How can you tell what mood Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is in?
Look down and check out his shoes.
The new Giants cornerback has an extensive and varied collection of colorful cleats, and he picks from among six different superhero models — Superman, Batman, Flash and Captain America among them — based on how he’s feeling and what that particular day’s practice game plan might be.
“It depends on the mood of the day,” Rodgers-Cromartie said on Friday at training camp. “Some days if we are playing a lot of man-to-man, I tend to put on the faster superheroes because that’s a day I feel like we’ll have to do a lot of running. It just depends on my mood. You can tell by what kind of cleats I have on what kind of day it’s going to be.”
Then he went out for the first day of work in shoulder pads and showed some of the attributes the Giants are so excited about.
Early in a one-on-one passing drill, he blanketed Victor Cruz and easily knocked away Eli Manning’s pass.
He later dropped a would-be interception, but so far in his first camp with the Giants, after stays with the Cardinals, Eagles and Broncos, Rodgers-Cromartie looks as advertised.
The speed and athleticism are there with the 28-year old Rodgers-Cromartie, which is why the Giants surprised everyone by making a cannonball of a free-agent splash with a five-year, $35 million deal delivered before the very-interested Jets could make their move.
The man they call DRC admitted at times he doesn’t run as hard as he can because he wants to see the ball thrown into his area.
“I’m a baiting corner sometimes. It can hurt you or it can help you sometimes,” Rodgers-Cromartie said.
“That is a part of my game only on deeper routes like on a post or something, I let you get a step or two in front of me depending on who it is. You can’t do that with everybody.”
That he can do it with anybody shows what kind of talent he is. Teamed with the improving Prince Amukamara and former Seahawks Legion of Boom nickel back Walter Thurmond, the Giants believe they have three cornerbacks able to match up with any receiver threesome in the league.
“We got new guys coming in but as far as the guys that have already been here, we have a pretty good group,” Rodgers-Cromartie said. “They understand the system well. It’s just bringing the new guys up to speed, and I thought they have been doing a real good job, staying with us, teaching us and going out there and putting it on the field.”