Page 1 of 1

Long snapper?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 11:06 am
by I-5
I'm not on the forum often enough, so forgive me if this has already been discussed.
Does anyone know why the Seahawks chose to go with Nolan Frese instead of Clint Gresham at long-snapper? The only reason I can think of is salary, but the difference from what I can tell is about $300k annually. I can't imagine a long snapper rookie season going less well than Frese's has (though it's hard to say if Hauschka's 10 missed PAT's are a result of the snap or the longer distance this year), so it appears on the surface that it was not worth saving the $ in terms of the results on the field. I would have assumed that when Frese went down, they would have tried to bring Gresham back as he is currently a free agent, but instead they brought in Tyler Ott (same contract value as Frese). Did the Hawks really think Frese was better or had more upside? Or is it all about the money? Was Gresham's salary going to escalate too much? If so, why sign him to a 3-year contract? Clint brought stability to an overlooked area that made our special teams consistently good I thought.

Re: Long snapper?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 11:15 am
by NorthHawk
We did discuss it, but I don't think any consensus resulted as to why the change was made other than a few hundred thousand dollars.
But maybe I just don't remember.

Re: Long snapper?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 11:41 am
by HumanCockroach
Superior athleticism was a reason Carroll brought up during training camp. ( Faster, better coverage etc.)

Re: Long snapper?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 1:56 pm
by I-5
Thanks. I would think the most important athletic skill would be 'long snapping the ball'...which is not easy to do.

Re: Long snapper?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:02 pm
by curmudgeon
Had to be money. Gresham had new contract. Besides the shitty snaps, anyone notice the middle of the line being blown up on field goal/pat attempts this season as well?.....

Re: Long snapper?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 5:45 pm
by HumanCockroach
Guards. The two I distinctly remember involved J'Marcus Webb ( brought up immediately) and Joey Hunt ( who replaced Webb). That said, two of the blocks have been courtesy of low kicks by Stephen ( Arizona game 1 and 2).

Frese has little to do with Webb being bowled over, or Hunt or kicks that clear his helmet by 4 inches. He's had his issues with snaps, but it isn't like guys have just been running over him ( after all, they can't).

Gresham's contact situation also wasn't egregious, nor "new". He had played on that contract. He didn't sign it and then get cut immediately or something.

Re: Long snapper?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 6:25 pm
by curmudgeon
Gresham's deal was in 2015. 2.7 mil total. Shown the door in 2016. Frese's deal 1.6 mil total....

Re: Long snapper?

PostPosted: Wed Jan 04, 2017 8:36 pm
by HumanCockroach
I know. Not sure what that has to do with guards getting blown up, or Stephen hitting the ball to low, or it being a new contract ( which it wasn't per your own admission)???

Re: Long snapper?

PostPosted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 4:41 pm
by I-5
Unfortunately I can't remember where I saw this, but someone mentioned one of the factors of Hauschka's misses coming from high snaps that affected the placing and timing of the ball for the kick.