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Week Seventeen in Review

Posted on January 2, 2017 by longsnap

The 2016 NFL regular season is now complete. There were two notable snapping situations in the final week. Nolan Frese of the Seahawks sprained his ankle early in the game against the 49ers. Later, Frese sailed a punt snap over the punter’s head for a safety. With the Seahawks hosting a playoff game Saturday, Frese’s condition will be important to monitor the next few days.

In the Bucs win against the Panthers, Tampa Bay snapper Andrew DePaola suffered a reported torn ACL that will likely jeopardize at least part of next season. Linebacker Adarius Glanton filled in to finish the game.

There is the possibility some unsigned long snappers may soon sign so-called reserve/future deals for next season. One likely candidate is Tyler Ott, who worked out for the Eagles earlier this week.

Zak DeOssie is once again the tackles champion among long snappers, adding two solo tackles in punt coverage Sunday to give him a total of eight on the season. DeOssie has been the tackles champion since 2011, except for last season when Jon Weeks of the Texans took the title.

The Final 2017 NFL Long Snappers Chart is below.

2016 NFL Final

Posted in NFL, Tackles, Transactions | Comments Off

NFL ST Coach Bruce DeHaven Passes Away

Posted on January 1, 2017 by longsnap

As we celebrate a new year and final week of the NFL regular season, this week also brought sadness, as long-time NFL special teams coach Bruce DeHaven died Tuesday after a brave battle with cancer.

DeHaven, who was 68, coached NFL special teams units over the past three decades with the Bills, 49ers, Cowboys, Seahawks and, most recently, the Panthers. DeHaven transitioned from his special teams coordinator role with this Panthers this past August and moved into a senior advisor role. He will be missed.

Posted in Coaching, NFL | Comments Off

Long Snapper the Secret to Alabama’s Success?

Posted on December 29, 2016 by longsnap

Alabama has been one of the most successful college football programs in the country and perhaps their recent tradition of scholarship long snappers may be a key element to their success. Sam Borden of The New York Times suggests as much in his recent story discussing their newest long snapping recruit, Thomas Fletcher.

Fletcher will be a freshman next year and will likely replace senior Cole Mazza, who was the first Alabama snapper to get a full scholarship. Fletcher, who is the top ranked snapper in the country, joins a long list of other top-rated recruits at Alabama for 2017.

Borden’s story does a nice job summarizing the importance of the snapper and their “self-critical” nature as “perfectionists.”

Posted in College, High School, Snapping in the Media, Uncategorized | Comments Off

Week Sixteen in Review

Posted on December 27, 2016 by longsnap

There is one week left in the NFL regular season and the snapping position remains stable. There were a few notable poor snaps, as Morgan Cox had a rare high short snap that prevented a Ravens field goal attempt against the Steelers and Nolan Frese had a high snap on a extra point attempt against the Cardinals.

With Clark Harris healthy, the Bengals waived Tyler Ott last week. The Packers also worked out Taybor Pepper (Michigan State) and Nick Dooley (UTEP), two snappers from the 2016 NFL Draft.

Four snappers has tackles in punt coverage this week as Josh Harris (Falcons), Kevin McDermott (Vikings), Beau Brinkley (Titans) and Kyle Nelson (49ers) each had solo tackles.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Sixteen is below.

NFL Long Snappers Chart Week Sixteen

Posted in NFL, NFL Draft, Tackles, Transactions | Comments Off

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and FCS All-American Snappers

Posted on December 21, 2016 by longsnap

With the Senior Bowl long snappers now set, the other premiere college all-star game to use dedicated long snappers, the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, has selected its two snappers. Brad Northnagel of California and Nolan Dowling of Western Kentucky will be the participating snappers.

In addition, the STATS FCS All-America Team was announced yesterday. Importantly, the team always includes long snappers. The first team snapper was Josh Appel (Indiana State). James Fisher (North Dakota State) was on the second team, followed by Hunter Winstead (Liberty) on the third team. Appel is a senior and a top prospect for the NFL Draft, while Fisher and Winstead are both juniors.

Posted in College, NFL, NFL Draft | Comments Off

Week Fifteen in Review

Posted on December 20, 2016 by longsnap

Week Fifteen of the NFL season is complete and was a quiet one for snappers. Rick Lovato debuted with the Eagles and Thomas Gafford will now finish the season with the Broncos, as client Casey Kreiter was placed on injured reserve.

Kreiter joins client Jimmy Landes (Lions) and Jon Dorenbos (Eagles) as the three long snappers on injured reserve. Clark Harris of the Bengals was able to return to action this week after missing the past three weeks with a groin injury.

Garrison Sanborn (Bills) and Charley Hughlett (Browns) each recorded solo tackles this week in the same game. With two weeks remaining in the regular season, Hughlett has five total tackles, one behind Zak DeOssie (Giants).

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Fifteen is below.

NFL Long Snappers Chart Week Fifteen

Posted in NFL, Tackles, Transactions | Comments Off

Pro Football Focus Pro Bowl Snappers

Posted on December 17, 2016 by longsnap

Pro Football Focus continues to provide detailed analysis of every play and player in the NFL and the snapping position is no exception. PFF has graded every snap and snapper this year and used those grades to select their own Pro Bowl long snappers.

For the AFC, Jon Weeks of the Texans was ranked the best, while JJ Jansen of the Panthers was best in the NFC. Jon Dorenbos of the Eagles would have been the NFC choice, but his injury kept him off the list.

Posted in NFL, Snapping in the Media | Comments Off

Senior Bowl Snappers and Phil Steele All-Americans

Posted on December 16, 2016 by longsnap

With the NFL regular season winding down, the focus will soon turn to the next crop of NFL snapping talent in the college ranks. The Senior Bowl recently announced that the two snappers will be Cole Mazza (Alabama) and Colin Holba (Louisville). The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl is expected to select two snappers for its game in the very near future.

Mazza was also honored as the First Team snapper on Phil Steele’s 2016 Postseason All-American Team. Scott Daly of Notre Dame was the Second Team snapper, followed by Chase Dominguez (Utah) and Drew Williams (South Carolina).

Posted in College, NFL, NFL Draft | Comments Off

Ladouceur Called the NFL’s “Perfect Player”

Posted on December 15, 2016 by longsnap

Les Carpenter just wrote an excellent profile of Cowboys veteran long snapper LP Ladouceur for The Guardian. Carpenter describes him as “perfect for almost 12 seasons.” The story reaffirms the usual refrain about snappers, which is you do not want to be recognized since that usually means something has gone horribly wrong.

The article includes a quote from Cowboys special teams coach Rich Bisaccia, who notes that a snapper must be like “a linebacker, but backward, be able to snap the ball backward like the quarterback throws.”

Posted in NFL, Snapping in the Media | Comments Off

The Leaping the Snapper Controversy Continues

Posted on December 14, 2016 by longsnap

The Patriots successful leap over Ravens snapper Morgan Cox to block a field goal attempt Monday night has brought the controversial play back into focus. Earlier this season, the Broncos and Seahawks successfully executed similar leaps to block kicks.

Adam Kilgore of The Washington Post examined how the Patriots studied film and perfected the play and includes some revealing comments from Redskins snapper Nick Sundberg about how he defends against it.

Kilgore’s story does an excellent job of presenting both sides of this issue which he called “one of the most exciting plays in football.”

Posted in Coaching, NFL, Snapping in the Media | Comments Off