Week Nine is complete and marked the NFL regular season debut of client Derek Hart with the Packers last night. Hart becomes the third snapper the Packers have used this season, following injuries to client Brett Goode and, most recently, Goode’s replacement Taybor Pepper this past week. To earn the Packers job, Hart competed against three other tryout snappers in Colin Holba, Nolan Frese and Zach Triner
Unfortunately, Hart had a poor field goal snap to start his NFL career, but rebounded on his remaining snaps and even recorded an assisted tackle in punt coverage.
John Denney of the Dolphins played in his 200th game this week to become only the third Dolphin to reach that milestone in team history.
A special note from the college ranks, as Iowa snapper Tyler Kluver helped execute a perfect fake field goal against Ohio State in which Kluver caught a pass after his snap and nearly scored a touchdown.
Although not a snapper story, punter Johnny Hekker of the Rams received some significant press attention this week when a New York Times story by Ben Shipgel asked whether he might be “The N.F.L.’s Most Valuable Player”. Shipgel profiles Hekker’s rise from an undrafted free agent punter, noting his rare combination of distance, direction and hang times makes him a unique special teams weapon.
In addition to Hart’s assisted tackle, two other snappers, Jon Weeks (Texans) and Kyle Nelson (49ers), added assists this week in punt coverage.
The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Nine is below.
Longsnap.com 