Longsnap.com

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 Three Long Snappers Chart

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.

Week Two Long Snappers Chart

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.

Week One Long Snappers Chart

The United Football League will begin its second season later this month with five teams.  Teams have just reached the 52 man roster limit. Below are the current snappers and special teams coaches for each UFL club.

Florida Tuskers Ryan Senser (Ohio); Special Teams Coach Al Roberts

Hartford Colonials Jared Retkofsky (TCU); Special Teams Coach Kevin O’Dea

Las Vegas Locomotives Rigo Morales (Texas A&M Kingsville); Special Teams Coach Larry MacDuff

Omaha Nighthawks Matt Overton (Western Washington); Special Teams Coach Kirk Doll

Sacramento Mountain Lions Aaron King (UTEP): Special Teams Coach Martin Bayless

Prior to tomorrow evening’s 53 man roster deadline, the Steelers released Matt Stewart and, with that move, all of the snappers for the 2010 NFL regular season have been determined.  Two rookies, Morgan Cox (Ravens) and Clint Gresham (Seahawks), made rosters, while first-year snappers Jonathan Weeks (Texans), Tanner Purdum (Jets) and Nick Sundberg (Panthers) will make their regular season debuts.

Below is the 2010 updated snapper chart.

2010 Long Snapper Chart

Since Longsnap.com started in 2000, the visibility of the otherwise anonymous long snapper has been raised significantly.  For example, snappers are selected to the Pro Bowl, chosen in the NFL Draft, invited to the college all-star games and NFL Combine among other things.  However, the snapper is rarely including in the well-known EA Sports video game Madden NFL, including the latest version Madden NFL 11.

Vikings snapper Cullen Loefller, who has never appeared in the game despite being in his 7th season, received some media attention for his apparent dismay at the exclusion of snappers.  Only Giant snapper Zak DeOssie appears in this year’s version.  Loeffler’s story was picked up by many newspapers, radio programs and even ESPN.  EA Sports ultimately responded, noting that the game rosters are limited to 55 and that they “prioritize impact positions over specialists.”  In the past, there were other video games, including 2K Sports’ NFL 2K series, that included a number of long snappers.

Today is the day that all NFL rosters must be at 75 players and, as a result, just one team has a snapping competition.  The Redskins released James Dearth, while the Bengals waived rookie Mike Windt leaving Clark Harris as the Bengals snapper and Nick Sundberg to handle snaps for the Redskins.  Following these moves, the Steelers are the only club with two snappers, with Matt Stewart challenging Greg Warren.