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Top NFL Draft prospects Christian Yount (UCLA) and Danny Aiken (Virginia) will be the snappers in the Senior Bowl on January 29th in Mobile, Alabama.  Aiken is also expected to participate in the NFL Combine in February in Indianapolis.

On the eve of the NFL playoffs, there are some new signings in the snapping world.  Client Brett Goode of the Packers signed a two-year extension that will keep him under contract until 2012.  The Titans have signed Jake Ingram to a futures contract for next season to compete with veteran Ken Amato.  Finally, Kevin Houser’s contract with the Ravens was a one-year deal covering the 2010 season.

The NFL regular season is now complete.  Veteran snapper Kevin Houser made his debut with the Ravens without any issues.  Titans snapper Ken Amato was injured after being hit on a missed field goal attempt return at the end of the first half against the Colts and rookie center Kevin Matthews filled in on an emergency basis. 

Peter King of Sports Illustrated provided an inspirational look at the sequence of events surrounding the devastating injury suffered by rookie snapper Morgan Cox of the Ravens last week against the Browns in his Monday Morning Quarterback column.  Cox was injured in the second quarter on a pileup after a field goal try when two lineman fell on his leg.  Although the injury provided to be ACL and MCL tears, Cox was able to finish the game.  King’s article describes the sportsmanship the Browns demonstrated to Cox and defender Shaun Rogers in particular, who prevented Cox from falling on another extra point try later in the game.  Cox is scheduled for surgery today to repair the damage.

As usual at this time of year, the coaching carousel starts to spin and frequently involves special teams coaches.  To date, the Chargers have already announced that special teams coach Steve Crosby will not return next season.

With respect to punt coverage tackles this week, Garrison Sanborn (Bills) had two tackles, both assisted.  Client Brett Goode (Packers), Zak DeOssie (Giants) and Jeremy Cain (Jaguars) each had solo tackles, while Nick Sundberg (Redskins), JJ Jansen (Panthers) and LP Ladouceur (Cowboys) each had assisted tackles. 

With the regular season complete, Mike Leach of the Cardinals led all snappers in tackles with eight, six of which were solo.  Leach even played tight end this week for the Cardinals due to injury.  Jon Condo (Raiders) and Andrew Economos (Bucs) each ended the season with six total tackles based on stats compiled exclusively by Longsnap.com from NFL Game Books each week.

Below is the final NFL Long Snappers Chart for the season.

2010 Final Long Snappers Chart

The Ravens have selected veteran snapper Kevin Houser to replace injured rookie Morgan Cox.  Houser, who snapped for the Seahawks part of last season, entered the NFL in 2000 after being drafted by the Saints in Round Seven.  Houser was with the Saints until the end of the 2008 season.

Week Sixteen is now complete, a day later than usual due to the postponement of the Eagles-Vikings game to Tuesday.  Morgan Cox of the Ravens was placed on injured reserve yesterday due to his knee injury suffered Sunday and the replacement for Cox should be known today.  After working out Jake Ingram, Ethan Albright, Kevin Houser and client Bryan Pittman, the team will decide between Houser and Pittman.

Pat Mannelly of the Bears just received a two-year contract extension that will keep him with Chicago until at least 2012 and prevents him from becoming an unrestricted free agent. 

With respect to punt coverage tackles, Mike Leach of the Cardinals recorded a solo tackle this week, adding to his lead among snappers.  Leach now has 8 total tackles, 6 of which are solo stops.

The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Sixteen is below.

Week Sixteen NFL Long Snappers Chart

Rookie snapper Morgan Cox of the Ravens may have suffered a season-ending knee injury in yesterday’s win against the Browns.  Cox was injured early in the game but was able to finish. 

With the postponement of the Eagles-Vikings game from Sunday to Tuesday night, the Week in Review for Week Sixteen will appear Wednesday.

The end of the NFL regular season is approaching and Week Fifteen is now complete.  Zak DeOssie of the Giants had a tough game, as a high punt snap may have contributed to the game-winning punt return in the loss to the Eagles.  DeOssie was also the last defender with a chance to tackle returner DeSean Jackson, but was blocked on the return.

Earlier in the week, Pat Mannelly of the Bears was honored by being selected to the USA Football/NFLPA All-Fundamentals Team in recognition of his sound technique.

On the tackle front, only Chris Massey of the Rams recorded a tackle this week, a solo tackle to give him three on the season.  The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Fifteen is below.

Week Fifteen NFL Long Snappers Chart

With college bowl season underway, some NFL long snapping prospects for the 2011 NFL Draft have at least one more game, while others will play in college all-star games.  Among the snapping prospects playing in a bowl game include Andrew Schulze (Iowa), Aaron Feld (Mississippi State) and Corey Adams (Kansas State).

The Senior Bowl, as well as the East-West Shrine and NFLPA All-Games, will also provide additional exposure for snapping prospects, along with the NFL Scouting Combine in February.  Longsnap.com will have additional information once participating snapper names are confirmed.

Football writer Phil Steele has just announced his Postseason All-America Team and has a snapper on each of his four squads.  Corey Adams of Kansas State is the 1st Team snapper, while James Winchester (Oklahoma), Brandon Long (Rice) and Christian Yount (UCLA) are the 2nd, 3rd and 4th teamers.

Steele’s Midseason list had Adams followed by Yount, Winchester and Long.

Week Fourteen included some rare snapping problems.  Ken Amato of the Titans sailed a punt snap over the head of his punter in Thursday’s loss to the Colts, while Redskins snapper Nick Sundberg had some issues on short snaps Sunday. 

On punt coverage, client Brett Goode (Packers) and Andrew Economos (Bucs) each had two tackles, with Goode recording two solo tackles and Economos talying a solo and assisted tackle.  Zak DeOssie of the Giants had a solo tackle, while Thomas Gafford of the Chiefs had an assisted tackle.  Last week, I missed Joe Zelenka of the Falcons and his solo tackle, which has now been updated on the NFL Long Snappers Chart below.

Week Fourteen NFL Long Snappers Chart