Dominic Zvadas perfect Giants start could be their ticket off the kicker carousel

There is an old special teams saying that once you board the kicker carousel, it’s difficult to get off the ride.John Harbaugh has never bought a ticket.Get texts from Paul Schwartz with all the latest Giants news and insights, exclusive to Sports+ subscribers.

The Giants spun in circles for three years.Harbaugh, with assists from the scouting department and special teams coordinator Chris Horton, might have found the third long-term kicker solution of his 28-year NFL coaching career now that rookie Dominic Zvada is off to a 9-for-9 start on field goals and 5-for-5 on PATs.“He’s a guy you didn’t feel like you were going to have to reinvent the wheel with technique-wise [to] where he could be consistent,” Harbaugh said.“He’s made a bunch of kicks, but there’s a bunch more kicks out there to be made.”David Akers had been cut three times and was kicking in NFL Europe in 1999 before Harbaugh, as a first-year special teams coordinator, started developing him into the Eagles’ all-time leading scorer.Harbaugh tapped rookie Justin Tucker with the big responsibility for the Super Bowl-hopeful Ravens in 2012, and Tucker became the second-most accurate kicker in league history.So, Harbaugh knows what to look for.“You can really trust what he’s saying, and he uses the same terminology as a specialist uses, so when you hear someone talk like that you know that they have a great idea of what they’re talking about,” Zvada said.

“So, yeah, to be able to play for Coach Harbaugh has been an absolute dream.I’m just excited to keep rolling with him.”Because of the stability of Akers and Tucker, Harbaugh has had only nine non-punters attempt field goals under his watch since 1999.

By comparison, the Giants used seven in the past three seasons alone as injuries and kicking-marred losses mounted.So, seeing Zvada matter-of-factly drill a 52-yarder through the wind and rain to extend a three-point lead to a much-needed six in the final three minutes ...