Tag: Graham Gano

Giants’ Graham Gano snaps back at troll in ‘most Scottish way imaginable’

New York Giants kicker Graham Gano recently shut down an online troll in what’s been called the “most Scottish way imaginable.”

New York Giants kicker Graham Gano has zero patience for online trolls.

Over the weekend, an NFL fan on social media disparaged the Giants, suggesting they would go a mere 4-12 in 2024 (obviously forgetting there are 17 regular season games now).

Gano was having none of it.

“Haud yer wheesht,” Gano replied.

American fans were understandably confused by what Gano had said but pledged their support nonetheless.

“I have no idea what that means, but I support everything Graham says,” one user on X, formerly known as Twitter, wrote.

Translated, what the Scottish-born Gano said was essentially, “keep your mouth shut.”

It’s also not the first time this offseason that Gano has clapped back at a troll online. He also replied to a fan who demanded Gano give up his jersey number to whatever player wanted it simply because he was nothing more than a kicker.

Don’t test the veteran. He has no patience for nonsense.

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Every Pro Bowl selection in Panthers franchise history

Let’s take a look back at every Pro Bowl selection in Panthers franchise history

It took a bit longer than it should’ve, but defensive tackle Derrick Brown rightfully became the latest Pro Bowler in Carolina Panthers history.

So, as we gear up for the rest of the festivities this weekend, let’s look back at Brown and every other Panther who has been selected as an all-star.

4 potential cap casualties for Giants in 2024

If New York Giants GM Joe Schoen is interesting in clearing cap space, there are four potential (albeit difficult to part with) options.

The New York Giants are expected to have approximately $37.8 million in available salary cap space this coming offseason (pending the cap ceiling).

They can squeeze a bit more if they re-work some contracts, but general manager Joe Schoen has done an excellent job of trimming the fat already.

Since Schoen became the Giants’ GM in January of 2021, he has been fiscally prudent and very creative with player contracts.

Schoen doesn’t have a lot of options this offseason when it comes to creating cap space, but we went up and down the roster and found four possibilities.

Giants’ 9 biggest disappointments of 2023

The New York Giants regressed significantly in 2023 and these nine players were among the most disappointing.

The 2023 season was a major downer for the New York Giants. There were a few surprises and glimmers of hope on the defensive side of the ball, but it wasn’t enough to extend the season.

The front office issues plagued the team and resulted in more upheaval with the “parting of ways” with Wink Martindale.

In the wake of the blinders being ripped off around the whole Wink/Brian Daboll fiasco, let’s take a look at nine players (in no particular order) who disappointed the most in 2023.

Giants’ Thomas McGaughey laments injuries to kickers

Thomas McGaughey isn’t particularly thrilled that the New York Giants will be on their fourth different kicker in Week 16.

The New York Giants have been ravaged by injury this season and no position group has managed to avoid the nightmare, including the team’s kickers.

Back in early November, the Giants lost veteran Graham Gano to a knee injury. He was replaced by Randy Bullock, who also landed on injured reserve (IR) this week as the result of a hamstring issue.

Bullock was forced to leave a Week 15 game against the New Orleans Saints and was replaced by punter Jamie Gillan, who also endured an injury in that contest.

With two kickers on IR and their punter ailing, the Giants are expected to elevate Cade York from their practice squad on Christmas Day against the Philadelphia Eagles. He will technically become their fourth kicker of the season.

“It’s a lot,” special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey said on Wednesday. “But I told you this early in the season, I said you don’t want to get on the kicker train, because the destination is unknown. Because you don’t know. Once that train gets rolling, you never know where it’s going to end. But it is what it is, we’ll make the adjustments, we won’t make any excuses, just keep it moving.”

The 22-year-old York was originally on the Giants’ 53-man roster but they opted to elevate and start Bullock instead. Once his elevations ran out, the team waived York and signed Bullock to the active roster before adding York back to the practice squad.

McGaughey had a hunch they might need to go back to York, so they’ve continued working with him.

“He’s getting better. He’s working at it,” McGaughey said of York. “Young specialists are always a work in progress, so those guys are always trying to find a routine, trying to tweak certain things and just work on those small details of what he’s doing. Being around Randy and Graham has been huge for him.

“It’s almost unheard of. Even during the offseason, this rarely happens. But he’s been taking advantage of it. And I told him, this is a godsend for you to be able to be around two veteran kickers that have had double-digit years that have both started over 150 games, played in 150 games, in the same building as you at the same time. That’s big for him.”

York started 17 games for the Cleveland Browns last season but was inconsistent. He made just 75 percent of his field goal attempts and missed two point after attempts. Now he’ll have to lace up his cleats and start for the Giants on Christmas Day in Philadelphia, where it will be cold and windy. And very loud.

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5 impact Giants from 2022 who have vanished in 2023

The 2022 New York Giants surprised the football world by picking up a playoff victory but these 5 impacts players have vanished in 2023.

The New York Giants came into the 2023 season with high hopes after experiencing their first playoff appearance since 2016 last season.

Those hopes have been dashed — and then some — as the Giants have opened the 2023 season with a 2-8 record and are on course to have one of their worst seasons in franchise history.

That didn’t happen in a vacuum. Injuries, poor coaching and personnel choices, and yes, player underperformance, have all contributed to the club’s rapid demise.

Here are five players who contributed heavily in 2022 that have ‘vanished’ this season.

Giants place Darren Waller, Tyrod Taylor on injured reserve

The New York Giants have placed TE Darren Waller and QB Tyrod Taylor on injured reserve along with several other transactions.

The New York Giants have placed tight end Darren Waller (hamstring) and quarterback Tyrod Taylor (ribs) on injured reserve (IR). The pair will miss at least the next four games.

Waller suffered a hamstring injury during a Week 8 loss to the New York Jets that he says was unrelated to the hamstring issue he dealt with earlier this year.

Taylor was injured in the same game and transported to a local hospital where he remained overnight.

Waller and Taylor join kicker Graham Gano, who was also placed on IR this week with a knee injury. He is expected to undergo surgery in the coming days but stopped short of saying his season is over.

“No. Nobody’s told me that,” Gano said when asked if he’s been told his season is over. “But my mindset is always if I’m dealing with some adversity, just attack it, and do what I can with it.”

In place of Gano, the Giants signed kicker Cade York off the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad. They also signed kicker Randy Bullock to the practice squad and elevated him ahead of their Week 9 game against the Las Vegas Raiders, providing them with two active kickers for the game.

Additionally, the Giants elevated linebacker Justin Hollins from the practice squad and signed tight end Lawrence Cager to their 53-man roster from the reserve unit.

Rookie Tommy DeVito will serve as the backup quarterback on Sunday.

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Giants sign kicker Cade York off Titans’ practice squad

The New York Giants are signing kicker Cade York off the Titans’ practice squad. He will compete with Randy Bullock for the starting job.

New York Giants head coach Brian Daboll confirmed the expected on Friday, announcing that kicker Graham Gano will be placed on injured reserve (IR) and undergo surgery to repair his left knee.

Gano will likely miss the remainder of the season.

Daboll also confirmed that the team is signing kicker Randy Bullock to their practice squad, but he won’t be the only addition.

The Giants have signed kicker Cade York to their 53-man roster from the Tennessee Titans’ practice squad. He will compete with Bullock in practice on Friday with the winner earning the starting role on Sunday against the Las Vegas Raiders.

York was a fourth-round pick of the Cleveland Browns in the 2022 NFL draft. He was waived as a part of final cuts this past offseason and promptly signed to the Titans’ practice squad.

In 17 games as a rookie, York connected on 24 of his 32 field goal attempts (75%) and 35 of his 37 point-after attempts (94.6%). 50 of his 81 kickoffs (61.7%) went for touchbacks.

The Giants have also re-signed wide receiver and return specialist, Gunner Olszewski, back to their 53-man roster.

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Giants say Jets lined up illegally on missed Graham Gano field goal

The New York Giants claim the New York Jets lined up illegally on Graham Gano’s missed field goal late in the fourth quarter of Week 8.

The New York Giants lost, 13-10, to the New York Jets last Sunday in overtime but the game should have been over in regulation way before that, according to special teams coordinator Thomas McGaughey.

With 24 seconds remaining in regulation, Giants kicker Graham Gano missed a 35-yard field goal attempt that would have put the Giants up, 13-7. The Jets came back and were able to kick a field goal to tie the game at 10, sending it into overtime where they won, 13-10.

McGaughey said that Jets rookie Will McDonald lined up illegally on the play over the center. With the down and distance of fourth-and-1, the penalty would have given the Giants a first down and would have effectively ended the game.

“You can’t cover the center and he was covering the center,” McGaughey said of McDonald. “If you align inside the framework of the center, that’s illegal formation, can’t do that. So, you have to be completely outside of the framework of the center.”

Reporters had intimated that McDonald’s jumping over the line was the issue. McGaughey said that was legal. The place where he lined up was not.

“You can jump over the line of scrimmage. Yeah, you can jump,” he said. “You just can’t use anybody to leverage or gain an advantage in height, but you can jump from one side of the line scrimmage and not touch anybody and land on the other side, that’s perfectly legal. But if you line up within the framework of the shoulders of the center, it’s an illegal formation by the defense.”

Asked if they’ve heard from the league regarding the play, Giants head coach Brian Daboll simply said, “I’ll keep that private.”

In other words, yes. They have.

So, the Giants lost another game due to an official’s error. That’s the story of the 2023 Giants, folks.

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Giants signing Randy Bullock to practice squad, Graham Gano headed to IR

The New York Giants are placing kicker Graham Gano (knee) on injured reserve and signing kicker Randy Bullock to replace him.

The New York Giants will soon place kicker Graham Gano on injured reserve (IR) and he will undergo surgery to repair his left knee.

Gano has been kicking on the balky knee for several weeks and missed two field goals against the New York Jets in a 13-10 overtime loss last Sunday, including the potential game-dealer with seconds remaining.

Although Gano refused to offer up any excuses after the game, it’s clear that he’s been struggling.

Head coach Brian Daboll initially defended his decision to put Gano in that situation, arguing that his kicker was “all right.” It was just one of many questionable personnel decisions the Giants have employed this season (and last).

On Thursday, with the knowledge that Gano was headed for surgery, the Giants worked out a handful of kickers, including ex-mate Robbie Gould.

Following the workouts, the Giants agreed to sign Randy Bullock to their practice squad pending a physical, reports USA TODAY’s Art Stapleton.

The 33-year-old Bullock was selected by the Houston Texans in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL draft. He’s also spent time with the New York Jets, Pittsburgh Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals, Detroit Lions and, most recently, Tennessee Titans.

In 2016, Bullock spent one game with the Giants, kicking in place of the suspended Josh Brown.

Throughout his career, Bullock has connected on 83.4% of his field goal attempts and 95.6% of his PAT attempts.

Once Gano officially lands on IR, Bullock will likely be signed from the practice squad to the active roster.

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