Graham Gano was nearly a goat in Week 1, his missed PAT part of the reason Giants head coach Brian Daboll ended up going for two on their final touchdown drive – spared when Saquon Barkley found paydirt to win the game.
Well, Gano went from goat to hero in Week 2, making his one PAT and nailing four field goals, including two over 50 yards in the fourth quarter that gave the Giants a 16-13 lead and then a 19-16 win.
“It feels good, but it takes a lot more than just me kicking it, obviously. It takes the whole [special teams] unit, the guys getting down there and getting in range,” Gano said after the game. “I don't see a whole lot that happens before the fourth down because I'm just warming up in the net, but I heard there was some good effort to get us in range on both of those plays, so I'm just thankful for the opportunities and thankful that Coach trusted me to kick into the wind like that.”
“He stepped up for us big and he's been super consistent for us in the past few years,” added quarterback Daniel Jones. “He's a great player, huge asset for us. Big time for him to step up and make that kick.”
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Gano’s first kick was 51 yards and the second was 56, and with both into the wind, it made them feel even longer – but Gano is used to it, as his oft-remembered 63-yarder was into the wind, too, and he’s been an ace from 50-plus in his career, now 34-of-53 on field goals that length.
“It’s part of the game, and I knew it going out there. Dabs looked at me and kind of just pointed and said 'Go out' and said 'Hey, can you make this?' and I looked over and said 'Yeah,’ and laughed,” Gano said of the latter. “Then I got out there and I was like 'Man, this is a long one. The wind is blowing our way.' But yeah, you just try to hit it the same and make sure you hit it pure. Those guys did a good job; as I said, it takes a lot more, good blocking, a good snap and a good hold.”
“It was a probably a little bit past the line that we said going into the game by about a yard-and-a-half, and I just told (Special Teams Coordinator Thomas McGaughey) he was kicking it well,” Daboll added of Gano. “He's done it a lot in practice. I know he's played a lot in this league. And again, we'd like to be closer for him, but that's his job as a kicker and a snapper and as a holder – to execute those plays when we need it the most. A lot of time it's under pressure, and the three of those guys along with the field goal protection unit did a good job.”
So what was Gano thinking as he lined up for the kick and put it through?
“I just try to think the same thoughts. I've got a couple of things that I will think about every week, it could change, but there's two things I'll have in my mind just to focus on and help give me success,” Gano said. “I don't really get nervous. In the moment, I kind of don't remember what happens. It's 1.3 seconds, it's real fast and you don't even think. All of the practice and preparation that you put into just kind of takes over and you rely on that.”
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And regardless of the fact that even Daboll said they extended what they were comfortable with in Gano’s range, the kicker is just happy that a new staff two weeks into action was confident enough in him to ask him if he was good to go and felt comfortable sending him out to kick.
“I think it was the right line. I almost told them to hold the snap a little bit, because I felt the gust coming but I said, ‘hey, let's roll with it,’” Gano said. “It means a lot, because it’s a new staff and I have to build that trust in them. So that's what I've been working on: keeping my head down and working every day and trying to build that trust kick by kick. We have a new game coming up, and I have to earn that trust every week.”
Granted, 56 isn’t a career-high…although Gano didn’t want to talk about that when asked, because astute folks may know that his career-long was that 63-yarder in 2018, which he kicked at the gun to help Carolina beat the Giants 33-31.
“I don’t think I should talk about that,” he laughed, “but those 50-plus yarders are special, because everything has to go right on those, so it’s a lot more fun when you make those.”
Even when they’re not necessarily game-winners.
“It's what I dreamed of. It's what I look forward to, those moments,” he said. “Entering the fourth quarter, I looked at the guys and said 'I hope we get this opportunity to put us ahead.' After we made that, I was like hopefully the defense stops them and we run out the clock out, which happened. It was an exciting win for us.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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