It might just look like a calm snap, hold, and kick, but the trenches on the field goal team get messy. For LS Christian Kuntz in Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts, it got awfully loud. Recapping the game on the latest episode of his podcast, Kuntz tried to get the Steelers’ offense to stay on the field at every opportunity.
“This week, another field goal,” he said on his show. “They rushed the A-gap and like they did like a swim back and I felt like my head get hit. Like someone hit me on the top of my head and I’m like flailing back, trying to knock guy’s arms down and whatever. Do whatever I gotta do.
“And then of course I’m bitching to the ref. I’m like, ‘He hit me in the head.’ Because if bro, that’s a big penalty on a snapper. If we put our offense back out there, it’s a big penalty.”
The league has cracked down and protected long snappers on field goals, preventing leveraging them to leap and preventing them from directly lining up over center, the latter a long-standing policy. All in the league’s continued effort for player safety, even if some players and coaches dislike the increased difficulty in blocking field goals. Without being directly over the ball, it’s harder to get a hand in its flight path.
Alas, Kuntz’s pleas were ignored by the referee, though they caught the attention of a Colts’ player.
“The one dude’s on the Colts is like, ‘Man, shut the hell up, all you do is snap the ball.’ I was like, ‘Fuck you.'”
It was one of two moments Kuntz laughed about from the game. The other came on a punt when personal protector Miles Killebrew changed the protection and tasked Kuntz with blocking big nose tackle Grover Stewart as the Colts’ defense stayed out for the punt.
“Killebrew sent me his way and then didn’t touch anybody at that just ran down field. But this dude took like four steps and just head-butted me…[Nick Herbig’s] laughing mid-play.”
Here’s a look at that one, Kuntz trying to shake off the cobwebs as he ran downfield. It wasn’t a fun time for TE Rodney Williams, either, who got run back by the other d-tackle.
It’s the life of a special teamer, either a specialist or positional player trying to earn his keep. For Kuntz, it comes with the job. He’s done well enough to earn a long-term deal from the team earlier this year.
