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Week Eleven in Review

Posted on November 22, 2016 by longsnap

Week Eleven was both an active and tragic one. James Winchester of the Chiefs snapped Sunday in a victory against the Bucs after losing his father in a shooting earlier in the week. Winchester had his father’s funeral on Saturday and returned to snap without incident on Sunday. The Chiefs had planned to use Travis Kelce and Anthony Sherman if Winchester could not snap and also worked out client Clint Gresham and Thomas Gafford in case they were needed.

Although the Chiefs did not need to make a change, the Redskins did as Nick Sundberg injured his back during the week and former Packer Rick Lovato was brought in to snap for at least the Sunday night game.

The Bengals may also need to look at snappers this week, as Clark Harris was injured late in the game against the Bills. Harris returned to finish the game, but appeared very limited after the snap.

There were a record 12 missed or blocked extra points this week. To demonstrate how significant a figure that is, just eight extra points were missed all of last season.

Earlier this week. the Eagles extended the contract of Jon Dorenbos, who would have been a free agent after the season. Dorenbos is now under contract through the 2019 season.

The Saints added veteran special teams coach Kevin O’Dea as an additional assistant to Greg McMahon after the Saints have had various special teams issues of late, particularly in the kicking game.

Zak DeOssie (Giants) had two tackles in punt coverage, while client Patrick Scales (Bears)had one solo tackle. JJ Jansen (Panthers), Clark Harris (Bengals) and Nolan Frese (Seahawks) each had assisted tackles. DeOssie now leads all snappers with five tackles.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Eleven is below.

NFL Long Snappers Chart Week Eleven

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

Week Ten in Review

Posted on November 15, 2016 by longsnap

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.

NFL Long Snappers Chart Week Ten

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

Week Nine in Review

Posted on November 8, 2016 by longsnap

Week Nine in the NFL is complete and featured a number of key special teams plays, both positive and negative. Fortunately, snappers did not play a role in the negative plays, although the Bills blocked a Seahawks punt last night with a rush up the middle. After the game, Bills special teams coach Danny Crossman noted that snapper Nolan Frese of Seattle was having some issues with protection.

In the only transaction involving a snapper this week the Bills added rookie Reid Ferguson to their practice squad.

Just one snapper, Charley Hughlett of the Browns, recorded a tackle in Week Nine. His solo tackle gives him four total tackles this season, with a group of snappers at two total tackles.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Nine is below.

NFL Long Snappers Chart Week Nine

Posted in NFL, Tackles, Transactions | Comments Off

Week Eight in Review

Posted on November 1, 2016 by longsnap

After an eventful Week Seven, things calmed down considerably at the snapping position in Week Eight. To tie up a loose end from last week, the Giants released Tyler Ott from the practice squad with Zak DeOssie now healthy. Ott, along with John DePalma, worked out for the Patriots yesterday.

The Dolphins recently named veteran John Denney their team captain, a rare feat for a special teamer and a snapper in particular.

Two snappers, Clark Harris (Bengals) and Jon Condo (Raiders), recorded tackles in punt coverage this week.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart following Week Eight is below.

NFL Long Snappers Chart Week Eight

Posted in NFL, Tackles, Transactions | Comments Off

Veteran Chevrier Returns to CFL

Posted on October 29, 2016 by longsnap

Every once in a while there is a great snapping story from up north. Recently, former NFL snapper and CFL veteran Randy Chevrier made his return to the CFL as a 40-year old. Chevrier, who was originally drafted by a CFL club and the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2001, thought his football career was over after spending the last decade snapping for the Calgary Stampeders following a few stints in the NFL.

Chevrier’s excellent career has been revived when he signed with the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the final three games of the season. Chevrier is the only active snapper in the CFL that snapped in a regular season NFL game and looks to put an exclamation point on an excellent professional career in Saskatchewan.

Posted in CFL, NFL | Comments Off

More on the Wagner Long Snapper Leaps

Posted on October 26, 2016 by longsnap

The two instances in which Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner jumped over Arizona long snapper Aaron Brewer continues to be the subject of scrutiny. Arizona Head Coach Bruce Arians says that a rule permitting a player to jump over the line is “bad for football” and could lead to serious injury as snappers adjust to handling a leaping defender.

For its part, the NFL continues to defend the first leap in which Wagner had contact with Brewer. The NFL is distinguishing incidental contact, which is not a penalty, and contact in which you land on a player which would lead to a flag. The NFL concluded the contact with Brewer on the first leap was incidental or not significant enough for a flag.

Posted in NFL, Snapping in the Media | Comments Off

Week Seven in Review

Posted on October 25, 2016 by longsnap

Week Seven of the NFL was a welcome one for this blog. While some weeks are quiet for snappers, once in awhile there are weeks like this one in which snappers were involved in a number of key plays.

For example, Aaron Brewer of the Cardinals was part of a memorable field goal attempt in Arizona’s game against Seattle. On the 39 yard field goal attempt, Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner leaped over Brewer after the snap to block the kick. The Wagner play, while dramatic, was not without controversy, as the Cardinals believed any contact with the snapper is a penalty and it appeared Wagner’s foot hit Brewer in the back. The NFL VP of Officiating, Dean Blandino, clarified that a player has to land on another player for it to be a foul.

The game was notable for other reasons, including the fact that ach team missed short field goals late in overtime and the game ending in a 6-6 tie. Wagner also leaped Brewer on the final Cardinals’ field goal attempt but without making contact with Brewer. Wagner commented after the game that he studied video of Brewer and noticed that he gets low on field goal snaps and he thought he would be able to leap over him.

Jon Condo of the Raiders had a rare poor punt snap late in the game against the Jaguars. Condo’s snap bounced to punter Marquette King with the Raiders facing a 4th and 24. King fielded the snap on one hop and ended up running for a first down, demonstrating incredible speed to avoid a potential disaster.

Earlier this week, the Giants added Tyler Ott to their practice squad in case Zak DeOssie and his injured ankle prevented him from snapping. However, DeOssie was able to snap without incident.

Four snappers recorded tackles in Week Seven, with James Winchester (Chiefs) and Beau Brinkley (Titans) adding solo tackles and Garrison Sanborn (Bills) and Kyle Nelson (49ers) tallying assisted tackles. Greg Warren (Steelers) also had the first fumble recovery by a snapper this season.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Seven is below.

NFL Long Snappers Chart Week Seven

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

Week Six in Review

Posted on October 18, 2016 by longsnap

Week Six is complete and Nolan Frese of the Seahawks rebounded from a poor field goal snap early in the fourth quarter to a much better snap on a late, game-winning field goal attempt versus Atlanta.

Zach Wood of SMU, who was defensive lineman and snapper in college and spent time snapping with the Cowboys in training camp, had a workout for the team last week when they also has a tryout for kickers.

Three snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage this week, with client Casey Kreiter (Broncos) having the only solo tackle, while Joe Cardona (Patriots) and Morgan Cox (Ravens) tallied assists.

The Week Six NFL Long Snappers Chart is below.

NFL Long Snappers Chart Week Six

Posted in College, NFL, Tackles | Comments Off

Week Five in Review

Posted on October 11, 2016 by longsnap

Week Five was an uneventful one at the snapping position. In fact, Charley Hughlett of the Browns was the only snapper to record a tackle in punt coverage with an assisted tackle.

There were two tryouts last week as teams continue to keep their emergency lists up to date in case of injury or performance issues. Jon Akemon worked out with the Chiefs and client Clint Gresham along with Thomas Gafford had workouts with the Lions.

In Week Six, special teams coach Joe DeCamillis of the Broncos will serve as head coach for Gary Kubiak, who is recovering from a health issue and will miss the game.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Five is below. It includes a second tackle for Texans snapper Jon Weeks recorded in Week Three that which was accidentally overlooked in my initial review of the official NFL Gamebook.

NFL Long Snappers Chart Week Five

Posted in Coaching, NFL, Tackles | Comments Off

Week Four in Review

Posted on October 4, 2016 by longsnap

Week Four is complete and brought the first snapping change. Aaron Brewer snapped for the Cardinals after replacing rookie Kameron Canaday. Brewer had an uneventful day, which is just the Cardinals were looking for.

In addition to a snapping change, there will be a new special teams coach next week. After allowing a late punt return for a touchdown to the Texans, the Titans have fired Bobby April and replaced him with Steve Hoffman.

Six different snappers has tackles in punt coverage this week as Josh Harris (Falcons), Jon Weeks (Texans), Jake McQuaide (Rams) and Zak DeOssie (Giants) had solo tackles while Clark Harris (Bengals) and Garrison Sanborn (Bills) had assisted tackles. Weeks also snapped in his 100th consecutive game for the Texans this week.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Four is below.

NFL Long Snappers Chart Week Four

Posted in NFL, Tackles | Comments Off