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Week Fifteen had a number of developments, prompting an early post to keep readers up to speed.  There were a number of mishaps in the punt game and on kicks, some of which were bad snaps, poor holds or simply missed kicks.  In addition, two snappers were lost for the season.

Kevin Houser of the Seahawks left the game against the Bucs with what was later determined to be a collapsed lung.  The replacement ended up being cornerback Kelly Jennings, who weighs about 180 pounds, but was the best alternative among linebacker Will Herring and Owen Schmitt.  His lone punt snap was a good one, but underscores the lack of depth teams face when the regular snapper goes down.  The Seahawks are expected to bring back Jeff Robinson for the third time in three seasons.

Steelers snapper Greg Warren suffered a torn ACL on the game-ending extra point against the Packers.  Warren, who suffered a similar injury to his other leg last year, will be replaced again by Jared Retkofsky, who snapped in the UFL this season.  Retkofsky won a Super Bowl ring with the Steelers last season.

Tomorrow’s post will include any additional snapping developments and the tackle stats from Week Fifteen.

The December 21, 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated is out now and features numerous articles about punters and punting.   Among the stories are a close examination of a so-called “Perfect Game” earlier this season when the Browns beat the Bills, due in large part to the punting skills of Browns’ punter Dave Zastudil.  Sports Illustrated also developed its own punter ratings, based on the quarterback rating formula.

After evaluating a variety of criteria, Mat McBriar of the Cowboys had the highest rating of 41.24 among all punters with a minimum of 40 punts through December 7th.  Next was Ben Graham of the Cardinals with 39.76 and Dustin Colquitt of the Chiefs with a 39.22 rating.  Jeremy Kapinos of the Packers was ranked last at 25.98.

Here is a link to the ratings and the rest of the punting articles are also available at si.com.

SI’s Punter Ratings

Veteran snapper Nathan Hodel signed with the Lions today in case Don Muhlbach cannot snap Sunday.  Hodel was released by the Patriots on August 31st after spending the last seven seasons with the Arizona Cardinals.  Hodel was one of the few remaining veteran free agent snappers.

Client Bryan Pittman was re-signed by the Texans this afternoon after a snapping competition with former Steelers snapper Jared Retkofsky.  Pittman spent the month of November with the Falcons before being released on December 1st.  Pittman was also in training camp with the Seahawks this season after serving as the Texans long snapper since 2003.

The NFL season is in the homestretch and Week Fourteen is now complete.  Lions snapper Don Muhlbach was carted off the field in the first half of the game against the Ravens after suffering an apparent head injury.  Muhlbach was replaced by offensive lineman Dominic Raiola.  Both Muhlbach and Raiola recorded solo tackles in punt coverage.  The Texans may also be looking to make an adjustment at the snapping position, as former Texans snapper, client Bryan Pittman, is working out for the team this morning, along with former Steelers snapper Jared Retkofsky.

In addition to the tackles by Muhlbach and Raiola, Ryan Neill (Rams), Ken Amato (Titans) and Zak DeOssie (Giants) had solo tackles, while Pat Mannelly (Bears) and JJ Jansen (Panthers) each had an assisted tackle.  The NFL Long Snapper chart is now updated.

Week Thirteen had some unsual snapping situations.  Reliable veteran snapper Ethan Albright of the Redskins had a high snap on a late field goal attempt that contributed, at least in part, to a missed kick that would have given the Redskins a two score lead against the Saints.  The Saints eventually won the game in overtime to remain undefeated.  Albright admitted some responsibility for the miss, although he had not yet seen the film.  In commenting on his approach following a poor snap, he offered some advice for all snappers, noting that:

“For me, every snap’s a new snap. If, in my mind, I’m thinking last week I had a bad one, don’t do it again, don’t mess up, don’t mess up. I mean, that’s a recipe for disaster. I’ve got to do it like I’ve done it every time, getting the grip, follow through, go where it’s supposed to, and go to the next one.”

Chiefs snapper Thomas Gafford was the intended recipient of a pass on a fake punt against the Broncos.  Gafford was left uncovered and open, but the pass by backup quarterback Brodie Croyle was batted down.

A number of snappers had tackles this week, led by John Denney of the Dolphins, who had two solo tackles.  Jon Dorenbos (Eagles), Ryan Neill (Rams), Pat Mannelly (Bears), Jeremy Cain (Jaguars), Kevin Houser (Seahawks) each had a solo tackle, while Don Muhlbach (Lions) contributed an assist.  The NFL Long Snappers chart has been updated through Week Thirteen and can be accessed at the NFL Long Snappers page.

Another change occured at the snapping position, as client Bryan Pittman was released by the Falcons today, along with kicker Jason Elam.  Former Jags snapper Joe Zelenka will replace Pittman, who snapped in four games following the season-ending injury to Mike Schneck.

The Falcons have had issues with their field goal and extra point operations this season and also added former Bucs kicker Matt Bryant to replace Elam in an attempt to solve the problems.

Week Twelve is now complete and included some interesting back stories.  Chargers veteran snapper Dave Binn played in his 250th consecutive game against the Chiefs.  Binn, who was an undrafted free agent from Cal in 2004, did not expect to last long with the Chargers as a backup tight end or H-back, but found his niche as the snapper.  To put his longevity in perspective, Binn has played in one-third of the Chargers games in their history.  In his 250th game Sunday, Binn added yet another solo tackle.

Jets snapper James Dearth, who played in his 139th consecutive game against the Panthers, was featured in The New York Times Sunday profiling the off-field struggles he has faced this season.  His father has cancer and his mother died unexpectedly a few weeks ago, but Dearth has perservered despite these issues and remained a perfectionist on the field.  The full article is linked below.

Dearth New York Times

On the tackle front, in addition to Binn’s solo tackle, Ken Amato of the Titans had a solo tackle, while Ryan Pontbriand of the Browns had an assisted tackle.  The NFL Long Snappers chart is now updated.

Week Eleven is complete and a number of snappers recorded tackles in punt coverage.  Zak DeOssie of the Giants led the way with a solo and assisted tackle, while Mike Leach (Cardinals) and Jon Dorenbos (Eagles) each recorded a solo tackle.  Client Brett Goode of the Packers and Dave Binn of the Chargers each had an assisted tackle.

The NFL Long Snappers chart is now updated and can be accessed on the Longsnap.com blog at the NFL Long Snappers page.

For snappers, there is life beyond the NFL, at least this year.  The new United Football League has just concluded its inaugural regular season and gave some snappers increased exposure.  Meanwhile, the Canadian Football League, which has been around for over 50 years, is in the midst of the playoff rounds.  The CFL traditionally uses Canadian snappers since roster spots for import players are limited.

The UFL snappers remained constant during its short season.  Nick Sundberg (California), Rigo Morales (Las Vegas), Jared Retkofsky (Las Vegas) and Matt Overton (Florida) each handled all the snaps for their teams.  On the CFL side, many veterans snappers continue to fill the rosters.  Snappers this year were Dan McCullough (BC), Taylor Inglis (Edmonton), Randy Chevrier (Calgary), Jocelyn Frennete (Saskatchewan), Chris Cvetkovic (Winnipeg), Jordan Matechuk (Hamilton), Steve Schmidt (Toronto) and Martin Bedard (Montreal).