By Michael Preston
Jamie Gillan might be nicknamed the Scottish Hammer, but on Sunday the New York Giants punter had to dig into his toolbox to perform an additional job in Week 15 of the NFL season.
Perhaps the moniker Swiss Army Knife might better represent the skills of the 26-year-old from Inverness, after he stepped in to perform kicking duties when teammate Randy Bullock was lost to injury. The Giants’ regular kicker nailed a 56-yard field goal on the game’s opening drive for a 3-0 lead on the road against the New Orleans Saints, but suffered a hamstring pull on the resulting kickoff.
That left Gillan answering a request to assume kicking duties; an ask not quite as simple as it might seem just because he is one of two players on the roster whose feet are their primary tools. As a rule, punters do not spend time on the practice field splitting the uprights.
“It’s a totally different kicking motion,” explained Gillan, who once attempted a 61-yarder during his time with the Cleveland Browns. “I don’t want to tax my leg during the week by kicking field goals, which are a lot more straight on.”
Gillan ended the first half against the Saints by comfortably connecting on a 40-yard field goal, ensuring the Giants trailed by only a point at halftime.
While New York did have a contingency in place should their kicker go down, the make-up of the new kicking unit was complicated by the fact that Gillan is the holder during the regular process and that he is left footed. Most are used to working with right-footed kickers. When the time came, fellow special teamer Gunner Olszewski deputized and improvised as holder, while Casey Kreiter continued at long snapper, though the trio had not practiced the timing of the precise routine.
“Gunner is a great athlete and he stepped in, but holding for a lefty is totally different,” said Gillan. “Casey snapped a great ball and we just went and got it done. You’ve got to go when your name’s called. I did it in college. You do whatever you can to help the team. I’m not going to say no.”
In the locker room afterwards, he pondered a suggestion that an alternative means to converting either a field goal or extra point might have been a drop kick, given his rugby playing background. The last successful execution of such a rare play in the modern game was by Doug Flutie for the New England Patriots against the Miami Dolphins in 2006. Current Giants interim head coach Brain Daboll was on the Patriots staff that season and once mentioned that oddity in conversation with his punter. But he opted for the more conventional field goal method.
“I have practiced it for fun, and I can still do it,” admitted Gillan. “If we didn’t have a backup holder, then maybe there would be some thoughts about doing that. Gunner’s a really good holder and I think that’s easier because the ball is not moving out of my hand and it’s stationary.”
Gillan began the second half in the Caesar’s Superdome with a 51-yard kickoff, but his emergency kicking skills were not required again as the Saints defense shut out New York after halftime, inflicting a 24-6 defeat on the Giants.
When focusing on his regular role, the Scottish Hammer punted 5 times for 238 yards and an average of 47.6 yards. Being number one in the NFL in net punting yards (3,488) and second in landing punts inside the 20 through Week 15, he has been mentioned as a potential Pro Bowl selection.
“It’s hard to get into the NFL and it’s even harder to stay in so you just keep working at it as hard as you can because there’s lots of talented kickers and punters out there,” Gillan said. “I’m really proud of my journey to get here, going to UAPB (University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) and going straight from there to play for the Browns. Being one of a few in the NFL, as a foreign player, is something to be proud of.”
Gillan also appreciates the journey his life and career has taken, even if he concedes he will no longer realize his childhood aspiration of representing Scotland at rugby.
“My dream was always pulling on the international jersey, but my path took me here and I wouldn’t change anything,” he admits. “I love this and playing in all these awesome venues. Playing in the National Football League is a privilege.
“Hopefully people back home see that it can be done and if anyone there is kicking a ball, they should try to get a scholarship out to the States because getting the training you do and walking out with a four-year degree for free is amazing. I probably wasn’t going to get into university back home, but my leg got me to university here and then having the chance to make it to the NFL, and still staying in it has been great.”
