Being perfect isn't easy, but Giants kicker Graham Gano sure makes it look that way
New York Giants place kicker Graham Gano (9) celebrates after kicking a field goal during the first half of an NFL preseason football game against the New York Jets, Saturday, Aug. 26, 2023, in East Rutherford, N.J. Credit: AP/Adam Hunger
Graham Gano can say what many cannot.
His preseason was perfect.
Even the best quarterback overthrows a receiver. The best pass rusher might overrun a sack. A writer can make a typo. Or two. (Cough, cough.)
But Gano, the Giants’ kicker, didn’t miss during training camp. Not on a field-goal attempt, Not on an extra point.
And yes, we understand the difference between a kicker’s role and that of a position player.
We also know we’re talking about the preseason.
But perfection is, well, perfection.
In three preseason games, Gano went 6-for-6 on field-goal attempts, all of which were more than 40 yards. His longest boot was from 57. He also made all five of his extra-point tries.
The kicks that truly count, however, will begin on Sept. 10 against the Cowboys at MetLife Stadium. Gano and the field-goal unit appear to be ready.
“I feel confident,” Gano said in a recent conversation. “I feel like we’ve done a good job as a unit moving week by week. There’s always ways to improve. So I’m always looking for that. But yeah, I feel good with the guys I’m working with.”
He should.
Gano, long snapper Casey Kreiter and holder Jamie Gillan (who also is the punter) have a strong track record.
In 2022, Gano set a Giants single-season mark with eight field goals of at least 50 yards, one more than he had in 2021. He also owns the franchise record with 20 field goals of at least 50 yards.
What’s the secret?
“I think on those long ones, everything’s got to go right,” Gano said. “I feel like a lot of it oftentimes gets overlooked how well these guys do. Casey and Jamie and the line blocking, everything’s got to go well, and they make me feel really comfortable back there.
“When Coach [Brian Daboll] has the confidence to send me out for those, I need to make them. It’s good going into the regular season and having a few long ones. It was a good operation for everyone.”
Obviously, a track record of success can be critical, and in this case, it is.
“It’s nice to have that continuity which we’ve had the last few years,” Gano said. “Casey does a great job. With Jamie, I’m real comfortable with him. And we all work together really well.”
Special teams coach Thomas McGaughey has complete trust in the group. The specialists can complete each other’s sentences.
But how long can the 36-year-old Gano keep kicking?
“He can kick as long as he wants,” McGaughey said. “As long as he keeps making them, he will be able to kick as long as he wants.”
As seriously as Gano takes his craft, he is able to spend considerable time in the offseason with his wife and five children. Gano said his two older boys already have started to kick.
When training camp began, Gano didn’t have to get in shape. He has learned how to keep himself both healthy and in shape year-round. He believes that discipline has led to his becoming a more reliable kicker.
In recent years, Gano has come to embrace the idea that his job is not unlike that of a pitcher in baseball.
“We can’t kick the whole practice,” he said. “We can’t kick every day.”
Time off is needed.
On days that he doesn’t kick, Gano works on his conditioning and weight training.
Lately, as the season nears, he’s been kicking twice during the week and once on weekends.
He doesn’t necessarily make every kick he tries, but, at least through an entire preseason, he made every one that counted.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
