It has come to this around the winless Giants: The venerable head coach is challenging his star receiver to a fight.
Well, maybe it hasn’t exactly turned that ugly and Tom Coughlin didn’t really mean it when he asked if Victor Cruz wanted to duke it out. Recounting the anecdote brought a broad smile to Coughlin’s face, a rare sight thus far during this dreary 0-4 season.
In the third quarter of Sunday’s 31-7 loss to the Chiefs, the Giants trailed 10-7 and faced a fourth-and-1 from their own 30-yard line after a Cruz reception picked up 16 of the 17 yards needed for the first down. Of course, Coughlin was not about to take an unwarranted gamble and opted to punt the ball away, The result was a disaster, as Dexter McCluster returned the punt 89 yards for a touchdown.
Afterward, Cruz said he wanted to go for the first down rather than punt. “If it was me, yes, because we had the momentum,’’ Cruz said Sunday. “I felt like it was a yard, not even a yard, a half a yard. We got to take a risk at some point and make something happen.’’
That notion was immediately shot down by teammate Justin Tuck, who said anyone who thought the Giants should go for it was “an idiot.’’ Informed of Cruz’s opinion, Tuck was asked if Cruz was an idiot.
“When it comes to coaching, yes,’’ Tuck said. “Who goes for it on fourth-and-one on the 30 when you’re in a dogfight?’’
On Monday, Coughlin said he did not view Cruz’ words as any sort of second-guessing or insubordination, but he did bring the comments up to Cruz.
“I gave him a chance to say something today and I won’t tell you what we said,’’ Coughlin said, breaking into a grin. “I asked him if he wanted to fight.’’
So, did Cruz take Coughlin up on the offer?
“That’s between he and I, but it was in good humor,’’ Coughlin said before stating he could not understand how this ever became any sort of issue.
“I don’t understand why you guys would make so much out of something like that, but it’s kind of comical,’’ Coughlin said. “That circumstance, that quote there, you should have just realized it was frustration.”