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What is a “long snapper?”

February 9, 2017 By TIMOTHY EDWARDS Leave a Comment Filed Under: What does it mean?

snapper
You’ve got to pack down in a lot of scrums to get as beaten up as this.

Some might think that “long snapper” is a fishing term. “Long snapper” could refer to an especially lengthy specimen of a species of fish popular with Australian sports fishermen and fisherwomen that is known for its tastiness and fighting abilities. Snapper are caught at off-shore reefs, in estuaries, in bays or in open water and are characterized by their silver and red scales… and having a rather odd looking bump on their snout. Snapper have an unfortunate likeness to Rugby Union front row forwards and hookers who have broken noses.

Nuthin’ to do with fishin’

Well that would be very interesting and informative if “long snapper” were a fishing term, but it is not. A “long snapper” is an important role in the game of American Football (gridiron).

The “snap”, in American Football, is the process by which the Centre (a bloke about the same size as two of me strapped together) restarts play. The Centre, who, surprisingly enough, stands in the centre of the offensive line of scrimmage, snaps the ball between his legs (by either handing or passing) to the Quarterback waiting behind him. From that point the Quarterback either passes to a receiver, hands-off to a running back or runs with the ball himself to progress the ball. Snapping is not an easy job. It is technically quite complex.

Just don’t fluff a “snap!”

031230-N-6213R-507 Houston, Texas (Dec. 30, 2003) Ð The Navy defensive line and Texas Tech offensive line square off prior to a snap in the EV1.Net Houston Bowl at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas. The U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen lost to the Texas Tech Red Raiders, 38-14, leaving Navy with an 8-5 record on the year. Navy boasted the top rushing offense in Division 1-A, while Tech had the nationÕs leading passing offense. U.S. Navy photo by PhotographerÕs Mate 3rd Class Mark J. Rebilas. (RELEASED)
The centre controls the ball from his team’s line of scrimmage.

Fluffed snaps can be among the costliest errors that an attacking team can make. Doing a good snap is made even more difficult by the fact that one, two or three tacklers (approximately the size of black rhinos) from the opposition team are trying to smash and trample the Centre to death to spoil the snap and to get to the Quarterback.

That is how the standard snap works. It gets more complex if the team wants to attempt a field goal or punt (kick) the football way down field. In such cases the snapper needs to snap the ball as much as seven or eight meters back. The Quarterback, who is usually positioned only just behind the Centre, does not usually involve himself in such plays. The ball needs to go much further. It needs to go all the way to the punter of field goal ball-setter many meters further back. Such a task is way beyond the technical competence of a regular Centre who is responsible for snapping, at the most, two or three meters.

hand off snap
In this snap the ball is handed to the Quarterback.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
In “the shotgun” formation the snap is passed a few meters back to the Quarterback

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

long snap
The “long snapper” has to pass the ball all the way back to the ball-setter… and he better get it right!

 

Bring on the “long snapper”

So, when a team wants to take a punt or have a crack at a field goal, the regular Centre shuffles off the field and on comes the… “long snapper”. The “long snapper” needs to be able to flick the ball with great accuracy into the waiting arms of the punter or field goal ball-setter. As with the regular snap, if this goes wrong, the team are in big trouble! A “long snapper” is a highly specialized and difficult job.

TIMOTHY EDWARDS

Tim Edwards has had a completely rubbish sporting career so it is odd that he seems so obsessed with sport and adventuring. As a basketball shooting guard he had an okay jump shot but couldn't do anything else. As a rugby hooker he spent more time puking then actually playing. As a runner he won an awful lot of consolation prize chocolates for coming fourth but almost never won a ribbon. Despite his inadequacies he still loves sport and has opinions on almost any sporting subject. Tim has spent large parts of his working life in publishing and writing roles and has even done his share of teaching sport management to Uni students. He has coached more sports teams than he cares to remember. Tim is an awful surfer and skier but his lack of competence does not bother him one little bit!

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Tagged With: american football, centre, field goal, gridiron, long snap, punt, quarterback, snap

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