Week One of the 2012 NFL Regular Season is complete and snappers played an important role in a number of games. Last night, Pro Bowl snapper Jon Condo of the Raiders suffered an apparent concussion during punt coverage and left the game. Most NFL teams are not prepared to lose their snapper and the Raiders best option was linebacker Travis Goethel, who last snapped in high school. Goethel had problems with at least three punt snaps and brought back memories of James Harrison of the Steelers when he replaced an injured Greg Warren in the 2008 season and snapped the ball over the punter’s head.
The day before, Nick Sundberg of the Redskins broke a bone in his arm trying to block after a punt snap. Although Sundberg was injured late in the first half, he was tough enough to finish the game, leading Head Coach Mike Shanahan to call him a “warrior”.
Four other snappers made NFL regular season debuts without incident for the Falcons (Josh Harris), Broncos (Aaron Brewer), Colts (Matt Overton) and Titans (Beau Brinkley). One rookie snapper, Bryce Davis, was on the practice squad with the Bengals but has since been released.
Veteran Mike Leach snapped for the Cardinals Sunday and that marked his 153rd consecutive game. He trails Brian Jennings of the 49ers, who snapped in his 193rd straight game Sunday. Ethan Albright holds the NFL record for consecutive games by a snapper at 224 games, earned in 16 seasons with four teams.
Clark Harris of the Bengals had two tackles in punt coverage, while Leach, Zak DeOssie (Giants), Tanner Purdum (Jets), Josh Harris (Falcons) and Clint Gresham (Seahawks) each had solo stops.
The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week One is below.
Longsnap.com 