggest changes to Madden 13 is happening in the sound-booth. Phil Simms & Jim Nantz, CBS’s number-one commentary crew, are taking over to lend their voices to the game. Together they may not have the same classic catch-phrases as John Madden himself, nor do they have that insane moment voice like Gus Johnson, but overall they are far less annoying than Chris Collinsworth.

What does concern me is when play by play tries to get too cute in the color commentary. I for one am a terrible loser in Madden (at everything, who am I kidding), and don’t need funny anecdotes after failed passing plays or recycled jokes late in the fourth quarter of a blow out. Even watching the video above I felt my blood boil a little when they got off-topic. Throw in some trash talk from a 10 year old punk kid over my PS3 headset, and it might be time to purchase a new controller…and lamp.  I’m old school and fall into the “hate change” demographic, let’s hope that these noobs don’t mess things up too bad.

Check out some of the other changes:

• Halftime features a new stats overlay, and no halftime show. -Which I never knew they had to begin with.
• The game contains all the new Nike uniforms and alternates on the disc. Some of the uniforms may have to be unlocked via a code as they are released in real life.
• Lighting changes based on the time of day occur per play instead of just at quarter breaks.
• Madden NFL 13 features the improved high dynamic range lighting and motion blur of NCAA Football 13.

Passing Game

• EA improved the left-analog stick passing controls so you can place the ball on a receiver’s back shoulder, out toward the sideline, up high, down low, and other places where only your receiver can get it.
• Madden 13 integrates new pass trajectories and ball speeds to open up more areas of the field in the passing game.
• New pass animations speed up the time in which quarterbacks get rid of the ball, including a new shovel pass and specific set-ups for throws on the run.
• Pump fakes are now directed toward specific receivers, occur faster, and contain specific animations when performed outside of the pocket.
• Like NCAA 13, Madden features more than 20 new quarterback dropbacks, including those for 1/3/5/7-step variations, screens, and plays with auto-pump fake dropbacks. QBs even drop back automatically and set-up in the pocket if you don’t touch the left analog stick after the snap.
• To improve the receiving, EA is including more than 430 new catch animations, some of which are fueled in part by the changes made to the left-analog passing stick. EA Tiburon says it also wants to make user catches easier to do by slowing down players when they select a receiver.
• The quarterbacks have new moves for avoiding the pass rush. A slowed down pocket speed give you more control when you’re trying to not get sacked.
• EA tweaked play-action to include an abort command that cancels the animation for those situations where a defender busts through the line. The play-action also unravels faster in general. Running backs should be better in blocking after the fake (as well as release for passes) and defenders will be faked out more by play-action.
• Receivers have timing windows in their routes. When they expect the ball they’ll turn their head to the quarterback. Until this time, their passing icons are grayed out. Passing to a receiver who isn’t expecting the ball will often result in an incompletion. However, receivers will sometimes look for the ball earlier if the cornerback across the line of scrimmage blitzes or the receiver beats the jam at the line. -Pretty cool!

AI

• Neither receivers nor defensive backs react to a ball unless they are expecting it (like in the case of a quick slant for receivers) or they have their heads turned and are looking at it. This should hopefully do away with the psychic defensive backs from past Madden games.
• Defenses line-up opposite receivers in a best-on-best designation. This prevents your linebacker from matching up against an elite wide receiver lined up in the slot, for instance.
• Defenses disguise their man or zone coverage before the snap so offenses can’t try to use motion to uncover the defense’s plans.
• Defenders use different coverage techniques such as off coverage (where they start seven or so yards off the line of scrimmage and attempt to read the ball), trail techniques (including hand fighting), and split techniques (where the linebacker stands between the tight end and slot receiver).
• New animations allow for simultaneous tackles while the ball is being caught (including being able to knock out the ball in mid-air), and in general the development team says it’s been working on the interplay between players while the ball is in the air.
• EA promises enhanced AI playcalling for two-minute drill, goal line, clock draining, and red zone situations.

Audio

• Check out the original score in Madden 13 that plays as the game enters the break between quarters.
• Over 82 hours of commentary from Nantz and Simms, to keep the audio new and different each time, with over 9,000 unique lines. Most of the lines are ad-libbed and Nantz and Simms regularly have interactions and comment on what is actually happening on the field.
• A new “Madden NFL 13 Theme”, composed by Colin O’Malley, to be played at the beginning of the game as well as variations heard at quarter breaks, halftime, and postgame. In addition, an approx. 15-16 track, fully orchestrated soundtrack, also composed by O’Malley, will replace EA Trax for the music on the menu screens and other game modes.
• Partnership with NFL Films to get exclusive sound clips, such as QB cadences, hits/tackles, and group chatter, only available in Madden NFL 13.
• New crowd noise, recorded with 24 microphones, opposed to 4 microphones in previous years.

Fantasy Football:

Blue-Super Bowl Winners

Winning the Super Bowl is obviously the ultimate goal each and every year. Although kicking the absolute crap out your division rivals, is a close second.

The five year recap to the right, may not come as much as a surprise to some of you. Teams like the Patriots and Steelers have been a dominate force in their respected divisions for years now. Still, the bottom half of the ranking board does feature a lot of the same teams we do seem atop the NFL draft order every April. A sign that the best way to improve within the league, starts with the battles against the teams you know the most.

Winning your division has always been a top priority with coaches. With each division winner getting a free ticket to the post-season, it would only make sense to game-plan and build your franchise around the ability to exploit a rivals weakness.

The fact that the St. Louis Rams have only won 4 games within their own division in the last 5 years is down right disgusting. Clearly there are some obvious goals that new head coach Jeff Fisher must correct. The same could be said for the Cleveland Browns, a franchise that has been a doormat in the AFC North.

Surprisingly the Browns along with Rams, Lions, Jaguars, Chiefs and Broncos have all not been able to crack .500 within their own division in the last 5 seasons.

While the recent Super Bowl champs are all near the top of the rankings list, winning the turf war isn’t a absolute must to win the Super Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers did have an impressive 6-0 record in the AFC North back in 2009, but the Giants have won it twice in the last 5 years with a .500 mark in the NFC East.

Fantasy Football:

Unfortunately, that might not be the case.

Titans head coach Mike Munchak suggested Sunday that Kenny Britt may need another surgery on his right knee.

If that were the case, the Titans would likely have to wait much longer before getting their star receiver back on the field. Titan’s beat writer Terry McCormick stated a follow-up procedure would be “comparatively minor,” yet a setback, is still a setback.

To make matters worse, the teams first round pick WR Kendal Wright got his first playbook this week…Ever! As it turns out, Baylor didn’t use a playbook, and Wright’s high-school team didn’t have one either.

“It’s a big book with a lot of plays in it, so I’m just looking at whatever position coach [Dave Ragone] wants me to look at,ť Wright said. There’s a lot of different positions he’s got me looking at. I’m just soaking it all in and going through it every day.”

The media tried to put a positive spin on the news saying Wright had memorized 300 plays at Baylor, which were called in from the sidelines.

I’m sorry, but I’m not buying it. 300 plays? Yeah right. I bet most of those play calls were for basic patterns or improv. NFL teams feature very complex offenses with timing routes, quick adjustments and many audibles. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kendal Wright struggled out of the gate.

The Titans passing game may be a work in progress with young talent and healing veterans. Fortunately there is plenty of time for everyone to get healthy and in check with the offensive scheme. If the coaching staff is patient, the Titans offense should regain it’s confidence and prowess.

Of course, a little help from a guy named Chris Johnson will also make any passing game struggles seem less important. If CJ2K can bounce back to elite form, everyone’s mind will be put to ease.

Fantasy Football:

Kelly Skipper, the Raiders running back coach, had some reassuring things to say about this fallen fantasy stud.

“The thing about Darren is, he didn’t have any major surgeries, so he’s able to come back here healthy and he’s playing at a high level right now and it’s offseason,” Skipper said. “So, that’s a good thing. He didn’t have surgery so he’s going to be off the whole spring. Nah, that’s not the case. He’s out here. You would never know he got hurt. He’s making cuts at full speed, everything.”

Darren McFadden Stats

Fantasy Factor: McFadden’s history of injuries has fantasy owners skeptical of his value. In four seasons, the Raiders have yet to get a full 16 games out of McFadden, making his 2012 fantasy value very high risk/high reward. At the moment, there is no threat to lose carries to the running backs behind him on the Raiders depth chart, making McFadden’s role in the offense a non-question.

Fantasy Football:

AFC North

Pittsburg Troy Edwards 1999 13th overall Louisiana Tech

Edwards lasted just three seasons in Pittsburg. For the most part, the Steelers have been hitting on first round picks over the last twenty years, but missed in 1999. After a solid rookie season, Edwards’ productivity dropped off the table. In his final two years in Pittsburg, he caught just 37 passes and didn’t score any touchdowns.

Big miss: Jevon Kearse

Cleveland Tim Couch 1999 1st overall Kentucky

Couch had no chance. He was thrown into an impossible situation with a terrible expansion team. He was beat up over his six year Browns career and never had a quarterback rating of over 78. More importantly he didn’t win. Injuries – due to being beat up behind a poor offensive line – ultimately did him in.

Big miss: This was a great first round. Take your pick Donovan McNabb, Edgerrin James, Ricky Williams, Torry Holt, Champ Bailey, Jevon Kearse, on and on.

Baltimore Kyle Boller 2003 19th overall California

Boller made double digit starts in only one season. Like division rival Pittsburg, Baltimore has had a long history of solid first round picks, but Boller was one of the few who didn’t work out. After five up and down seasons with the Ravens, Boller moved on and is now a back up in Oakland.

Big miss: Dallas Clark

Cincinnati Akili Smith 1999 3rd overall Oregon

Smith was an even bigger bust than Couch who was picked two spots before the former Oregon Duck. Smith’s ineffective play kept him in the league for just four seasons. In his second season he made eleven starts – by far the most he ever made – and threw just three touchdown passes the entire season.

Big miss: See Tim Couch

NFC North

Chicago Curtis Enis 1998 5th overall Penn State

Still looking to replace Walter Payton and Neal Anderson, knee problems doomed Enis and had him out of the league after just three seasons. He saw the writing on the wall and retired instead of continuing to punish his left knee. He gained just over 1,000 yards and scored four touchdowns in his short career.

Big miss: Randy Moss

Detroit Charles Rogers 2003 2nd overall Michigan State

Injuries and substance abuse did in Rogers and started the Lions’ string of wide receiver misses – until hitting a home run with Megatron. Two broken collar bones derailed his first two seasons and a drug suspension helped cut short his third season. His career stats: 36 catches, 440 yards and 4 touchdowns.

Big miss:  Andre Johnson

Green Bay Jamal Reynolds 2001 10th overall Florida State

Reynolds lasted just three seasons with the Packers. In 18 games played he totaled 16 tackles and three sacks. To make things worse, the Pack traded up to pick him. The price to get him was the 17th overall pick – and quarterback Matt Hasselback.

Big miss: Steve Hutchinson

Minnesota Troy Williamson 2005 7th overall South Carolina

Could have gone Underwood here, but he was at the bottom of the first round. Underwood never played for the Vikings, unfortunately Williamson did. Pegged as Randy Moss’ replacement, Williamson had the speed, but the Vikings forgot to check and see if he could catch. A number of dropped balls over his three seasons with the Vikings got him a ticket out of town when he was traded to Jacksonville for a sixth round pick. He lasted just one season with the Jags. In four seasons he caught 87 balls for 1131 yards and four touchdowns.

Big miss: Aaron Rodgers (Vikings passed on him twice)

Fantasy Football: