Empire Sports Media

Chandler Catanzaro

New York Giants Already Move On From Chandler Catanzaro

by
New York Giants, Chandler Catanzaro

The Chandler Catanzaro era didn’t last long for the New York Giants special teams group. The Giants were left in an awkward position this offseason by Aldrick Rosas’ sudden legal troubles, and it looked like Catanzaro was a possible replacement, but at the end of the day the Giants found someone else.

According to Adam Schefter, the team has moved on from Catanzaro already. The Giants originally picked him up at the beginning of the month, once it was clear that relying on Aldrick Rosas is a bad idea going forward. Rosas was released by the Giants only a few days before they picked up Catanzaro. However, the new addition just wasn’t destined to make it as the actual replacement for the former starter.

The Giants chose to release Catanzaro in favor of Graham Gano, who is currently a free agent. Interestingly enough, Gano isn’t actually on the roster yet. He was last signed to Carolina, the same team the Giants got GM Dave Gettleman from.

Gettleman was GM of the Panthers during some of the time Gano was there. It’s possibly why Gano is the preferred choice right now. Likely, the Giants only gave Catanzaro a chance because he’s already familiar from playing with the Jets for two stints.

As for Gano, his 90.9% field goal percentage from his last season in the league back in 2018 is an improvement over the 70% Rosas had in his slump season during 2019. He’s still a 33 year old that hasn’t been in the league for a bit, so it’s not a perfect signing. But the Giants aren’t making an obvious mistake with this one.

With the kicker question mostly solved, there probably won’t be too much more news about this subject this offseason.

New York Giants Expected To Sign Kicker Graham Gano

by
New York Giants, Graham Gano

The New York Giants‘ special teams unit is receiving an overhaul in 2020. Long-time long snapper Zak Deoisse has retired after an NFL career that saw him win two Super Bowls in Big Blue. Along with his departure, the Giants cut their kicker Aldrick Rosas after he found himself caught up in serious legal issues.

Overseeing all of this overturn in the unit is the Giants’ new head coach, Joe Judge. Judge is a former special teams coordinator with the Patriots and he emphasizes the importance of a good special teams unit. Today, the Giants made another roster move for the unit, this time an addition.

After cutting Aldrick Rosas, the Giants signed kicker Chandler Catanzaro. Now New York is expected to sign another kicker- Graham Gano. According to Art Stapleton, Graham Gano is expected to sign with the Giants and join the kicking competition with Chandler Catanzaro once he passes entry testing protocols.

Graham Gano Stats And Highlights

Giants fans may remember Graham Gano from the brutal Week 5 loss against the Panthers in 2018. Gano was the Panthers’ kicker at the time. The Giants lost that game 31-33 after Graham Gano made a 63-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. That field goal was one of the longest in NFL history.

That was a few years ago, though, and Gano has not made many kicks since then. Gano did not play a game in 2019 as he was placed on injured reserve with a fractured femur before the season started. Gano also missed the last four games of the 2018 season dealing with an injury.

Prior to his injury in 2018, Gano was having a great season. He made 14 of his 16 field-goal attempts and 30 of 33 extra-point attempts. Gano has been in the NFL since 2009 and has had a long career filled with success. His career-average field goal percentage is 82.1% and his extra-point percentage is 95.3%. In 2017, Gano led the NFL with a 96.7% field goal percentage, hitting 29 of 30 attempts.

Graham Gano is expected to compete with Chandler Catanzaro in training camp. But if Gano is fully healthy and returns to form, the job should be his.

New York Giants: Top Players/Positions To Monitor In Training Camp 2020

by
New York Giants, Darius Slayton

Football is back! The New York Giants officially reported to training camp on Tuesday, marking the beginning of the 2020 NFL season. Veterans reported to training camp today as the team does its first wave of COVID-19 testing. This will be a crucial season for the Giants as they enter the year with a brand new coaching staff and a revamped roster.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no preseason this year, making training camp that much more important. Many of those players who standout in the preseason to earn their roster spots will not be afforded such an opportunity this year. Instead, the Giants’ new coaching staff will have to gauge their players’ talents in training camp alone.

With that being the case, who are the top players, or what are the top positions to watch during training camp in 2020?

You can check out the video version of this article below, or continue scrolling for the written version:

Pages: 1 2 3 4

New York Giants sign kicker Chandler Catanzaro to replace Aldrick Rosas, here’s what you need to know

by
New York Giants, Chandler Catanzaro

In the wake of the New York Giants releasing Aldrick Rosas after a hit-and-run incident several weeks ago, they have now signed former Arizona Cardinals kicker, Chandler Catanzaro.

Catanzaro has a career 83.8% field goal percentage and spent time with the Carolina Panthers and Tampa Bay buccaneers in 2018. He did not play in 2019, but it is ready to return on a cheaper deal.

The Giants saved $3.3 million in cap space from the release of Rosas, and Catanzaro would likely cost far less. This will allow them to utilize their open salary space elsewhere.

In 2018, Catanzaro was 27 years old. He will be 29 going into the 2020 season and struggled at times with both teams. His extra point completion percentage was 85.7% and recorded touchbacks 80% of the time on kickoffs.

The Giants have seemed to acquire a sour taste for kickers in the franchise, following the Josh Brown debacle, and now Rosas dealing with his own legal issues. The Giants have not had an easy summer, and head coach Joe Judge has dealt with blow-after-blow since signing on with New York.

A lack of consistency at the kicker position tortures some teams, so hopefully, Catanzaro can be a consistent threat. I wouldn’t be surprised if the team brought in another kicker to compete during training camp.

New York Jets: Who Will Take Chandler Catanzaro’s Role as Kicker?

by
New York Jets, Jason Myers

The New York Jets have a gigantic need for a kicker after Chandler Catanzaro announced his retirement on Sunday morning. With Catanzaro gone, the Jets must fill the kicker position quickly as their second preseason game approaches. Jets top option, Kaare Vedcik, was traded from the Baltimore Ravens for a fifth-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. The free-agent market isn’t packed with any promising solutions, the top options being Matt Bryant and Blair Walsh. Dan Bailey might be a future option for the Jets as he will be battling Vedvik for the kicker spot on the Vikings.  The Jets have little to work with and will probably have to wait until the cut day to scour the market for their new kicker.

Open Competition

I think the New York Jets should approach this problem the same way the Bears have, get as many kickers as possible and hold a giant competition. The Jets have nothing to lose, bring in 5 guys and make them battle it out seems like the most logical way to find your guy. Five players the Jets can bring in are Taylor Bertolet, Matt Bryant, Blair Walsh, Ross Martin, and Matt McCrane.

Trading Options

If the Jets were to trade for their new kicker, names like Dan Bailey and Mason Crosby would be intriguing. A trade would most likely cost the Jets to fork over at least a 5th or 6th round pick, but its better than losing a game due to a missed field goal because you were too cheap to trade.

New York Jets: Jets vs Giants Preseason Week 1 Preview

by
New York Jets

The wait is over, New York Jets football is finally back. The Jets finally play their first opponent of the 2019 NFL season. Sure, it may just be preseason but it’s nice to see the Jets get on the field against people who are not wearing green and white. The New York Giants will be hosting the Jets in the annual “Snoopy Bowl” this year at MetLife Stadium this Thursday to see who will have bragging rights until week 10 when both teams meet again for round 2. Obviously, neither team will have their stars out, but it is a very good opportunity for players who aren’t guaranteed a spot on the roster a chance to shine. What better way for the New York Jets to start their new era of football by beating their bigger brother for a chance to finally reign supreme. Here are some things to look out for this Thursday night.

What to expect from Adam Gase?

Adam Gase got a second chance to be a head coach in this league and he doesn’t intend on messing it up. There are many reasons Gase wasn’t successful in Miami but probably the biggest reason was the fact he didn’t know how to call plays. Adam Gase has a history of doing very short yardage throws on second and long and third and long. This can’t happen here in New York. Adam Gase has gone on record before stating that he wants to be more aggressive in his play-calling, and what better way to experiment than in the preseason against a young, up and coming Giants secondary. If Adam Gase wants to avoid being a failure in New York, he must do the opposite of everything he did in Miami.

Position battles to look for

The preseason is the best way to test for players who are battling for a starting or backup role on the roster. The New York Jets certainly do not have a shortage of battles going on and these are some to keep an eye out for.

Tight end

The Jets are pretty set at tight end this year but with Chris Herndon missing the first four weeks due to suspension the Jets will have to see which one of their young tight ends can fill in and be a reliable target for Sam Darnold. The two main competitors are Daniel Brown and Trevon Wesco. Wesco seems to have the upper hand against Brown because he’s had a very good training camp with the team.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see Wesco listed as the starting tight end at the beginning of the year.

QB No. 3

The Jets have another QB battle going on this year, thankfully not for the starting spot. The Jets are looking for someone to groom into a backup for Sam Darnold the next couple of years. Luke Falk and Davis Webb are the two guys the Jets are looking at. Falk has had a history with Adam Gase being the third-string QB in Miami last year until he landed on the IR October 5th. Davis Webb, on the other hand, has no relation to Adam Gase but he does have a pedigree that Falk doesn’t. Webb was a third-round pick for the Giants back in 2017 and shows potential. Webb Hoists a howitzer for an arm but doesn’t have the accuracy to match up with it. It’ll be interesting to see which QB will edge out because as of right now there isn’t a clear front runner.

Kicker

The Jets currently have just one kicker on the roster, Chandler Catanzaro. So, who is Catanzaro competing with you might ask? The answer is Catanzaro is competing with himself. Catanzaro is having one of the worst camps this year missing a lot of kicks. The Jets have had a hole at kicker ever since Nick Folk left the team back in 2016. The Jets have lucked out with their kicker situation the past couple of years getting castoffs like Jason Meyers and Catanzaro to have good years, but this might be the end of that little streak. If Catanzaro continues to struggle don’t be surprised to see Joe Douglas seek another kicker when cuts are being made. A couple of names to watch are players like Mason Crosby and the training camp favorite from 2016 and 2017 Ross Martin.

Potential diamonds in the rough

The Jets have had their fair share of training camp standouts this year and they’ll finally get to show off what they can really do against the actual competition. This is where you find players like Robby Anderson who a couple of years ago was in the same position as many of the young players grinding for a spot on the 53. A couple of names to watch are players like Tim White, Kyron Brown, Blake Cashman and Derrick Jones.