New York Giants special teams coordinator Chris Horton said Dominic Zvada won the kicking job the same way he has worked since he arrived: By staying consistent.
“Dom just showed consistency from the day he walked in,” Horton told reporters on Thursday. “There’s just been a lot of consistency, and going out there, and kicks being made.”
The staff broke down how Zvada kicked and how he wanted the ball, then used punter and holder Jordan Stout to fine-tune the operation so both kickers had a fair chance. Zvada kept making them.
Horton does not expect that process to change Sunday night against the Cowboys. Practice, preseason, and Sunday Night Football are the same job in his view.
“There’s a process,” he said. “Snap, hold, ball. Same foot to ball,
same contact. Those uprights are going to be the same uprights. They’re not going to move. As long as we put that ball down the middle of those uprights, we’re going to be okay.”
He also rejected the idea that a rookie needs a different plan in primetime. Zvada already played in crowded, high-stakes settings at Michigan.
“This guy’s played a lot of football,” Horton said. “He’s played in big-time games. The game doesn’t change. None of that stuff changes. He’s getting out there. He’s going through his daily routine. Kick a straight ball, ball goes in. He’ll be fine.”
Horton is using last year’s work with a rookie kicker as a guide. The emphasis is patience and keeping young players from adding extra steps.
“You’ve just got to trust in yourself, trust in your ability, trust in what really got you there,” he said. “That’s making kicks and that’s being consistent and trusting the guys that are snapping the ball, holding the ball for you, knowing that that ball is going to be exactly where it’s supposed to be.”
Pressure, Horton said, only shows up when a player is not ready. He believes Zvada is ready because the staff has put him in those moments every day, including kicks in the stadium.
“The only time you truly feel pressure, I believe, is if you’re not prepared for the moment. He’s prepared for the moment. We allow him to go out there and be himself and just go kick and don’t worry about anything. Go be you," Horton said.
Field-goal range will stay practical. Horton said the line comes from practice, pregame warm-ups, wind, and conditions inside the stadium, and it can change during the game. The staff does not get talked into longer attempts. Those decisions remain situational.
This article originally appeared on Giants Wire: Michigan experience gives Giants confidence in rookie Dominic Zvada
