Palladino: Critical Camps To Come For Jets' Smith, Giants' Cruz
By Ernie Palladino
» More Ernie Palladino Columns
Of the 180 players roaming the Jets' and Giants' practice fields as training camps open this week, only two are really worth the attention they'll get.
Geno Smith and Victor Cruz.
As things stand right now, with Ryan Fitzpatrick still holding out for a better deal and Cruz ready to get down to some real work after a 1 ½-year injury hiatus, how Smith and Cruz come out of their respective camps will have a major impact on the teams' seasons. Far more, in fact, than the rest of the Jets' improved offense or a Giants defensive line that cost $200 million of free agent money to shine up.
Given the state of the Fitzpatrick negotiations -- football's version of radio silence -- the pressure of leading this team falls on Smith's shoulders. Unfortunately for the Jets, last year's locker room hero IK Enempali isn't around anymore. So unless someone else steps up with a well-place sock to Smith's kisser, Todd Bowles may find himself in a position where he has no alternative but to start one of the most busted of draft busts in team history.
There's a reason both Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker wore out their iPhones texting Fitzpatrick over the offseason, after all. Nobody really believes in Smith. Though some decent offseason workouts brightened some outlooks, one must always remember that training camp is a different animal. Even in its diluted modern state, things change once one discards the spring pajamas for summer pads.
The prospect of a harder schedule alone should keep people inside and outside the organization thinking that if Fitzpatrick doesn't get in soon, the Jets might as well say goodbye to any chance of advancing from last year's 10-6 mark to a playoff berth.
The Jets went out and got versatile and sturdy running back Matt Forte to restock the ground game. But somebody still has to get the ball to Marshall and Decker consistently; otherwise Forte and Bilal Powell will have minimal effect.
Unless Fitzpatrick gets in -- and fast -- Smith will have to prove he's the guy who can deliver. And even if he doesn't, Bowles may have to roll the dice with him, anyway.
As for Cruz, his comeback from the blown right patellar tendon of 2014 has resembled a traffic jam. Starts and stops, with nothing really going anywhere.
First it was the normal, careful progression of surgical recovery. Then it was a left calf injury that started as a minor twinge in last year's training camp and turned into a season-ending surgery.
He says he's ready to go now. He'd better be. The Giants' wide receiver corps isn't as deep as one might think. They drafted good-looking rookie Sterling Shepard in the second round. Nobody should expect anything less than excellence from Odell Beckham, Jr. as he preps for what will now become a bi-yearly, steel cage throw-down with nemesis Josh Norman, who now works for the Redskins.
But until he proves otherwise, Shephard must be regarded as raw and developing. With a solid but hardly dynamic Dwayne Harris next, and a flock of untested receivers behind him, Cruz must add some veteran juice to what too often has been a one-man show.
Can he do it? The talent, even at 29, is probably still there. The question is whether he can stay on the field. Cruz is looking at what could be his last chance, so he needs to make the most of this camp not only for the receiving corps, but for himself as well.
Plenty of others are worth watching in both camps.
How Jason Pierre-Paul's offseason surgery has improved his mangled right hand, and how he'll fit in with new D-line mates Olivier Vernon and Damon Harrison will get big attention. The advancement of a bad line backing corps with Keenan Robinson in the middle will come under the microscope.
How new face Ryan Clady will meld with the rest of the Jets' offensive line is key, as is the fight among Buster Skrine, Dee Milliner, and Marcus Williams for Antonio Cromartie's old cornerback spot opposite Darrelle Revis. And when will Sheldon Richardson and his healed leg be ready to work?
But among all of them, Smith and Cruz will garner the most attention.
For good reason.
They both have a lot to prove.
Follow Ernie on Twitter at @ErniePalladino