Veteran snapper Patrick Mannelly of the Bears injured his calf in the Monday Night game against the Packers and may miss a few games. As a result, the Bears added another veteran snapper today, Jeremy Cain, who was cut by the Jaguars near the end of training camp.
Cain will be reunited with his former special teams coach in Jacksonville, Joe DeCamillas, who joined the Bears in the same capacity this season.
Week Nine is complete and the long snapping position remains stable. In game action, the Chargers blocked two first half field goal attempts versus the Redskins, while the Packers blocked a Bears punt by Adam Podlesh, the first blocked punt of his career.
With respect to tackles in punt coverage, Thomas Gafford (Chiefs), Beau Brinkley (Titans) and Christian Yount (Browns) had solo tackles, while Andrews Economos (Bucs) added an assisted tackle. The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Nine is below.
Week Eight is done and featured a rare poor punt snap from Zak DeOssie of the Giants. DeOssie launched a punt snap well over the head of punter Steve Weatherford which resulted in an Eagles touchdown. To his credit, DeOssie faced the music after the game, acknowledging to the media that his miscue was “demoralizing.”
In punt coverage, Mike Leach of the Cardinals had a tackle and an assist, Thomas Gafford (Chiefs) had a solo tackle and Jon Condo (Raiders) recorded an assisted tackle.
The NFL Long Snapper Chart after Week Eight is below.
Week Seven is complete and marked the first change at the snapping position of the season. Kyle Nelson handled the snaps for the Redskins in place of Nick Sundberg, who was lost for the season in last week’s game.
In a press conference yesterday, Bears General Manager Phil Emery paid his veteran snapper, Patrick Mannelly, the ultimate compliment, calling him one of the “eight wonders of the world.”
On the tackle front, Danny Aiken of the Patriots recorded two solo tackles, while Mike Leach (Cardinals) added an assist. Perhaps the highlight of the snapping action this week was in last night’s Monday Night Football contest. In an otherwise difficult game to watch, the snappers, Cullen Loeffler (Vikings) and Zak DeOssie (Giants), each recorded fumble recoveries in punt coverage within a few minutes of each other.
The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Seven is below.
With the college season well underway, it is a good time to examine some of the top long snapping prospects for next year’s NFL Draft. Although most draft publications do not list snappers, two notable exceptions are ESPN.com and NFLDraftScout.com.
ESPN.com has Marcus Heit (Kansas State) as the top prospect, followed by Trevor Gillette (Rice), Casey Kreiter (Iowa), Jareth Glanda (Michigan) and Ryan Iverson (Colorado).
NFLDraftScout.com lists Cody Booth (Temple) in the top spot, followed by Gillette, Jake Lembke (Auburn), Zach Northern (Baylor) and Andrew Suter (Oklahoma State).
The Redskins added snapper Kyle Nelson today to replace injured Nick Sundberg. Nelson was in camp with the Niners and Seahawks this preseason and snapped for the Chargers last year in the regular season after Mike Windt’s injury.
After almost six full weeks of stability at the snapping position, disaster struck this week. Nick Sundberg of the Redskins tore his meniscus making a tackle in punt coverage and will miss the rest of the season. Sundberg, who signed a contract extension in the off-season, also missed time last year due to injury. At this time, it is unclear what the Redskins are doing to replace Sundberg.
On the tackle front, Garrison Sanborn of the Bills continues his torrid pace of racking up tackles in punt coverage. Sanborn recorded two solo tackles this week and now has seven total tackles for the season. Jon Condo (Raiders), Morgan Cox (Ravens), LP Ladouceur (Cowboys) and Sundberg each had solo tackles.
The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Six is below.
Seahawks snapper and client Clint Gresham released a DVD short film yesterday entitled “The Making of a Champion”. Featuring fellow Seahawks teammates and coaches, the DVD profiles what it takes to be a champion both on and off the field.
The DVD was distributed for free to 28,000 fans after yesterday’s Seahawks game and was also posted on YouTube and can be accessed below.
The Giants play the Bears tonight and, during the game, the Giants field goal unit of snapper Zak DeOssie, holder Steve Weatherford and kicker Josh Brown will be in action. Like snapping itself, the operation of the kicking unit for field goals and extra points are often overlooked and taken for granted.
Late last week, Bill Pennington of the New York Times wrote a detailed feature story analyzing the critical elements of the snap, hold and kick, including a video component breaking down each piece of the puzzle. Like most snappers, DeOssie describes how he chases “the elusive perfect snap” and, in the case of placement snaps, aims for Weatherford’s left elbow and to snap the ball so it has precisely two and one-half revolutions.
Week Five is complete and the snapping position appears stable. Giants snapper Zak DeOssie suffered a back injury in the game against the Eagles but it does not appear that he will miss Thursday’s game. Five snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage led by Garrison Sanborn of the Bills, who had a solo stop and an assist and now leads all snappers with five total tackles.
Danny Aiken (Patriots) added a solo tackle, while Beau Brinkley (Titans), Jon Dorenbos (Eagles) and Tanner Purdum (Jets) each recorded assists.
The NFL Long Snappers Chart following Week Five’s action is below.
Longsnap.com 