The NY Giants added much-needed depth at the kicker position. They signed the steady veteran, Graham Gano to bolster the team’s kicking unit and foster competition.
After the NY Giants’ kicking unit went into flux after Aldrick Rosas‘ arrest, many fans clamored for the team to sign Graham Gano from the Carolina Panthers right off the bat.
We went over the available options to replace Alrick Rosas and they were not pretty; but Gano had not yet been cut by the Panthers so he wasn’t on the list although he surely would have been.
So, after a few weeks of they went out and settled for middling veteran Chandler Catanzaro who retired after struggling against the NY Giants last preseason. Catanzaro has never been a very consistent option at kicking the ball through the uprights with Arizona, Tampa Bay, and in New York.
Is this a sign that NY Giants don’t like what they see out of Catanzaro?
The Catanzaro signing turned out to be just the start to Joe Judge’s plan at kicker. Catanzaro, while a respectable player, isn’t an exciting or inspiring option for the Big Blue faithful to trust at an important scoring position.
It’s entirely possible that the former NY Jets kicker has been mediocre in camp and Joe Judge is making sure he has a sound back up plan, and if anyone could know a kicker it’d be him as he was an ace special teams coach for years in New England.
As it turns out, the NY Giants again turned to familiarity at the kicking position.
Dave Gettleman joined the Panthers one season after Gano did in 2012. He liked what he saw as Gano was the team’s kicker all throughout Gettleman’s tenure in Charlotte.
Gano has made 82.1% of his career kicks. Like Catanzaro, Gano last kicked in 2018. That season with Carolina, Graham went 14 of 16 for 87.5% and infamously hit a 63-yard game-winning field goal against the Giants in Week 5 (one of the million insanely-long field goals teams always hit on us)
Gano has actually made a Pro Bowl back in 2017, showing he has the ability to be a top-level guy. You’ve got to love this type how low-risk high-reward type of signing, as Gano is likely going to command a small contract coming off a year-plus long injury to his leg.
The NY Giants can only hope he can repeat this type of performance on the field. Special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey will be expecting the consistency and workmanlike attitude that Gano has made a career doing so spanning over a decade.
The NY Giants’ need stability at the kicker position and I fully expect Graham Gano to supply it for Big Blue in 2020.
Let’s see who wins the battle.