INDIANAPOLIS — The Colts beat the Raiders so badly on Sunday that the loss of kicker Spencer Shrader never made an impact.
If the game had been closer, Indianapolis would have sent Rigoberto Sanchez to kick in Shrader’s place, with arguably the most surprising emergency operation of any team in the NFL.
Long snapper Luke Rhodes would take Sanchez’s place as holder and tight end Drew Ogletree would handle Rhodes’ duties as snapper.
“Typically, you would just sub in an offensive player or quarterback to be the holder if your punter ended up having to be the kicker,” special teams coordinator Brian Mason said. “The most important position within that field goal operation is the holder. The holder’s job is to be able to be the caddie for the kicker, to be able to run the operation and the cadence. The most important thing is we get the ball down correctly on the spot.”
The spot and positioning the ball is critical. NFL kicking operations are timed down to the hundredth of a second, and any little mistake at any spot can lead to a blocked kick or a miss.
“A lot of times what you’ll see happen is like what happened in our game in 2023, when (Titans punter) Ryan Stonehouse went out injured,” Mason said. “They sub in a quarterback to hold, and what’s the first thing that happens? They miss a PAT.”
The Colts have tried out everybody on the roster, looking for a player who can handle any special teams spot in an emergency situation.
“Our best backup holder by far, who has great hands and has been on the hands team his entire career, coincidentally, is Luke Rhodes,” Mason said. “The guy that is going to give the absolute most confidence for the kicker – that ball is going to be on the spot, whether the snap is perfect or not, is going to be Luke.”
Ogletree and rookie tight end Tyler Warren are both capable of handling the long-snapping duties.
The Colts practice the emergency situations regularly. Two weeks ago, Sanchez missed a Wednesday practice due to a personal matter and Rhodes handled all of Schrader’s holds during field goal practice.
Shrader made every kick. The operation was smooth.
And that’s why Indianapolis would move its talented long snapper to holder in an emergency kicking situation.
Joel A. Erickson covers the Colts all season. Get more coverage on IndyStarTV and with the Colts Insider newsletter.
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