What's the deal with longsnappers?

Seems like we get a new longsnapper and he's excellent for like a season or two and then he sucks and forces us to move onto a new one. Ingram we used a draft pick on and I think he was perfect for a season then had a couple of bad snaps. And now Aiken pretty much the same thing. Ninko stepped in for a game and played better and that's Aiken's one job....I swear if Aiken ever had a good snap it would probably hit Allen in the head because he's reaching down low for it. Better replace Aiken before he costs us a game. I'm actually shocked he hasn't yet. Cost us a safety vs the Colts in 2013-14 playoffs.

I'm sure the Patriots will bring in one of the top college long snappers either as a draft
choice or udfa to compete against Aiken. Last year, they brought in Ott of Harvard and he screwed up in a preseason game.

i always thought a long-snapper "specialist" was a waste of a roster spot, actually. Why couldn't the 3rd string center take care of that task? I know in practice they want the specialists to work together, but it doesn't seem worth it to me.. We often carry just 2 quarterbacks on the 53 because roster spots are so precious.. and one is wasted on a lousy lineman who can chuck a football between his legs...! There isn't anyone else striving to be the sought-after "complete football player" on the roster who could increase their value to the team and accomplish that task? Especially in light of the point the OP makes here: the longsnapper is often not that good...

I imagine they get conked on the head a lot and they aren't big enough to withstand it and perform after a while. We need a better one, though.

neckroll#14 said:

i always thought a long-snapper "specialist" was a waste of a roster spot, actually. Why couldn't the 3rd string center take care of that task? I know in practice they want the specialists to work together, but it doesn't seem worth it to me.. We often carry just 2 quarterbacks on the 53 because roster spots are so precious.. and one is wasted on a lousy lineman who can chuck a football between his legs...! There isn't anyone else striving to be the sought-after "complete football player" on the roster who could increase their value to the team and accomplish that task? Especially in light of the point the OP makes here: the longsnapper is often not that good...

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I'm guessing, if the specialists aren't that good, a hybrid might be worse.

Aiken really wasn't that bad, he wasn't very good but he wasn't that bad either. He also was dealing with a broken finger most of the year, that being said they should absolutely bring in some good competition for him

neckroll#14 said:

i always thought a long-snapper "specialist" was a waste of a roster spot, actually. Why couldn't the 3rd string center take care of that task? I know in practice they want the specialists to work together, but it doesn't seem worth it to me.. We often carry just 2 quarterbacks on the 53 because roster spots are so precious.. and one is wasted on a lousy lineman who can chuck a football between his legs...! There isn't anyone else striving to be the sought-after "complete football player" on the roster who could increase their value to the team and accomplish that task? Especially in light of the point the OP makes here: the longsnapper is often not that good...

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He has to cover kicks, so he needs to be able to run and tackle roughly like a linebacker.

In terms of practice, he works with the kicker and punter, which might detract from him preparing for other roles.

Don't punt, problem solved!

neckroll#14 said:

i always thought a long-snapper "specialist" was a waste of a roster spot, actually. Why couldn't the 3rd string center take care of that task? I know in practice they want the specialists to work together, but it doesn't seem worth it to me.. We often carry just 2 quarterbacks on the 53 because roster spots are so precious.. and one is wasted on a lousy lineman who can chuck a football between his legs...!

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I think the title "longsnapper" tends to mislead people into thinking that snapping the ball is the player's whole job. Just like a center, he has key responsibilities throughout the play. But longsnappers are not offensive linemen. They're mostly converted LBs and TEs with a good balance of size and speed.

Every single team in the league carries a dedicated long-snapper. They have to give priority to practicing with the punting and kicking teams, so they'd be at best an underprepared emergency backup on offense or defense. It makes more sense to maximize the skill you get out of the player on an average of 10 key snaps per game (punts + FGAs +PATs) than to maximize the value of your last-string benchwarming LB.

neckroll#14 said:

i always thought a long-snapper "specialist" was a waste of a roster spot, actually. Why couldn't the 3rd string center take care of that task? I know in practice they want the specialists to work together, but it doesn't seem worth it to me.. We often carry just 2 quarterbacks on the 53 because roster spots are so precious.. and one is wasted on a lousy lineman who can chuck a football between his legs...! There isn't anyone else striving to be the sought-after "complete football player" on the roster who could increase their value to the team and accomplish that task? Especially in light of the point the OP makes here: the longsnapper is often not that good...

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I disagree, you want to find a good specialist. You want them to get that practice time in. If it's a backup it wouldn't be as bad but we've had pretty much all of our backups sub in at one time or another. Don't want your longsnapper getting hurt. Really makes you appreciate Lonnie Paxton who was pretty much perfect. Frustrating to see Ingram and now Aiken completely fall apart.

meatface said:

Aiken really wasn't that bad, he wasn't very good but he wasn't that bad either. He also was dealing with a broken finger most of the year, that being said they should absolutely bring in some good competition for him

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He was pretty bad last season too. Ryan Allen is such an amazing holder that he makes Aiken not look nearly as bad as he is. We almost had that first punt of the Super Bowl blocked on a low snap. That could have been a game changer easily.

Froob said:

He was pretty bad last season too. Ryan Allen is such an amazing holder that he makes Aiken not look nearly as bad as he is. We almost had that first punt of the Super Bowl blocked on a low snap. That could have been a game changer easily.

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Aiken was still better than either of the guys they brought into camp and the Patriots obviously never saw anyone they liked during the season. Long snapper is a harder position than it seems, the Patriots obviously want someone better than Aiken but as of right now he is there best option

Ninkovich is the backup long snapper.

This sounds like a bad lead-in to a series of worn out Seinfeld jokes: "I mean, what's the DEAL (big teeth showing) with long snappers in the NFL?"

(crickets)

---"does anyone actually recognize the long snapper? does he feel embarrassed when he's around the other guys out in public? do the players in the locker room just assume that he's the towel boy? when was the last time someone ASKED (big teeth again) for the long snapper's autograph?"

---"does anyone actually try and start their career as a long snapper? is it just because they couldn't make it at a real position?"

This is the NFL. NFL long snappers are seriously good. Good as in they can deliver the ball to the holder with the laces in the right spot (exactly the right amount of rotation on the way back).

I agree that the Pats will kick the tires on an upgrade. The camp competition last preseason made it pretty obvious that Aiken is not a lock.

What's the deal with asking for people's firing? So rude.

maybe the old guy with the balls that went into the bathroom before he hit the field in the AFCCG is a short snapper....I mean he was up to something, right? With a little coaching I'm sure he could be coached into long "snapping"...oh wait...we're talking about the center on FG's?....never mind...

meatface said:

Aiken really wasn't that bad, he wasn't very good but he wasn't that bad either. He also was dealing with a broken finger most of the year, that being said they should absolutely bring in some good competition for him

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He didn't break his finger until December. Previous to that, he was that bad.

Froob said:

I disagree, you want to find a good specialist. You want them to get that practice time in. If it's a backup it wouldn't be as bad but we've had pretty much all of our backups sub in at one time or another. Don't want your longsnapper getting hurt. Really makes you appreciate Lonnie Paxton who was pretty much perfect. Frustrating to see Ingram and now Aiken completely fall apart.

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I never realized Paxton was a god until I watched Aiken.

I'm just a guy who drinks beer and watches the game on TV, but isn't long snapping just a single play - if not just a motion - to perfect? Seems like if one were to get the job, they could just go into their backyard and do it like a 1,000 times a day until it was automatic.

(Disclosure: Apparently any idiot, such as me, is allowed to post anything they feel like on the internet)