Jennings embraces competition: ‘We don’t want any punks on this team’
What do you get your team’s eldest statesman who is a model of consistency and is coming off the second Pro Bowl appearance of his career?
If you’re the 49ers, you give that guy a reason to sweat for his job.
Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke are forever preaching the benefits of may-the-best-man-win competition, and the best example of their philosophy is at the NFL’s most obscure position: long snapper.
Brian Jennings is tied for fourth among active players with 192 consecutive games played. (AP)
That spot, of course, has been manned with distinction by Brian Jennings since 2000. A two-time Pro Bowler, Jennings has masterfully lived up to the long snapper’s oath – I Will Not Go Unnoticed – for the past 12 seasons. While snapping to nine placekickers and four punters, Jennings has been charged with one fumble in his career – and that came on a good snap that went through punter Jason Baker’s hands in 2001.
So that position is set for 2012, right? Not exactly.
The 49ers have added two (two!) long snappers in the offseason, the most notable being Ryan Pontbriand, who spent the previous nine seasons of his career with the Browns before the Niners signed him in February. San Francisco also signed Kyle Nelson, 25, a tight end/long snapper, to a future contract in January.
Pontbriand is no training-camp body; he’s a legitimate threat.
At 32, he is three years younger than Jennings, is also a two-time Pro Bowl pick (2007, ’08) and has more history with 49ers special teams coordinator Brad Seely than Jennings. Pontbriand, the highest-drafted long snapper in NFL history (fifth round), played for Seely in Cleveland from 2009-10. The Browns released Pontbriand in November after a series of errant snaps.
Jennings, who is signed through 2014, said he wasn’t surprised by the signing given his team’s no-nonsense approach.
“For the 49ers, their job is not to make sure I play as long as possible — it’s to field the best team,” Jennings said. “As long as I’m able to perform at a level where I’m the best available guy and they see a future with me here, then I’ll be here. I’m putting myself in a position to be that guy. But this is a very serious organization, a very serious front office and a very serious coaching staff … and they will do everything in the best interest of the 49ers.”
Jennings, who will turn 36 in October, has never had such competition for his spot on the roster. But he’s long been aware the NFL isn’t swayed by sentiment when a player gets too old, or too expensive, or begins to slip slightly in his performance. Jennings is scheduled to earn a base salary of $925,000 in 2012 (Pontbriand is scheduled to make $826,000).
“You’re always competing against the field,” Jennings said. “Are there younger guys? Are there cheaper guys? So I’ve always had the mentality that I want to be best available guy right now and next year. And as long as I can do that, I feel like I’m going to be here and I’m going to be in the NFL … This wasn’t an eye-opening experience. I wasn’t shaken awake. It’s been the same for me every year – the NFL is hard and I’m working to get ready for the opponent. It hasn’t changed how I view things at all.”
Jennings compared the 49ers’ earn-your-position mantra with a biology class he took at Arizona State. His buddies told him not to take the class because it was too hard, but Jennings ended up earning one of the highest grades.
“I remember that today because of how hard it was,” Jennings said. “What kind of accomplishment is it if they just give the grade out? This is the NFL. It’s supposed to be hard … We don’t want any punks on this team that aren’t ready to go.”
http://blog.sfgate.com/49ers/2012/0...petition-we-dont-want-any-punks-on-this-team/