NY Giants’ Special Teams Coordinator Amazed by Boom NFL Trend

"The training of these kickers has elevated in the past 10 years, the strength of these specialists has also risen up as well," Ghobrial said when asked what contributed to the trend. "I think these guys have understood what the weight room could do for them, what flexibility could do for them."

"Obviously, in terms of Brandon Aubrey, he's a generational talent," Ghobrial continued. 

"A 64-yarder is not a chip shot, but for that guy, he did a good job and he was able to execute. A lot of respect for him, because he's able to hit those kicks with ease and that's something that I’ve got a ton of respect for the guy for."

Tom Dempsey of the New Orleans Saints famously booted the first field goal from threescore away in 1970, a 63-yarder that stood as an NFL record until Jason Elam, Sebastian Janikowski, and David Akers tied it in 1998, 2009, and 2012.

Matt Prater broke the record with the Denver Broncos in 2013 and Baltimore's Justin Tucker currently holds the official record at 66. 

That tally could well be in jeopardy, as Jacksonville's Cam Little scored on a 70-yarder during a preseason game against Pittsburgh over the summer.

Just under half of the 43 successful kicks from at least 60 have been earned since 2020, four alone coming last year. 

Few have been more haunted by the trend than the Giants: Aubrey had previously booted a 60-yarder against them in last year's yearly meeting at MetLife Stadium while current blue leg Graham Gano matched Dempsey with a 63-yard triple for the Carolina Panthers in 2018.

Ghobrial is impressed with the potential the revolution has done for game management and is eager to see it continue.

"If you miss the kick, you're giving the opponent the ball around the logo," Ghobrial noted. 

"If you make the kick, points are invaluable in this league. But that being said, you’ve just got to weigh the time in the game. You’ve got to weigh in how that kicker's feeling that day. Points are always a premium, but ultimately, it's the flow of the game."

"How are we playing defensively? How are we playing offensively? What is the score differential and how do you obviously get to a position to win the game? So all those things factor into that. It is pretty damn cool to see the range of what these kickers are able to do, whether it's preseason or regular season."

Could Gano rejoin that exclusive brotherhood? Ghobrial seems confident, as the sixth-year New Yorker, who has been hampered by injuries over the last two seasons, is a perfect 5-for-5 over the first two games this time around, his longest being a 55-yard tally in the season-opening loss in Washington.

"I would say (kicker) Graham Gano is hitting the ball really well for us right now," Ghobrial reported. "Really fired up where he's at and I have seen, obviously, like I've said in the past, he looks like the Graham Gano that we all know. A veteran, successful kicker with good range, and he's just hitting the ball really well right now."