New York Giants' news and notes: Justin Tuck, Victor Cruz, more

Good morning, New York Giants' fans! Here are your Friday links, beginning with a couple of items from defensive end Justin Tuck, who was making the media rounds on Thursday.

Tuck talks about what's weighed him down - Giants Blog - ESPN New York

"I played with Antonio (Pierce), Michael Strahan, a lot of guys that showed me the ropes," Tuck said on ESPN New York 98.7 in New Orleans on Thursday. "Every team is different. And it is hard to find that button to push with every team. I think to me, a lot of times you want to be so correct that it weighs you down and I think I’ve allowed that to happen to me the last two years."

Tuck takes his role as a captain seriously and is always concerned about how to lead, when to be vocal and what buttons to push.

"The next chapter for me is just saying I am going to go out and play," Tuck said. "And not worry about what people say and not even worry about the outcome. Let the outcome happen.

"The last couple of years I have tried to make the outcome what I wanted it to be instead of just saying go out there and give 100 percent and whatever happens, don’t have any regrets about it. I am not going to worry about what other people say because I know what I put into this game."

Tuck thinks Giants were close to another title run | New York Daily News

"It actually did come around," Tuck said. "I think it came around one game too late for us. The Phillly game, we played an awesome game. And I felt as though, if we could have gotten into the playoffs, I think we could have made some noise. That was the confidence boost we needed."

Tuck acknowledged that the Giants may have relied on their stunning late-season run to the Lombardi a year over just a little too much, too.

"I think we kind of…human nature tells us, ‘Oh you guys done this before. You get hot at the right time,'" he said. "You kind of try your best to guard against that, but I think a little of that was evident in how we played.

"As an athlete, as a professional, you try everything. We tried everything. We tried to figure out ways to get it back on the right track. And when it didn’t, you make the excuse, saying, 'Well it’s going to get back. We’ve got a talented football team, a great coaching staff, we know how to win games late in the season. It’s gonna come around.' "

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