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Home > Blogs > Cincinnati Bengals > Archives > 2009 > October > 07 > Entry
St. Louis in the spotlight for Bengals
At least the Bengals aren’t scratching and clawing for, say, a quarterback.
But there are concerns with long snapper Brad St. Louis. Enough that the Bengals on Tuesday brought in former Arizona long snapper Nathan Hodel for a look.
St. Louis, who has played 142 games with the Bengals, has raised some jitters after making four bad snaps in the first four games, including two in the overtime win against Cleveland on Sunday.
One way to look at it is if long snapper is the team’s biggest concern, then other things are going right. At the same time, long snapper is actually an extremely key position in pro games often decided late by just a few points.
St. Louis, to his credit, patiently answered questions about the snaps against the Browns after the game on Sunday. From the story:
Just the opposite, he was a picture of calm, practically unemotional in his responses.
St. Louis said about all a long snapper can do is to keep his thoughts positive and keep in rhythm by making a lot of practice snaps.
“You want that opportunity (to be a part of the game-winning field goal),” St. Louis said.
If we wanted to be jerks about it, we could send St. Louis a primer on long snapping, which includes instructions about practicing by throwing a ball with both hands and holding it with the dominant hand, laces out.
One of the really interesting aspects of sports is the response to adversity it forces upon the participants. St. Louis has probably faced the most adversity of any player on the team, but the Bengals seem to be keeping him in the long snapper spot, so he’ll likely have more chances against the Ravens on Sunday.
We all know the snaps will be scrutinized.
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Comments
By jon
October 7, 2009 10:12 AM | Link to this
Could you please get a real Bengals fan to write these articles, or at least someone who watched the game.
By bengalsdiehard
October 7, 2009 12:21 PM | Link to this
How many thousands of good snaps has he made? Give the guy a break. he wasn’t the cause of 7 straight 3 and out series the offense had against a crappy Browns defense. Let’s point out the real problems and fix them.
By sec 312
October 7, 2009 12:29 PM | Link to this
I really believe Huber the holder does not give a good target with his hands..Once he had them down, then raised them up…get your hands out there give a target..brad will be fine
By Shane
October 8, 2009 7:46 AM | Link to this
“long snapper is actually an extremely key position in pro games often decided late by just a few points” Really? Wow, since I am obviously not at all a football fan, I did not know that. Who the hell is this writer?
By Shane
October 8, 2009 7:49 AM | Link to this
Bengalsdiehard You are right about the offense. The long snapper, though, has one job. If he cannot accomplish that one job, which is costing the Bengals precious points, then he must be replaced.
By harry ewing
October 8, 2009 10:31 AM | Link to this
The clock is ticking @ he is about to cost a game. Send him!
By Stone
October 8, 2009 11:30 AM | Link to this
What i wonder is why you waste a roster spot for a guy who does one thing… snapping the ball, and does poorly at that. I don’t get it. You mean to tell me our center can’t long snap the ball?
By Longsnapper dad
October 8, 2009 7:31 PM | Link to this
Longsnapping isn’t the easiest thing in the world. When you go from OL - center, you are getting beat up, running hard for 5 seconds, getting your hands beat up… then try to finese a throw between your legs to a little spot for the kicker….remember the holder is only 7 yards back and the ball is travelling at a high rate of speed — not much room for error. Try it one time, my son told me that and he was rolling on the ground laughing. He will be all right, be patient.