The play that secured the Giants' wild road win over the Seahawks on Sunday has a name, but Giants special teams coordinator Michael Ghobrial said, “We want to keep that to ourselves.”
Whatever the name of the play, what mattered most was the timing and execution of Isaiah Simmons' blocked field goal. That's because it allows the Giants (2-3) to enter Sunday night's home game against the Bengals (1-4) with a chance. Get to .500 and stay in the middle of the NFC East race.
It was Ghobrial who designed plays based on trends Seattle's field goal team showed on film.
He presented it to head coach Brian Daboll that week, who gave him the green light to use it in games.
On Thursday, Gobrial went out of his way to praise his players for making the perfect goal, blocking Simmons' 47-yard field goal attempt to tie the game by Jason Myers.
Bryce Ford-Wheaton returned the block 60 yards for a touchdown, sealing the Giants' 29-20 victory.
“I was excited to see the guys play,” Ghobrial said. “It was really cool to see No. 1 Isaiah Simmons understand his responsibility for that play. [he was] It was in my ear like, “Hey, if you call me, I'll go get this.'' I said, “Don’t be afraid to call, dude.” I trust him.
“He was able to basically embody that play in his head and execute it. And because it takes all 11 people for any play to be successful, the rest of the group made their own decisions.” It was really great to see them take on their responsibilities.”
Gobrial said that when he “studyed” Simmons before joining the Giants, he was quick to point out that he is “an unbelievable athlete and has great size,” adding, “No. When you combine the two, you get the following players.” He's a guy who can jump out of the gym and understands the fundamentals of defense, off the ball. And I thought, “Okay, this is a great opportunity for him.” ”
Ghobrial said the roots of the play go back to his days coaching at UCLA. [coached]”
Now, the question is, can Gobrial get back on track this season, or was this a one-hit wonder?
“I don’t think anything will go unplanned,” he said. “It doesn't matter if it runs once or 10 times and the other team runs it. If we have an opportunity, we'll go ahead with it.”
Daboll said he was ready to adjust his play early in the game, but Ghobrial wanted to wait for the perfect moment. That moment came at the end of the game.
“I just want to make sure I’m ready when the time comes, and it just happened to be a very good timing for our guys to take advantage of that play,” he said. .
They did…whatever the name of the play was.
