No Snap to Make Chargers
SAN DIEGO — It takes most NFL teams 2.2 seconds to execute a punt. That’s from the time the ball leaves the long snapper’s hands to the time the ball hits the punter’s foot.
For frame of reference, that’s about the same amount of time it took tackle Jim Lachey to report to the Raiders after he found out the Chargers had traded him last weekend. It’s also the amount of time holdout linebacker Chip Banks should have taken to figure out there’s no way
the Chargers will trade him to the Raiders.
Anyway, when Charger snapper Randy Kirk centers to punter Ralf Mojsiejenko, it usually takes about 1.9 seconds. Sometimes it only takes 1.85. That’s about as quickly as it gets done in the NFL, a place where they measure these kinds of things very carefully. The stopwatchers will also tell you that potential kick blockers, untouched, generally need 1.7 seconds to cover 10 yards.
So the faster you execute a punt, the less you have to worry about your own blocking and the more the punter can concentrate on booming kicks instead of stunts and tricks.
Mojsiejenko led the AFC in punting last year with a 42.9 average. He played in his first Pro Bowl. He punted 67 times during the regular season. None were blocked.
“And one of the reasons for that was the long-snapping Randy Kirk did,” says Coach Al Saunders. “He took all the pressure off.”
“It was a major contributing factor,” Mojsiejenko says.
But Kirk is in danger of not making the Chargers’ 45-man active roster. So Mojsiejenko has taken up press-agentry.
It’s more than just snappy patter. Mojsiejenko is afraid the Chargers might tell Kirk to . . . well . . . take a hike.
“I can’t say enough about about Randy Kirk,” Mojsiejenko says.
But he’ll try anyway.
“If I have anything to say about it, Randy Kirk will stay.”
To that end, Mojsiejenko says, he lets Wayne Sevier, the special teams coach, know every day how important it is for the team’s punting game to keep Kirk.
Trouble is, NFL teams don’t keep long snappers unless they can do something else. Kirk’s abilities as an outside linebacker don’t measure up to his skills as a long snapper.
And the Chargers don’t expect him to be the next Banks, the outside linebacker Kirk hopes to play behind, if he makes the team and if Banks ever reports to camp.
“It’s understood that I will have to contribute more as a linebacker and be excellent on all special teams if I’m going to make the team,” Kirk says.
If he does not, the Chargers will use Dan Rosado or Dennis McKnight in Kirk’s place on punts. “I’ve got nothing against those two guys . . . “ Mojsiejenko says, his voice trailing off. It’s just than Kirk’s deliveries are swifter, crisper and more consistent.
Kirk has had a lot of practice. He started snapping for punts in Pop Warner football. And he continued in his specialty through high school, junior college and at San Diego State.
After the strike ended, long snapping kept Kirk in the league.
“The best advice you can give to a college offensive lineman is, ‘Learn how to snap,’ ” Saunders says. “If you are a great snapper and an adequate offensive lineman, you have a spot on a football team in the NFL.”
And long snapping isn’t as bad as all those horror stories make it out to be.
“There’s an unwritten respect for centers around the league,” Kirk says. “If we see films, and we see guys that are gonna smash me every time, then we’re gonna go out and crush their center.”
Charger Notes
Talks between Steve Ortmayer and Chip Banks’ agent, Harold Daniels, continue with little apparent progress. Ortmayer is the Chargers’ director of football operations. Banks is an unsigned free agent outside linebacker. “No,” Ortmayer said, when asked if he was concerned about reports that Banks was interested in being traded to the Raiders. “These are negotiations.” But Ortmayer emphasized, “There aren’t going to be any trade talks.” In other words, in the wake of the Chargers’ accommodating unhappy tackle Jim Lachey by trading him to the Raiders, there will be no more accommodations. . . . No great surprise, but Charger Coach Al Saunders made it official Thursday: Mark Malone will start at quarterback Saturday night against the Dallas Cowboys at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium in the exhibition opener for both teams. Saunders said he would play Malone for a half before replacing him with Mark Vlasic and Babe Laufenberg, in that order. Saunders also said Malone would not start the Chargers’ second exhibition, Aug. 13 against the Rams in Anaheim. Saunders said the play of Vlasic and Laufenberg against the Cowboys will determine which one starts against the Rams.
Cornerbacks Gill Byrd and Lou Brock are suffering from minor knee problems. Cornerback Daniel Hunter has a minor abdominal injury. All three should be ready for the Cowboy game. Not so lucky is defensive end Tyrone Keys, who may have cartilage damage in his knee. . . . The first mandatory cutdown date is Aug. 23, at which time all teams must pare their rosters to 60 players. The Chargers have 100 players in camp. “We don’t plan on making any major cuts until that time,” Saunders said. . . . Saunders had hoped tight end Kellen Winslow (knee) would be practicing by the end of this week. “It’s almost the end of the week, and he’s not practicing,” Saunders said. “That’s a little bit of a concern. But he’ll know when he’s ready. He’s been through this before.”
