http://mia.scout.com/2/978367.html Both making about $800k per year, through 2012 season. Interesting. I don't think the Dolphins would set in on this kind of house keeping type stuff unless they were convinced that they are done with their player acquisitions. In other words, interest in O.J. Atogwe has gone from minor amusement at the possibility that he might lower his asking price significantly and take a discount to come to Miami for god knows what reason, to "Who is O.J. Atogwe?"
I like the prospect of locking Brandon Fields up long term. He's a very reliable punter. But John Denney? You're telling me that we're going to spend another 3 years with a roster spot being taken up by the LS? None of the 52 other players on the team can handle LS duties so that we can use that slot for a more versatile player?
How do you figure that, "in practice" it is better to have a player who can only do one job and will see 5-6 plays a game over a player who can do that same job as well as play on the field? It just makes no sense, with roster space always at a premium, and active roster space even more so to have to activate a guy every sunday simply to be the long snapper.
Because almost every single team in the National Football League has a specific guy on their 53-man roster whose sole job is to long snap the football. Look it up if you like. I believe there is only one team, maybe two, that I can remember as having a guy that does long snaps but also plays in some capacity, and to my knowledge that usually doesn't last very long.
I just checked. As I said, there's only one team that dares use its long snapper as an actual offensive or defensive player. That team is the Houston Texans, who use Joel Dreessen as both a long snapper and a #2 Tight End. He played 676 snaps at TE this year. Otherwise the only other long snapper that ever made it onto the field either on offense or defense was the Arizona Cardinals' Mike Leach, who played all of 5 snaps at Tight End. In theory, the Giants could use Zak DeOssie as a linebacker. He was evaluated by some draft services as a decent linebacker prospect. But, he didn't play a single snap on defense a year ago and that's a fact. Same with the Redskins' Ethan Albright. In theory, he could play OL. I think Ethan would tell you he could. But, he didn't play a single snap there in 2009 and I doubt he's played any snaps along the OL in years, if he ever did. Teams don't use long snappers for anything but long snapping. It's too specialized a skill, and the team would be too screwed over if they have to go to the emergency snapper and the guy couldn't be trusted. Imagine losing your long snapper and not even being able to punt the ball. That's a guaranteed loss if you can't even execute punts.
And not fo rnothing, but Denney is ALWAYS near the ball after he snaps it on punts. He gets down the field and makes some plays. Also, the problem with doubling up someone's duties is that, lets say we have an offensive linemen snap the ball, and he gets injured during the game. You now are down an o-linemen AND your long snapper. If Denney get injured, you probably have a backup ready to go and you aren't hindered at another position.
Nothing new, brother. Denney has been snapping for us going on six years now. He took over for Ed Perry, who did it for seven. Though Perry doubled up early on (actually caught 34 passes his first two seasons). But that was near the end of that 'era'. Now days long snapper is a position, just like kicker and punter. Heck, some teams have a kickoff specialist to go with their placekicker.
Yup, just ask Trey Junkin. Imagine playing 19 NFL seasons (20 if you count the following). But your final play as a professional knocks your team out of the playoffs. One of the greatest games in NFL history ends on a botched snap. And that's how you're remembered. The guy who botched the snap on the game-winning kick. An NFL field goal isn't an automatic process. It takes a tremendous amount of precision and repetition. Trey Junkin was signed a week before that playoff game because the Giants regular long snapper was lost to injury. And he actually botched two snaps in the final minutes. Both would have won the game for the Giants. Instead, he was sent back into retirement, in flames.
Dude, they're right...There's even a long snapping academy. http://www.prokicker.com/camps/longsnappingsummer I wonder if Denney's got his Bachelor's degree Or better yet, if he works long hours? Are they longsnapped their degrees? Is their mascot a snapping turtle?...
