FRISCO, Texas -- When the Philadelphia Eagles lost long snapper Jon Dorenbos to injury and then their backup snapper, Brent Celek, last week, it got the attention of the Dallas Cowboys.
While teams prepare for all kinds of contingencies, losing two long snappers in one game is hardly at the top of the list, but for the Eagles it turns out their emergency choice, Trey Burton, did a better job than Celek.
The Cowboys were almost forced into emergency action last week against the New York Giants when L.P. Ladouceur suffered a knee injury in the fourth quarter. After a quick examination by the team’s medical staff, Ladouceur was good to go, but the Cowboys did not need to put him into action.
Ladouceur is not on the injury report this week, but he does have a nice tape job on his left knee. All of the ligaments are intact and he has a bruise.
So who is the Cowboys’ emergency snapper? Backup offensive tackle Emmett Cleary.
“I don’t know if I’m the guy, but I’m among the guys that have done it in the past,” Cleary said.
Cleary is on the 46-man roster because Chaz Green has been slowed by foot and back injuries for two months. He has played on the field goal protection team and just a handful of offensive snaps.
If he is not on the gameday roster then the Cowboys could look at tight end Gavin Escobar, linebacker Andrew Gachkar or even center Travis Frederick. The Cowboys lost one of their emergency snappers for the season, tight end Geoff Swaim, last month to a torn pectoral tendon.
Cleary worked as an emergency snapper at Boston College but never was called upon in a game.
“We have enough guys where God forbid something happened to L.P. we’d survive,” Cleary said. “Luckily we’ve never had to find out, but it’s a good ancillary skill to have. I think we’ve got some other guys who’ve done it in the past so it wouldn’t be a disaster.”
Ladouceur has never had a bad snap in his career, dating to 2005. The chemistry he has with punter Chris Jones and kicker Dan Bailey has created one of the best special teams’ trios in the NFL.
Ladouceur takes all of the special teams snaps in practice, but coordinator Rich Bisaccia has his emergency snappers work on the skill after practices a couple of times a week. Considering what happened to Philadelphia – and almost to the Cowboys – they will be on alert going forward.
“The guys who do it full time, they’re so on the money every single time and then especially the punts, getting the ball up,” Cleary said. “And L.P. is a plus in protection and in coverage. That takes a pretty special athlete to put the ball on the mark every time and never have any busts and get down and get into coverage.”
