MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — It is called a snap, but it is not a snap.
That is the mindset Ben Bredeson had to have last week, when he was called on for an unexpected in-game adjustment, moving from left guard to center after rookie John Michael Schmitz went down with a shoulder injury in the first quarter of a 24-3 loss to the Seahawks.
Bredeson will start at center on Sunday, when the Giants face the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium.
“Center is a different position than guard, you’re in charge of making sure everybody is on the same page,’’ Bredeson told The Post. “That’s priority one and getting Daniel [Jones] the ball clean.’’
Getting Jones the ball cleanly is easier said than done.
Almost all of Bredeson’s past experience is at guard but he takes plenty of reps at center in the spring and summer, preparing for the exact situation that took place with Schmitz.
Bredeson did not have much time to process the change as he sat on the bench while the offense was on the sideline after the Schmitz injury.
“Not panicking or anything, we were ready for the situation,’’ Bredeson said. “Just making sure Daniel and I were on the same page, get a couple of snaps with him and then start to just switch your mind a little from guard to center. Just how you view the game a little bit differently, all of a sudden you’re in charge of the calls so you got to be on your stuff. Trust me, when you’re playing center you’re locked into everything.’’
With Bredeson at center, it looks as if Mark Glowinski will have to be taken out of moth balls to start at left guard.
Josh Ezeudu is needed at left tackle, as Andrew Thomas will miss his fourth consecutive game with a strained hamstring.
In need of offensive linemen, the Giants elevated Jaylon Thomas and Jalen Mayfield from the practice squad.
During his long and winding coaching career, Brian Daboll returned to the college ranks in 2017 to serve was the offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2017, working for Nick Saban.
Daboll had Jalen Hurts as his starting quarterback, and that combination helped the Crimson Tide advance to the national championship game.
Hurts was ineffective in the first half of that game against Georgia and a true freshman named Tua Tagovailoa entered in the second half and led Alabama to a 26-23 overtime victory over Georgia. Tagovailoa is now tearing it up for the Dolphins.
“Yeah, I’m not surprised,’’ Daboll said of his former quarterback. “He’s very accurate, he’s very instinctive, he’s a great young man. Loves the game of football, has good leadership about him.’’
Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale is 60 years old and is well accustomed to going up against younger offensive masterminds.
It is more of that in this game with Martindale and Mike McDaniel, Miami’s 40-year-old head coach and play-caller, given McDaniel’s NFL upbringing under Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers.
“Mike McDaniel is a stud,’’ Martindale said. “It goes back to, he’s from the Shanahan tree. It used to be Kyle and everybody would say he’s got Mike McDaniel with him. Now, it’s Mike McDaniel. He’s from that tree, but Mike’s his own guy.
“The thing that they had, they have a lot of things in common, is the stress they put you in on all three downs. I mean, you have to game-plan first and second down, just like you do third down. You have to defend every blade of grass against them. They’re looking for horizontal seams, they’re looking for vertical seams, and they hit it, and they hit it with fast players. That puts a lot of stress on a defense.’’