Snappers Drafted into New Football League

Posted on January 31, 2016 by longsnap

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For a long snapper that does not make an NFL team, other playing options are very limited.  The Canadian Football League uses non-import snappers and indoor leagues do not need a punt snapper.  Recent attempts to establish other outdoor leagues, such as the UFL and FXFL, have all failed.

Another league, the Major League Football, is looking to get started in April and had a territorial draft this weekend.   Eight snappers were taken in the draft (Trevor Gillette, Mike Morovick, Dallas Noriega, Tyler Kruzel, Trever Kruzel, Brandon Hartson, Drew Howell and Nate Boyer) and the MLFB hopes to play a 10 game season.

If the MLFB can succeed where many others have failed, it will be a great option for all NFL hopefuls, including snappers.  However, many insiders are approaching this new league cautiously in light of the history of other failed efforts to create another outdoor league.

Posted in FXFL, MLFB, NFL, UFL | Comments Off on Snappers Drafted into New Football League

Mike Leach Retires

Posted on January 27, 2016 by longsnap

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The NFL lost a veteran snapper today, as Mike Leach of the Cardinals retired after 16 NFL seasons.  In his retirement statement, which was re-tweeted this morning on the Longsnap.com Twitter feed (@longsnapcom), Leach noted that an NFL player usually does not get to choose when they leave the game.  In his case, Leach wanted to make the decision himself, before his talent diminished or an injury forced the move.

Leach joined the NFL in 2000 after serving as a punter and tight end in college at William & Mary.  In addition to snapping for the Titans, he was also the snapper for the Broncos in 2002 before joining the Cardinals in 2009, where he appeared in 216 straight games.  In total, Leach appeared in 235 NFL games.

 

Posted in NFL, Snapping in the Media, Transactions | Comments Off on Mike Leach Retires

NFL Special Teams Coaching Changes

Posted on January 22, 2016 by longsnap

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An annual blog post at Longsnap.com this time of year is the story summarizing the game of musical changes at the special teams coaching position.  To date, it looks like there will only be five changes.

Below are the changes so far, with the New York Jets having the only vacancy at this point after Bobby April was let go after the season.

HOUSTON: Larry Izzo (Replaces Bob Ligashesky)

SAN FRANCISCO: Derius Swinton (Replaces Thomas McGaughey)

TAMPA BAY: Nate Kaczor (Replaces Kevin O’Dea)

TENNESSEE: Bobby April (Replaces Nate Kaczor)

Posted in Coaching, NFL | Comments Off on NFL Special Teams Coaching Changes

Draft Prospect Snappers Selected for All-Star Games

Posted on January 21, 2016 by longsnap

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Although the NFL playoffs are continuing, every NFL teams is also busy scouting some of the top college prospects for the 2016 NFL Draft at various all-star games.  Two of the three premier games, the Senior Bowl and NFLPA Collegiate Bowl, have selected dedicated snappers, while the Shrine Game will use position players to snap.

The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl takes place Saturday and will feature snappers Nate Theus from Georgia for the National squad and Reid Ferguson from LSU for the American team.  Next Saturday, the Senior Bowl will include Jimmy Landes of Baylor for the South and Jeff Overbaugh of San Diego State for the North team.

Posted in College, NFL, NFL Draft | Comments Off on Draft Prospect Snappers Selected for All-Star Games

Cox and Weeks Pro Bowl Snappers

Posted on January 19, 2016 by longsnap

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The Packers and Chiefs will be the coaching staffs for the Pro Bowl and each must select a “need” player.  Of course, that need player must be a snapper and the Chiefs chose Morgan Cox of the Ravens, while the Packers selected Jonathan Weeks of the Texans.  It is the first Pro Bowl selection for each player and both have just completed their sixth season in the NFL.

 

Posted in NFL, Snapping in the Media | Comments Off on Cox and Weeks Pro Bowl Snappers

Ravens Top Annual ST Rankings by Rick Gosselin

Posted on January 18, 2016 by longsnap

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A tradition around this time of year is the release of Rick Gosselin’s annual NFL special teams rankings.  Every season, Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News ranks each team in 22 special teams categories and assigns points from one for the best to 32 for the worst.

This year, the Baltimore Ravens were easily the top special teams unit, finishing with 231 points.  The New York Giants were second with 271.5, followed by Jacksonville (295), Dallas (310.5) and Philadelphia (313).

The bottom five teams this season were the Tennessee (429.5), Arizona (434), Carolina (447), New York Jets (456) and, in last, San Diego (490.5).

Posted in NFL, Snapping in the Media | Comments Off on Ravens Top Annual ST Rankings by Rick Gosselin

Den Bleyker Wins High School Long Snapper Award

Posted on January 16, 2016 by longsnap

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Johnny Den Bleyker, a high school senior long snapper from California, won the Chris Rubio Long Snapper of the Year Award as the best high school snapper.  Den Bleyker received the award last night at a ceremony in Las Vegas and will attend UCLA next year.

Posted in College, High School | Comments Off on Den Bleyker Wins High School Long Snapper Award

Week Seventeen in Review

Posted on January 4, 2016 by longsnap

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The NFL regular season is now complete.  A very steady year to start at the snapping position was disrupted during the final few weeks.  Starting in Week Thirteen, a snapping changes due to performance with the Bears was followed by changes due to injury with the Giants twice, Raiders and Packers.

Jon Weeks of the Texans won the tackles title in punt coverage among all snappers, finishing with 8 tackles, 6 of which were solo stops.  Carson Tinker of the Jaguars and Beau Brinkley of the Titans each had 6 total tackles.

For those who wanted more drama with the extra point, the distance change did have an impact, as kickers were only successful on 94.1% of extra points this season.

One snapper, Dax Dellenbach, had a workout this past week the Titans and there may be one or two snappers that are signed to a futures contract for next season during the coming weeks.

Just two snappers recorded tackles during the final week of the regular season, with Brinkley adding a solo tackle and Clark Harris of the Bengals tallying an assisted tackle.

The final NFL Long Snappers Chart for the 2015 NFL Season is below.

2015 NFL Final

Posted in NFL, Tackles, Transactions | Comments Off on Week Seventeen in Review

Finalists Announced for Rubio Long Snapper of the Year Award

Posted on January 1, 2016 by longsnap

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Recently, the three finalists for the Chris Rubio Long Snapper of the Year Award were announced.  One winner will be selected in Las Vegas on January 15, 2016.

This year, the three finalists are Johnny Den Bleyker (Class of 2016), Ben Wyatt (Class of 2016) and Thomas Fletcher (2017).  Once again, I am on the panel to select the winner and have just submitted my rankings.

Prior recipients of the award and the colleges they currently attend are: Scott Daly (2011-Notre Dame), Cole Mazza (2012-Alabama) and Blake Ferguson (2013 and 2014-LSU),.

 

Posted in College, High School | Comments Off on Finalists Announced for Rubio Long Snapper of the Year Award

Giants Add Ott; Aiken to IR

Posted on January 1, 2016 by longsnap

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It looks like there will be one final regular season change at the snapping position, as the Giants signed Tyler Ott yesterday to replace Danny Aiken.  Aiken suffered a reported thumb injury and was placed on injured reserve.

Aiken snapped the last three games for the Giants, replacing Zak DeOssie.  This is the fourth consecutive week in which a veteran snapper was injured and placed on injured reserve.

Posted in NFL, Transactions | Comments Off on Giants Add Ott; Aiken to IR