It is very rare for a special teams coach to be fired during the season, but the Dolphins took that unique step by firing John Bonamego and replacing him with his assistant, Darren Rizzi. The Dolphins had a number of problems with their special teams units in their loss to the Patriots last night that likely contributed to Bonamego’s dismissal.
Week Four is complete and featured a number of snappers contributing tackles on punt coverage. Jason Kyle of the Saints followed up last week’s fumble recovery with a forced fumble and assisted tackle on the same play. Chris Massey of the Rams had two solo tackles, while Greg Warren (Steelers), Brian Jennings (49ers), Ken Amato (Titans), Jon Condo (Redskins) and Mike Leach (Cardinals) each had a solo tackle.
Special teams play continues to have a significant impact in games, as there have now been eight kickoff returns for touchdowns this season, a new NFL record for the first four weeks of the season. Last night’s Monday Night Football game was a perfect example of the value of special teams play, as the Patriots returned a kickoff for a touchdown, blocked a field goal for a touchdown and blocked a punt that led to a touchdown.
The NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Four is below.
In a recent post, I highlighted some of NFLDraftScout.com’s top snapping prospects. Another respected independent group of scouts at ESPN Scouts Inc. have recently published their top NFL prospects for the 2011 Draft and have included eight long snapping prospects.
Each snapper have been given a 30 grade which is roughly a borderline draftable player, but the order of the snappers is as follows:
Andrew Schulze (Iowa)
Christian Yount (UCLA)
Scott Albritton (Colorado State)
Zachary Enyeart (Washington State)
Daniel Aiken (Virginia)
Neal Dahlman (Bowling Green)
Aaron Feld (Mississippi State)
Jacob Ekkens (Central Michigan)
The bad luck streak continues for the Chargers as they have placed their third snapper, Ryan Neill, on injured reserve and signed a new snapper, veteran Ethan Albright. Albright snapped for the Redskins last season and is in his 16th season in the NFL. Neill joins James Dearth and David Binn on the list of snappers placed on IR this season by San Diego.
Week Three is complete and did not have any significant snapping issues. Pat Mannelly of the Bears set a team record last night by playing in his 192nd game. Mannelly has missed just three games in his career. Jason Kyle of the Saints recovered a fumbled punt, as did Jon Condo of the Raiders. Condo had an assisted tackle, while Ken Amato (Titans), Don Muhlbach (Lions) and Jeremy Cain (Jaguars) each had solo tackles.
There are now some late published reports indicating that Ryan Neill of the Chargers may have suffered a significant injury and, if he needs to be replaced, the Chargers will have had four snappers already this season.
Here is the NFL Long Snappers Chart after Week Three.
Week Two is complete and without any major snapping issues. Chargers snapper Ryan Neill returned to the NFL after the club lost David Binn and his replacement James Dearth to injury. Four snappers, Clark Harris (Bengals), Ken Amato (Titans), Andrew Economos (Bucs) and Lonie Paxton (Broncos), each added a solo tackle in punt coverage.
Below is the NFL Long Snappers Chart for Week Two.
The normally stable snapping situation in San Diego, in which David Binn has handled all of the snaps for many years, continues to change. The team’s replacement for the injured Binn, James Dearth, has himself suffered a season-ending injury. The Chargers quickly added former Bills and Rams snapper Ryan Neill, who becomes the third snapper in one week.
A recent issue of ESPN The Magazine had an interesting graphic showing the number of things that occur in a typical NFL season. Some revealing special teams numbers were that there are 27 game-winning field goals, 13 punt return touchdowns, 15 kick return touchdowns, 2,412 punts, 789 field goals and 149 missed field goals in a typical season.
Another recent issue of ESPN The Magazine also contained various NFL lists, including the list of most games played by non-kickers. Long snapper Trey Junkin, who played from 1982-2002, is sixth on the all-time list with 281 games.
A reported hamstring injury to veteran snapper David Binn has forced the Chargers to place him on injured reserve, ending his season after one game. The Chargers have signed former Jets snapper James Dearth to replace Binn, who had just played in his 179th consecutive game on Monday night.
The first week of the NFL season is now complete. Six different snappers recorded tackles, including two solo tackles by Andrew Economos of the Bucs, who also had a forced fumble. Jon Condo of the Raiders also had two solo stops, while Thomas Gafford of the Chiefs had one solo and one assisted tackle. Mike Leach (Cardinals), Garrison Sanborn (Bills) and Lonie Paxton (Broncos) each had solo tackles.
JJ Jansen of the Panthers had a poor punt snap in rainy conditions against the Giants, while Nick Sundberg of the Redskins had a high field goal snap in his NFL regular season debut.
Below is the NFL Long Snappers chart following Week One.
Longsnap.com 