Like most of you, I'm waiting for the hammer to fall on Brad St. Louis. Joe Reedy writes that bad snaps "runs the total to six which has resulted in 11 missed points." I certainly understand the thinking, but is it exactly fair that every point missed is attached to Brad St. Louis? Sure, you could say he's had his fair share of snaps in which a fighter pilot passing over Paul Brown Stadium has to break into evasive maneuvers. But there's been several snaps that Kevin Huber has been able to catch and place, which makes you wonder, does the snap have to be absolutely perfect for Graham to make the kick?
I had an argument a few days ago that several missed or blocked kicks that were the result of what was classified as a bad snap, were recovered enough by Huber and held in place as Graham approached the football. More than once, Graham stutter-steps, which obviously throws his timing off and, mostly likely, results in low nasty hooks that aren't even close.
My point is this. I agree. Since Brad St. Louis' struggles began on field goal and PAT attempts, I've become much more anxious than a critical fourth down play that would extend a game-winning touchdown drive. However, I'm just not sure every point missed by Graham should be exactly attributed to St. Louis.
Shayne Graham admitted as much.
“The ball got put on the spot,” Graham said. “I’ve just got to stay smooth with it and not react to anything else. The ball was on the spot. My job’s to make it.”
However, if you're expecting a change, then don't bank on it, if you read into Marvin Lewis' comments.
“I think it is a little bit mental, and I’m glad we were able to come through it in the end again today,” Lewis said of his snapper. “We’re working hard with him and just trying to help him to deal with it. We’ve got confidence in him. Yeah, last week we looked at some other guys, but that’s just what you do, you look at some other guys. You go with what you know and what you expect. He’s a great professional and pro, and we’re going to keep hopefully helping him with technique and some things, just the things we’re trying to do.”