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There may finally be a change coming at the snapping position as Bengals’ snapper Brad St. Louis had more short snapping issues on Sunday.  So far, the Bengals have stood by St. Louis during his difficult time and Head Coach Marvin Lewis noted yesterday that the problems appear to be mental and fixable.  In other game action, the Cowboys blocked a late field goal attempt by the Chiefs, employing a strategy of jumping over snapper Thomas Gafford to make the block.  Gafford stated he was surprised by the move and that the Chiefs’ blocking technique was to block low to get under the defender.

On the tackle front, Matt Katula (Ravens), Jon Condo (Raiders) and Mike Leach (Cardinals) each had solo tackles, while Ken Amato of the Titans recovered a muffed punt.  Condo now has five tackles, including four solo tackles.  The NFL Long Snappers page has the updated snapper chart with current tackle numbers.

Week Four is complete and short snapping issues continue to plague veteran Brad St. Louis of the Bengals, as he had two poor snaps that led to a blocked field goal and extra point.  St. Louis did rebound and deliver a solid snap on the game-winner in overtime.  On the tackle front, Dave Binn of the Chargers had two solo tackles, while Jon Condo of the Raiders had a solo tackle and an assist.  Client Brett Goode (Packers), Don Muhlbach (Lions), Zak DeOssie (Giants) and Brian Jennings (49ers) each had one solo tackle.  The NFL Long Snappers chart is updated with the latest tackle figures.

While there have been no changes at the snapping position, some teams have begun to evaluate snappers in case of emergency.  Client Bryan Pittman, Nate Hodel and Ryan Neill are among the veteran free agent snappers with recent workouts.  Snappers who have had some injury issues this season include Jason Kyle (Saints), Joel Dreessen (Texans) and Pat Mannelly (Bears).  Each snapper has been healthy enough not to miss any game action.  The Saints were concerned about Kyle this week and announced that either linebacker Troy Evans or cornerback Chris Reis would serve as the snapper if Kyle could not go.

The United Football League  starts this week and the snapping spots for the four teams in the new league are set.   As noted in a recent post, Nick Sundberg (California), Rigo Morales (Las Vegas), Jared Retkofsky (New York) are three of the snappers, while the Florida team replaced Joey Madrid with Matt Overton, who snapped at Western Washington and has prior NFL experience with the Seahawks.

Week Three is complete and the snapping position remains stable, although Bengals’ snapper Brad St. Louis continues to have issues with his short snapping, most recently with a snap that went over the holder on Sunday.  Three snappers, client Justin Snow (Colts), Thomas Gafford (Chiefs) and Jeremy Cain (Jaguars), each had solo tackles in punt coverage.  The NFL Long Snappers chart, available at the NFL Long Snappers page, has been updated with the latest tackle numbers in the final column.

As a long snapper, there have historically not been many places to play professionally outside of the NFL.  Indoor leagues do not use a traditional snapper, except for a short snapper who is usually a lineman, and the CFL has typically used Canadian-born snappers.

The new United Football League is a league that appears to be giving snappers a chance to demonstrate their skills.  The UFL has four teams and each team currently has a dedicated long snapper.  Nick Sundberg (California Redwoods), Joey Madrid (Florida Tuskers), Rigo Morales (Las Vegas Locomotives) and Jared Retkofsky (New York Sentinels) are the sole snappers for each club.  Sundberg was in camp with the Carolina Panthers this season, while Retkofsky won a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers.  Specialists in the UFL, including snappers, earn $25,000.00 for the six-game season.

Week Two is complete and there were no major snapping issues.  On the tackle front, Brian Jennings of the 49ers had a solo tackle and two assists, while Jon Condo of the Raiders had a solo tackle.  Jennings and Condo each recorded solo tackles last week.

The NFL Long Snappers chart has been updated to include a new column to track punt coverage tackles this season.  Just click on the NFL Long Snappers page for the latest version of the chart following Week Two’s action.

Week One of the NFL season is now complete and a number of snappers had great starts in punt coverage.  Joel Dreessen debuted at snapper for the Texans and recorded two solo tackles and an assist, while Don Muhlbach of the Lions had a tackle and fumble recovery.  Matt Katula (Ravens), Jon Dorenbos (Eagles), JJ Jansen (Panthers), Brad St. Louis (Bengals), Brian Jennings (49ers), David Binn (Chargers) and Jon Condo (Raiders) each added a solo tackle.

St. Louis had a poor field goal snap in the first quarter against the Broncos that prevented a field goal attempt, while veteran Pat Mannelly of the Bears received some unwanted attention in the game against the Packers.  Mannelly called for a direct snap to the personal protector after correctly spotting the Packers with 12 men on the field.  However, the 12th man got off the field before the snap and the Packers stopped the fake.  As a result, many special teams units are likely reviewing this play and perhaps making adjustments in how fakes are called.

With the regular season approaching and final cuts made, the NFL Long Snappers page has the latest version of Longsnap.com’s NFL Long Snappers Chart.  The chart is linked below and can always be found on the NFL Long Snappers page as well.

Long Snappers Chart

NFL rosters were reduced to 53 players today and veteran snapper Joe Zelenka was among the snappers released.  Jeremy Cain, who snapped for the Titans in 2007 after parts of two seasons with the Bears, will replace Zelenka for the Jaguars.  In another move, the Texans waived Clark Harris, who filled in for client Bryan Pittman when he was suspended for four games at the end of last season.  The Texans have elected to use tight end Joel Dreessen at snapper.  The NFL Long Snappers chart will be updated shortly.

Noted author Jeffrey Marx’s latest book, The Long Snapper: A Second Chance, A Super Bowl, A Lesson for Life, about Brian Kinchen’s remarkable journey from NFL retirement to the Super Bowl, will debut on the New York Times  best seller list this weekend at number 11.  For those who have not read the book, I highly recommend it, both for its insight into the long snapping position and, more generally, for its positive and inspirational message.