Giants Mailbag: Why Punters Handle the Holds, John Harbaugh’s $20M Expectations, and More

Welcome to the weekly New York Giants On SI mailbag! From offseason moves to game-day strategies, we'll do our best to answer your questions. (Some questions have been edited for brevity and clarity.)

The Kicking Battery Breakdown

New York Giants kicker Ben Sauls | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

From Joe G. (via e-mail): Going back a number of years, if memory serves me, seems the holder for field goals used to be the backup QB. Somewhere along the lines teams switched to the punter as the holder. In the very rare cases when a snap goes awry a backup QB would be in a better position to make a play out of it than a punter. Do you know why teams switched to the punter instead of the backup QB?

Joe, punters, like kickers, are specialists. So if the kicking battery wants to, for example, go off on its own to work on place-kicking, you don’t want a scenario where your backup quarterback is pulled away from the practice because he’d miss out on his share of reps.

In addition, punters are used to handling longer snaps and most have the ability to react accordingly in the event of a broken play. To your statement about a backup QB being in a better position to make a play, I disagree because a quarterback is not a kicker and would not be the best choice to attempt a field goal or PAT on a broken play, not that this scenario happens often.

Adjusting to the Fullback

Fullback Patrick Ricard | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

From Kris Kauffeld (@dublk52): Feel like this is a dumb question but is there an adjustment for a RB following a fullback? It doesn’t seem like offenses at the college level have fullbacks anymore.

Kris, that’s not a stupid question at all. In fact it’s something I’ve often wondered about and have asked running backs who have had to function behind a fullback int he past. The answer is it depends.

In some cases if a running back hasn’t worked much behind a fullback, there can be an adjustment because of the speed of the guy in front of you or the angle in which he connects with his block. That’s probably why sometimes you will see a running back go in a different direction if the fullback doesn’t get a clean block.

NFC East Airwaves

From David Harrison (@DHarrison82): Who is the best NFC East Locked On host not named Patricia?

That’s an easy one, though admittedly the name is a tongue-twister: Loumarlandav. 🙂

A Statistical Surprise

New York Giants wide receiver Malachi Fields | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

From 32BeatWriters (@32BeatWriters): If you had to pick one receiver on this team that would surprise you statistically this year, positively or negatively, who would it be and why?

Excellent question and a particularly challenging one given that I’m not sure what this Giants receiver room is going to look like. Earlier this month I did a column predicting statistical leaders, and I went with Malachi Fields being the receiving touchdown leader.

To expand on that, I’m thinking Fields will finish the season–assuming he is healthy and plays in 17 games–with around 50 receptions and 700 receiving yards.

As to why, I think he’s going to see an uptick in his pass targets as the year goes on and will help to take some of the pressure off of Nabers when he eventually returns and begins to work his way back to his pre-injury self.

Is There a Grace Period for John Harbaugh?

Jun 9, 2026; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Giants head coach John Harbaugh answers questions from the press after the minicamp activities at Quest Diagnostics Center. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

From Andrew Bogdan (@AndrewBogdanCT) Do you think Harbaugh gets any sort of early season grace period seeing as he has a new team, young QB, totally new staff, and new schemes to implement or is the sentiment… “too bad…just win” Not that Harbaugh is looking for excuses …but all of this is true…

Andrew, do I think Harbaugh will be fired if the Giants underperform? No. If that should happen I think we have to look at what was the cause. If the injury bug wipes out key players and the depth underperforms, is that all the coach’s fault?

I also don’t think the coaching staff being new is an excuse as Harbaugh has worked with many of those coaches before and all of the primary assistant coaches have worked in the NFL prior to coming here.

All that said, the Giants are not paying Harbaugh $20 million a year to be given a grace period. Again, though there are some exceptions where that might be the case, but I do not think having a new team or a young quarterback are among them.

The Future MetLife Stadium Turf

The flags of Brazil and Norway displayed on the field of MetLife Stadium before the teams faced off in a Round of 16 World Cup match Sunday, July 5, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

From Stephen Nixon (@Stephen28157618): Is there any thought to changing the surface at MetLife once the World Cup is over? Is there a new turf that might be used this season?

Hi Stephen, to my knowledge, no. If I hear otherwise, I’ll post it, but I am pretty sure that they will go back to the artificial surface. Now whether they plan to install a brand new surface is another story, as is whether they switch to a different type of artificial surface. The bottom line is I don’t think they are keeping the grass.

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