Why the Giants Kicking Battle Isn't Nearly as Close as Fans Think

For those who think that the New York Giants kicker battle has already been decided in favor of undrafted rookie Dominic Zvada over Ben Sauls, assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Chris Horton said no such decision has been made.

“It's two young guys that are doing very well,” Horton said of Zvada and incumbent Ben Sauls, both of whom are listed as being dead even on the team’s newly released unofficial depth chart.

“Both guys, where they are right now from where they were during this spring, I mean, it's been tremendous growth just watching these guys go out and compete against each other. They know that they compete, and they come out every day, and they work hard.”

Both Kickers Have Alternated Reps All Summer

The Giants have had the kickers alternate during team periods, with field goal attempts from varying distances. Back in the spring, Zvada, who struggled in his final year at Michigan, was perfect during OTAs while Sauls struggled with his conversions.

So far this summer, it’s fair to say that the battle has been even as the coaches try to figure out which of the two they can trust the most.

“Trust is a big thing, right? Trust comes with a lot of responsibility,” Horton said. “It's not because they're young that you have to find a way to trust them. It's what they do when they're out there. You build trust through your work. You build trust through your preparation, and the preparation that both these guys are bringing every day—we're trusting them, right?

“We're trusting them, but we're going to have to trust them in the big moments, and we try to put them in those situations so when they go out there, we feel pretty good about it.”

No Veteran Addition Signals Real Confidence in the Duo

The Giants obviously have enough trust in both young legs, and that was made evident when they did not bring in a veteran kicker to compete with the duo after cutting Jason Sanders earlier in the year.

But whereas past Giants staffs have preferred battle-tested kickers, this staff seems willing to take a leap of faith, realizing that even the best kickers in the game had to start somewhere.

“That's 100% correct. We think about how we all started, right?” Horton said. “When I got up to be a coordinator for the very first time, there were things that I needed to learn on the job, and so it's just like any other position, just like any other thing, that we all got to start somewhere, right?

“Somebody's just got to be willing to give you an opportunity, but that opportunity, as I said, comes with the process. Once you go through the process, you follow that process, and you believe in yourself, everything else takes care of itself because it comes with discipline and consistency.

“For the kickers, consistency is making kicks.”

Horton Preaches Patience Through Inevitable Rough Patches

Place kicker Dominic Zvada | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

And for the coaches, it’s about being patient, particularly if a kicker hits a rough spot.

“They're judged on makes and misses, right?” Horton said. “Sometimes you've got to go through a couple things to get yourself out of those things. And it's a lot easier to say, ‘Well, let's find the next guy,’ but then you're starting all over with the next guy.

“The next guy's on the street because he had the same issues that probably one of these young guys had. So, you try to go through the process. You weed out all that stuff, and you say, ‘Okay, what's the standard? What's going to be our standard?’ And as long as we uphold that standard and we're consistent in what we do, we're going to be fine.”

They’ll find out starting this weekend if Horton’s belief comes to fruition.

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