Week Ten was another active one at the special teams position with many missed extra points and field goals. In addition, the “jumping over the snapper: issue that came up most recently in Week Seven when Bobby Wagner of Seattle leapt over Arizona snapper Aaron Brewer twice, occurred again in the Broncos win over the Saints.
The Broncos blocked a late extra point attempt and returned it for a game-winning two point score. On the play, the Broncos pushed down on the back of Saints snapper Justin Drescher, allowing another player to have a path to block the kick. Dean Blandino of the NFL explained that an open hand push of the snapper is legal, but grabbing and pulling would be holding and not legal. It is worth noting that there have been 11 kicks blocked this year, after 12 all of last season.
Patrick Mannelly, the former Bears snapper, tweeted that when a snapper sees a stacked defender, they should know to set high and anticipate the leap. Snappers will need to prepare for this play and it is likely the NFL may examine the rules governing jumping the snapper in the off-season.
On the tackle front, five snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage, with James Winchester (Chiefs) and Zak DeOssie (Giants) adding solo tackles, while John Denney (Dolphins), Nolan Frese (Seahawks) and Joe Cardona (Patriots) had assisted tackles.
The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Ten is below.
Longsnap.com 