Cardona’s “Double Life”

Posted on October 28, 2015 by longsnap

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Of the three NFL long snappers to debut in an NFL regular season game this year, just one is a rookie.  Joe Cardona of Navy, who was Fifth Round pick in the 2015 NFL Draft, snaps for the Patriots and has been excellent in that role to date.

Like most long snappers, there is an interesting twist to Cardona’s narrative, as illustrated by yesterday’s story in Vice Sports.  The piece describes Cardona’s “double life” as NFL player and as a Command Duty Officer in the Navy

Although the life of an NFL player is difficult enough by itself, Cardona’s ability to play dual roles and do both so well is a testament to his character and ability.

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Week Seven in Review

Posted on October 27, 2015 by longsnap

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Week Seven of the NFL season is complete and, for yet another week, the snapping position remains stable and without significant performance issues or injuries.  Jon Dorenbos of the Eagles, in typical classy fashion, did send out a message on Twitter taking responsibility for a missed field goal against the Panthers Sunday night.  Dorenbos admitted he “rushed the snap” that may have contributed to the miss.

In punt coverage, three snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage, with Jonathan Weeks (Texans) and Justin Drescher (Saints) tallying solo stops, while Matt Overton (Colts) added an assisted tackle.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Seven is below.

Week Seven NFL Long Snappers Chart

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Week Six in Review

Posted on October 20, 2015 by longsnap

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Week Six of the NFL season is complete and, once again, there is stability at the snapping position.  In addition, the kicking game has returned to form, although special teams played a key role in college (Michigan/Michigan State) and with a strange fake punt play in the NFL (Colts/Patriots).

Just two snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage this week. Garrison Sanborn (Bills) and Matt Overton (Colts) each tallied solo tackles.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Six is below.

Week Six NFL Long Snappers Chart

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Week Five in Review

Posted on October 13, 2015 by longsnap

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Week Five of the NFL season is complete and the snapping position remains stable.  It also appears the kicking woes from last week have also stabilized.

Four snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage this week, including Jon Weeks of the Texans, who has at least one tackle in the last four games.  Nick Sundberg (Redskins) and Thomas Gafford (Bears) also had solo tackles and LP Ladouceur (Cowboys) added an assist.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Five is below.

Week Five NFL Long Snappers Chart

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Week Four in Review

Posted on October 6, 2015 by longsnap

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Week Four is complete and, after one quarter of the NFL season, the snapping position remains consistent and stable.  However, kickers had a very rough week. There have been 17 missed PATs already this season, including four this week.  There were also a total of 14 missed field goals, prompting some kicker changes.

A number of snappers looking for jobs had workouts prior to this week’s action.  Patrick Scales (Carolina/Chicago), Danny Aiken (Carolina), Luke Ingram (Giants) and Tyler Ott (Giants) all earned tryouts.

Six snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage in Week Four, led by Zak DeOssie (Giants), who had a tackle and an assist.  Clark Harris (Bengals), LP Ladouceur (Cowboys) and Carson Tinker (Jaguars) had solo tackles and Jon Weeks (Texans) and Kyle Nelson (49ers) each recorded assisted tackles.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Four is below.

Week Four NFL Long Snappers Chart

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Tulane Snapper Golub Makes History

Posted on October 3, 2015 by longsnap

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History was made today as snapper Aaron Golub of Tulane became the first legally blind player to appear in a Division One football game.  Golub, who was featured in this Longsnap.com story last year, handled the final extra point attempt in Tulane’s win over Central Florida.

Golub may soon be joined by another blind snapper, Jake Olsen, who made national news last month when he was permitted to join USC as a walk-on.

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Week Three in Review

Posted on September 29, 2015 by longsnap

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Week Three of the NFL season is complete and, once again, there have not been any major snapping issues.  The new extra point, however, continues to be unpredictable, with 14 misses through Week Three after just nine being missed all of last season.

Seven snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage, led by Jonathan Weeks of the Texans who had a solo and assisted tackle.  Andrew DePaola (Buccaneers), Carson Tinker (Jaguars), Jon Dorenbos (Eagles), Clark Harris (Bengals), John Denney (Dolphins) and Thomas Gafford (Bears) each recorded solo tackles.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Three is below.

Week Three NFL Long Snappers Chart

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Week Two in Review

Posted on September 22, 2015 by longsnap

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Week Two of the 2015 NFL season is complete and the snapping position remains stable.  The extra point rule change has made the normally automatic extra point a bit less automatic, as nine extra points have been missed so far this year.  There were a total of eight missed extra points all of last season.

Four snappers made tackles in punt coverage this week, led by Beau Brinkley of the Titans who had two solo tackles.  Jon Weeks (Texans) and Charley Hughlett (Browns) each recorded solo tackles, while JJ Jansen (Panthers) added an assisted tackle.

The NFL Long Snapper Chart after Week Two is below.

Week Two NFL Long Snappers Chart

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2015 Division One Long Snappers

Posted on September 21, 2015 by longsnap

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Longsnap.com’s exclusive long snapper chart covering each Division One football team is now complete and available for the 2015 season.  The starting punt snapper for each team is listed by conference, along with the snapper’s uniform number, height, weight and class year.

The attached chart was prepared over the last few weeks, so there may have already been some changes due to injuries or performance.  Special thanks again to my son, Henry, who spent many hours with me preparing this list.

You can also click on the D1 Long Snappers page for the charts from the 2010 season to the present.

2015 Division One Long Snappers

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Week One in Review

Posted on September 15, 2015 by longsnap

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Week One of the NFL season is complete and there is some news at the snapping position.  Just days after the Texans gave Jon Weeks a contract extension, the Jaguars did the same with Carson Tinker, who, like Weeks, is now under contract until the end of the 2019 season.

In game action, three snappers made their NFL regular season debuts, with rookie Joe Cardona in New England and first-year players Charley Hughlett in Cleveland and James Winchester in Kansas City.  Three snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage this week with Jon Condo (Raiders) tallying two solo tackles, while Andrew DePaola (Buccaneers) and Josh Harris (Falcons) each had solo stops.  With the new longer extra point attempt rules in place, kickers went 71/75 in extra point attempts during Week One.

Finally, following final cuts and with the season now underway, many NFL teams are fine-tuning their “emergency” or “ready” lists in case a need arises at the snapping position.  Among the snappers that have received workouts in recent weeks are Andrew East (Seattle), Tyler Ott (Tampa Bay), Chris Highland and Rick Lovato (Miami) and Patrick Scales (Washington).

The NFL Long Snappers Chart following Week One is below and is updated to include the two contract extensions and more accurate height and weight information for each snapper.

Week One NFL Long Snappers Chart

 

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