If Rich Eisen made famous the “punters are people too!” movement, then I am here to start the long snappers are people too movement. What started this movement? Well, EA put out its Madden ratings and long snappers are really getting the short end of the ratings’ stick.
That’s not cool EA. Snappers play in the NFL because it is not easy to do their job. In fact, all of their awareness numbers should be very high. They have to snap, block, and pray that a kicker and holder do their job. If they are an inch off with their snap, they could lose their jobs. If snappers skip one back to the holder then they are embarrassed on national television and everyone talks about the bad snap. It’s simply not cool.
Also, don’t tell me EA doesn’t have the ability to make long-snapping a separate skill. Joe Cardona went to Navy. He was picked by Bill Belichick in the fifth round of the 2015 draft. He’s a football player as much as any kicker or punter. Here’s a very good point by Aaron Schatz.
So join me in the long-snappers are people too movement. They’ve been kept down on Madden for far too long.
