Overlooked duo now dynamic

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Suchat Pederson / the associated press archives Wide receiver Wes Welker (above) toiled in obscurity in San Diego and Miami before joining the Patriots. (CP)

INDIANAPOLIS -- Before they could become experts at finding cracks, Wes Welker and Victor Cruz had to survive falling through them.

There were 32 wide receivers picked in the 2004 draft. Forgettable players such as Reggie Williams and Rashaun Woods got first-round money. Texas Tech's Welker never heard his name called, so the player viewed as a return specialist signed with San Diego.

In 2010, 27 wide receivers were drafted. Dallas' Dez Bryant was a first-rounder, somewhere in between Demaryius Thomas and Arrelious Benn. No one picked UMass' Victor Cruz, who signed as a free agent with the New York Giants.

And yet, putting the quarterbacks aside, if you were going to pick players who could turn in MVP performances tonight in Super Bowl XLVI, you would be wise to have Welker and Cruz somewhere in your top five.

Possibly right at the top.

Cruz all but eliminated Dallas' playoff chances with a long touchdown in the season finale in New York as he topped the 1,500 yards receiving mark for the season. He caught 10 passes for 124 yards in the NFC title game at San Francisco.

The easiest way to tell how many Giants fans there are at a road game is to listen for the shouts of "Cruz!" when he catches his first pass.

"He plays a tough position in the slot," quarterback Eli Manning said. "A lot of decisions. Different reactions. It's not always specific what his route is going to be. He has to be very clever in his body language what he's doing.

"It's pretty impressive."

Cruz looked like he had a chance to make it big as a rookie before a hamstring injury stopped his season after three games. But he made the most of the team's loss of Steve Smith as the slot receiver in 2011.

Welker's journey took more twists and turns.

NFL Hall of Famer James Lofton was the Chargers' receivers coach in 2004.

"His skills as a return man were more obvious at first because all the receivers worked out wide," Lofton said. "It wasn't until you got him into the slot you could see how hard he was to cover there."

But the Chargers cut him after one game to pick up a defensive back, a move head coach Marty Schottenheimer has long lamented. After a successful three years in Miami -- mostly as a return man -- Welker was traded for second- and seventh-round picks to New England.

Playing with a team that understood his skills, working with Tom Brady instead of Joey Harrington, Welker's career took off. He has had more than 110 catches in four of five seasons, including 122 for a career-best 1,569 yards in 2011.

If New England's superb tight end Rob Gronkowski is limited by the high ankle sprain he suffered in the AFC title game, look for Welker to prove he truly does belong in the discussion of elite wide receivers even if he works almost entirely from the slot.

Welker said if there's a secret to his success beyond hard work, it's in knowing what he sees.

"The safeties never lie in coverage," Welker said. "It's being able to see them and understanding what they are trying to do to you as far as where they are. However they decide to play you, you attack it."

The key for Welker is his ability to turn and catch balls that Brady has fired in his direction. Lofton watched them practice this week and said Brady warms up by throwing "fastballs" at Welker from 10 yards away.

Although both topped the 1,500 yards mark and each had nine touchdowns, Cruz is more of a downfield threat. He caught 40 fewer passes than Welker this season but made more game-breaking plays, including the 99-yard catch in the win over the Jets that kept the Giants alive for the Dallas finale.

While the Giants' secondary has stepped up in the playoffs, New England's defensive backs were challenged almost to the point of elimination by Baltimore's receivers.

And Cruz has said he's hoping that the Pats' receiver-turned-defensive back, Julian Edelman, will find himself in the slot come tonight.

No matter what happens, a long shot wide receiver is going to earn a Super Bowl ring tonight at Lucas Oil Stadium. It will be no surprise if either Welker or Cruz does it in MVP-type fashion.

-- The Dallas Morning News

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 5, 2012 B6