The injury bug finally hit the snapping position this week, as the Chargers were forced to place snapper Mike Windt on injured reserve after he fractured his wrist on Sunday against the Broncos. Windt will be replaced by Kyle Nelson, who was in camp with the Niners and spent some time on the Eagles practice squad earlier this season. He also was on the Chiefs practice squad last year.
Week Eleven of the NFL season is complete and one of the biggest stories of the week happened off the field. Although not directly related to snapping, the exclusion of specialists from the Pro Football Hall of Fame has been a controversial issue. The story surfaced again this past week after Les Carpenter of Yahoo Sports wrote a detailed feature on former Raiders punter Ray Guy.
Guy, who had an incredible career, remains on the outside looking in when it comes to admission to the Hall of Fame. To date, one specialist, kicker Jan Stenerud, has been elected. Since the Carpenter story, others have weighed in on Guy’s credentials, including Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick and Vikings punter Chris Kluwe. If Guy does not gain admission, the next likely specialist for inclusion will be current Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri.
In game action, the Chargers had their second punt blocked in as many weeks. To date, there have been 16 blocked punts this season, with the Chargers, Jets and Redskins having two each. Another special teams related play that is drawing significant media attention is the injury that tight end Rob Gronkowski of the Patriots suffered while blocking for an extra point late in the game against the Colts. Due to roster limits, most teams do not have a backup PAT unit and, therefore, it is expected that the starting unit will remain in the game, even in a blowout. Although the chance of injury is usually small on a PAT attempt, Gronkowski did break his forearm and will be sidelined for multiple weeks.
Three snappers, Josh Harris (Falcons), Jon Dorenbos (Eagles) and Jeremy Cain (Jaguars) each recorded solo tackles this week. The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Eleven is below.
Week Ten featured some critical plays from the special teams units across the NFL. Heading into this week’s action, there had been 14 punt blocks, after only nine all of last season. The Bucs added another to that growing total this week, with a key punt block against the Chargers that helped turn the game in the Bucs favor. The Jets and Redskins have each had two punts blocked already this year. The NFL record for blocks in a season is 31 in 1977.
Other key special teams plays this week included two punt fakes executed for first downs by the Rams against the Niners and a fake field goal for a touchdown by Ravens punter/holder Sam Koch against the Raiders.
Poor special teams play by the Panthers this season resulted in a rare, in-season coaching move as the team fired special teams coach Brian Murphy. Assistant special teams coach Richard Rogers takes over for Murphy.
In other game action, the Redskins have brought Nick Sundberg back from injured reserve and released client Justin Snow, who filled in for eight games. Snappers Clark Harris (Bengals), Jon Condo (Raiders), Andrew Economos (Bucs) and Thomas Gafford (Chiefs) each recorded solo tackles in punt coverage.
Finally, behind each snapper is a unique story of how they got to the NFL. The Arizona Cardinals web site recently featured veteran snapper Mike Leach in an online story. Leach’s path to snapping is much different than most, as he was a tight end/punter who tried to make the Titans as a rookie in 2000. During his first season, Alan Lowry, the Titans special teams coach, saw him snap a ball to a punter and that led to Leach’s new career as a snapper.
Leach is now in his 13th NFL season and even played some tight end in 2010. In the article, Cardinals special teams coach Kevin Spencer recalls his time with the Oakland Raiders and late owner Al Davis. Davis used to tell Spencer that, as long as the team had a good snapper, he could sleep at night.
Below is the NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Ten.
Last year marked the debut of the Herbalife 24 Chris Rubio Award given to the best high school long snapper in the country. Scott Daly of Downers Grove South High School in Illinois, who is now at Notre Dame, won the inaugural award, presented at an event in Los Angeles.
Recently, I was honored to be asked to serve on the selection committee for the award and agreed to help select this year’s winner to be announced in December. Broncos snapper Aaron Brewer will also serve as a committee member.
Week Nine is complete and was without any major snapping incidents or injuries. However, despite a strong year to date for kickers, there were numerous missed kicks this week.
In addition, there was a significant amount of news off the field involving snappers. Hurricane Sandy devastated many people and Clark Harris of the Bengals may have been one of those directly impacted. Harris has an off-season home in Manahawkin, New Jersey, one of the many areas that suffered substantial damage. According to recent reports, Harris was unsure about the extent of the damage to his home.
Brian Burke, the creator of the website Advanced NFL Stats, suggested in a recent column in The Washington Post that the extra point should be eliminated from the pro game. Burke noted the success rate of 99% makes the play virtually automatic and its elimination could reduce injuries and speed up the game.
Finally, Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated wrote a detailed piece on the 63 yard field goal, entitled “The Last Days of 63.” Since Tom Dempsey of the Saints kicked a 63 yard field goal in 1970, the record kick has been tied on a number of occasions, but not surpassed. This year, kickers have been very accurate, especially from long range, with this week being a rare exception. Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff noted that the kicking operation, from snap to hold to kick, is better and “more efficient than ever”.
Five snappers had solo tackles this week, including Aaron Brewer (Broncos), Brett Goode (Packers), Jonathan Weeks (Texans), Zak DeOssie (Giants) and Jon Condo (Raiders). Weeks and DeOssie’s tackles were assisted ones.
The NFL Long Snappers Chart through Week Nine is below.
One of the big college football games last week may have turned on the role of the snapper. Ohio State’s young snapper Bryce Haynes played a key, but subtle, role in drawing a rare defensive holding call on a punt in the second quarter against Penn State last Saturday.
In college, a snapper must be given one second to get his head up after a snap and before he can be contacted. In this case, Haynes was hit immediately by a Penn State player after a punt snap and it resulted in the Buckeyes keeping the ball and scoring a touchdown before the half to tie the game.
Many of the top high school, college and pro snappers, or frequent readers of this blog, are very familiar with the accomplishments of Chris Rubio. A former college long snapper at UCLA, Rubio has become a key figure in the long snapping world through his training and development of snappers that have gone on to success at all levels of football including, most recently, the NFL.
One of his students, Tanner Gibas, who snapped at Kansas, is looking to further document Rubio’s contributions in a documentary, now being called The “Rubio” Project. Gibas plans to film Rubio on the road and create a full length movie showcasing Rubio’s role in the development of long snappers.
For those who want more information, or to support the Project, Gibas has established a dedicated page on kickstarter.com.
Week Eight is almost complete and the snapping position remains stable for at least another week. Because Hurricane Sandy may take my power away soon, this Week in Review is being published prior to tonight’s Monday Night Football game between the Cardinals and Niners.
On the contract front, the Packers signed client Brett Goode to a contract extension recently that will keep him under contract until the end of the 2015 season. Goode was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Snappers were also active on the field in punt coverage in Week Eight as Jon Condo (Raiders) recovered a fumble and recorded a tackle, while Zak DeOssie (Giants) forced a fumble on a tackle. Andrew Economos (Bucs), Christian Yount (Browns) and Aaron Brewer (Broncos) also had solo stops.
The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Eight is below.
Week Seven is complete and there were no major snapping issues. Nick Sundberg, who was hurt during Week One, is returning to practice for the Redskins this week. Sundberg made headlines for being able to finish the game despite a broken arm. It is unclear whether the Redskins will activate Sundberg for the November 18th game, which is the earliest date he can be activated under the NFL’s new injured reserve rules. Veteran snapper Justin Snow has been the snapper in Washington since Week Two.
Just two snappers, Mike Leach (Cardinals) and Matt Overton (Colts), recorded tackles this week, with Leach adding a solo tackle and Overton recording an assist.
The NFL Long Snapper Chart after Week Seven is below.
The sixth week of the NFL season is complete and was relatively quiet on the snapping front, at least on the field. Just two snappers, Beau Brinkley (Titans) and John Denney (Dolphins), recorded tackles in punt coverage. Brinkley had a solo tackle and two assists, while Denney had a solo tackle and a forced fumble.
Off the field, there were a number of interesting snapping-related stories. With respect to tackles, The Wall Street Journal recently did a story on the NFL’s so-called “Make-Believe Stat”, namely, the tackle. Tackles are not considered an “official” NFL stat and the home team stat crew determines who is awarded a tackle. Assisted tackles and who is awarded one is also subject to much debate. As noted here in the past, teams conduct their own game film review and the team tackle figures can often differ substantially from those recorded in the official NFL Game Books published immediately after each game.
Judy Battista of The New York Times wrote a story yesterday about the trend this season of blocked punts. Already this season there have been 10 blocked punts, one more than all of the blocked punts from last season. Jets Special Teams Coach Mike Westhoff notes that special teams units may be suffering due to the amount of rookies on each team. Because of the salary cap and veteran minimum salary amounts, some teams can keep fewer veteran players, causing younger and inexperienced players on special teams.
Finally, long snapping in the NFL is really on the map now as the satirical publication, The Onion, ran a (fake) story announcing the launch of the “NFL Long Snap” channel. The channel would allow fans to watch “every long snap every Sunday.” I only wish this story was true, as it would save a great deal of time flipping around every week trying to watch all the snaps in the NFL.
Below is the NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Six.
