LS Kevin Houser (Seattle Seahawks)

[Buckskin86]

http://www.neworleansprofootball.com...erfeature.html

Houser doesn't mind being overlooked

posted August 18, 2004 - print me!neworleansprofootball.com
by Ralph Malbrough

It's nothing personal but New Orleans Saints long snapper Kevin Houser would like it just fine if he doesn't have any more interviews the rest of the season.

"99% of the time you want to be noticed but not for things that pertain to football. I know if the media wants to see me after the game it's usually not good."

Houser knows the long snapper's job along with the offensive line is probably the most thankless job in football.

"My job is a lot like the lineman. The offense can't make great plays without the big guys but there are other people that get the notoriety. You just do your job everyday."

Even though to the casual eye it might not look like the kickers do much in practice. Houser says its not true and other players don't dislike the special team guys because they don't do anything during training camp. It's just a myth he says.

"I wouldn't say that. We're out here 30 minutes before everyone. We run the look team for the defense. Then we run field goal as a team. Then we go over things if something wasn't right. Then Mitch will punt."

Even though the fans might not notice him, Kevin says the coaching staff does make him feel appreciated.

"After a field goal Coach Haslett makes it a point to come up and say nice job. They at least make us feel like a part of the team."

Houser, from Ohio State,is in his 5th season with New Orleans and said the only real difference this year for him is Todd Bouman will be the holder on kicks for John Carney.

"Todd's the holder as of right now and we'll see how that works out. Mitch (Berger) has proven to be a great holder. We're trying something different but if Todd doesn't work out. We can always go back to Mitch."

Even though kickers and punters in general are known to be sometimes on the odd side and occasionally superstitious, Houser laughed at that but doesn't count himself in the same category and didn't want to be called a head case.

"You calling me a mental case(laughing)? No, all the guys are professional and they stay focused but sometimes they want a certain routine. Sometimes you need it. Basketball players have routines for free throws. Kickers have them and snappers too. It's a way to prepare to do your job."

Of course Houser wouldn't mind at all if he does his job this season and no one really notices at all.

[osugrad21]

Link

Houser gets paid big bucks to ... Snap under pressure
'The margin for error in the NFL is so small'


By Billy Watkins
bwatkins@clarionledger.com

<script **********"**********"> // Begin popup script function NewPhotoWindow(mypage, myname, w, h, scroll) { var winl = (screen.width - w) / 2; var wint = (screen.height - h) / 2; winprops = 'height='+h+',width='+w+',top='+wint+',left='+winl +',scrollbars='+scroll+',resizable' win = window.open(mypage, myname, winprops) if (parseInt(navigator.appVersion) >= 4) { win.window.focus(); }} // End</script>If you think it's easy to hunker down and snap a football 15 yards in 8/10ths of a second precisely into the hands of a punter, New Orleans Saints special teams coach John Bonamego suggests you go out and try it.
"And right after you snap it, have someone hit you in the head with a shovel," he says. "That's basically what Kevin has to put up with."
Bonamego is referring to Kevin Houser, the New Orleans Saints' long snapper on punts and field goals for the past six seasons.
"(Snapping) is an odd skill that not too many people have," says backup quarterback and holder Jamie Martin.
"It's a job I don't want with 3 seconds left in a game and we need a field goal," says veteran defensive tackle Hollis Thomas.
It's a position of anonymity. "Until the poor guy messes up," says Fred McAfee, the longtime running back and special teams player. "Then everybody knows him."
But the Saints have recognized Houser's unique ability and properly compensated him for it. Houser, 29, earned more money last season than 39 of the 65 Saints players who got a paycheck, according to USA Today's National Football League salary database. Houser made $540,000 in base salary and received a $200,000 signing bonus. He was the 14th highest-paid long snapper in the 32-team league.
"The margin for error in the NFL is so small," Bonamego says. "(Assistant head coach) Joe Vitt was telling me the other day that 80 percent of NFL games are decided in the final four minutes. That's when the little things can make you or break you. And one bad snap can wind up costing you a game, a playoff spot, home-field advantage in the playoffs.
"That's why a guy like Kevin is so valuable - he's consistent and he knows how to handle the pressure of the job."
An NFL career was the last thing on Houser's mind when he accepted a football scholarship to Ohio State University, where his father, Tom, and brother, Bob, played before him.
He already had decided to become a financial adviser. "I credit that to my grandfather (James Crowe)," Houser says. "He lived through the Depression years, learned to be very prudent. And he was always teaching us grandkids how to manage money. He'd take us to the bank. Let us count the money in his wallet.
"It wasn't so much what he said, but how he and my grandmother lived. Their best asset was their family, and material things were never that important. They were comfortable in a house that my grandfather actually built with his brother. They're still living there now (in Canfield, Ohio)."
After a solid career playing tight end for three seasons and long snapping for four with the Buckeyes, Houser began getting enough attention from pro scouts to hire an agent.
"When a pro team would come and work out some of our guys, they'd ask me to come out and snap," he says.
Within a span of 10 days in the spring of 2000, Houser got married, went on a honeymoon cruise and was drafted in the seventh round by the Saints.
"To this day, it's still hard to believe that I belong here," Houser says. "I mean, I've watched NFL games on TV all my life. I realized long ago how unbelievable these players are. Believe me, I'm perfectly willing to throw a ball between my legs, and high-five the other guys when they score touchdowns."
Even though Houser sometimes makes light of his contribution to the team, he understands this: In a game where coaches agonize and strategize, and every-down players beat each other into a bloody pulp for three hours every week, the outcome often rides on the shoulders of three players - the snapper, holder and kicker.
"None of us can do our job if Kevin doesn't do his," says kicker John Carney. "I feel blessed to have him. I don't have to worry about whether the snap is going to be there, and that takes a lot off me."
But Houser refuses to get comfortable in his job. He offers an example why: Trey Junkin.
"Trey was the Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods of long snappers," he explains.
Over 18 seasons with eight different teams, Junkin was so consistent that NFL teams realized long snapping was an art, a specialty.
Then in 2002, Junkin came out of retirement to join the New York Giants during the playoffs. The final snap of his glorious career, on a potential game-winning field goal, was low and wide. The kicker never had a chance.
In many fans' minds, Junkin's career has been whittled down to that one play.
"I was watching it on TV, and I'd gotten to know Trey a little bit," Houser says. "My heart broke for him, his teammates, his family. There's no guy who took more pride in his position than Trey. But that's why we play the games. Freak things can happen."
In a split second, anonymous people can become synonymous with failure.
That's why Houser can't, or won't, name one pressure-packed snap that stands out above the others in his six years on the job.
"Every snap, there's pressure," he says. "Every single one of 'em."

[Buckskin86]

Louisiana Sports: New Orleans Hornets Losses, NBA Trades, Saints Snapper

Written by: Ed Staton

They are anonymous except in times of disaster, for which they are invariably blamed. They are paid to perform an act that gives them an upside-down perspective on the world that leaves them in an absurdly vulnerable that cried out to opponents: Clobber me! Is it any wonder in an inordinately incidence of strangeness among NFL long snappers.

But not so with the Saints' Kevin Houser, a family man. a registered financial broker, and a professional player who devotes much of time to fund-raising for needy children.

Among the NFL's long-snapper number we find a poet, the co-owner of a boutique, a rock singer, and a heavily tattooed heavy-metal junkie who has sported a Mohawk. And you thought kickers were flakes.

Houser is known for his accuracy and rapid delivery and has been one of league's best since joining the Saints in 2000. He has handled all snapping duties and placements since his arrival as a seventh-round pick out of Ohio State and also is one of the top contributors on the punt coverage teams.

As a long snapper, he takes a football and snaps it on a tight spiral eight yards to a waiting field goal holder or 15 yards into the hands of a punter who is facing an all-out rush. Once the long snapper gets rid of the ball, he must look up and help block the defense's charge. On a punt, once the ball is kicked, he must head downfield on assignment to help stop the returner. it is a job that is performed several times during a game, but no one notices the snapper's name unless something goes wrong, which in turn, keeps the kick attempt or punt from being successful.

Houser's responsibilities on punts are in the areas of protection and coverage. "After the snap, depending on whether the opponent is returning the ball or or they're rushing the kick, I've got a guy to block like everyone else," said Houser. "In the event of a return, I go downfield and attempt to make the tackle or help make the tackle."

Houser was the third member of his family to play at Ohio State, following father, Tom, and brother, Bob. He saw action at tight end and on special teams with the Buckeyes. He had 6 catches for 55 yards and 2 touchdowns as a senior.

Louisiana Sports: New Orleans Hornets Losses, NBA Trades, Saints Snapper

[osugrad21]

Link

Even Houser amazed by long career

Posted by John DeShazier, The Times-Picayune August 11, 2008 10:28PM

Categories: Saints
JACKSON, MISS. -- Kevin Houser doesn't have to be perfect. Just pretty close to it.
He can't slump. Can't have two or three bad games in a row, take a demotion and work his way back into the lineup because, probably, if Houser has two or three bad games in a row, his demotion means he's on the street looking for another NFL job or looking at being a financial broker full time.


That should give you an idea how good Houser has been at his job with the Saints. It should let you know why the long snapper is the longest-tenured Saint, with 128 consecutive games played over a career that's entering its ninth season.
"He's been a consistent performer, and I think if you're a long snapper one of the qualities you have to have is consistency," said Coach Sean Payton, whose roster has 12 holdovers from previous staffs. "If you're erratic, the rest of your kicking game suffers.

Cont...

[Taosman]

Just an amazing story for a pretty amazing young man!
You make us all proud, Kevin!

[Buckskin86]

Saints sign Kyle, release veteran long snapper
6/29/2009
The Associated Press

(AP) ? NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans Saints signed free agent long snapper Jason Kyle and released Kevin Houser, who had been with the team since 2000.

General Manager Mickey Loomis said Monday that Kyle will upgrade the kicking game. He also thanked Houser for nine seasons of "excellent service."

Kyle, a veteran of 14 NFL seasons, spent the past eight years as the long snapper for the Carolina Panthers. A fourth-round selection of the Seattle Seahawks in 1995, the former college linebacker took over snapping duties in his second pro campaign.

Houser was a seventh-round pick of New Orleans in 2000 and was the long snapper in all 144 regular-season as well as four playoff games. He ranks 11th in Saints history in games played

Saints sign Kyle, release veteran long snapper - AP - NOLA.com

[Buckskin86]

SNAP DECISION

After nine years with the Saints, being released came as a surprise to long snapper Kevin Houser
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
By Ted LewisStaff writer

Kevin Houser had special plans to commemorate his setting of the Saints' record for consecutive games played early this season.

It won't happen now.

The team released the nine-year veteran deep snapper Monday, leaving him four games shy of the franchise mark of 148 held by tackle Jim Dombrowski.

Along with the release of Houser, a seventh-round draft pick in 2000 who was the longest tenured player on the team, the Saints announced the signing of free agent Jason Kyle, a 14-year veteran who spent the past eight seasons with the Carolina Panthers.

"It's disappointing because it would have been such a cool thing to do (breaking the record), and it was something we'd really been looking forward to. I guess you shouldn't count your chickens before they hatch."

However, Houser said he had no ill feelings toward the Saints. In fact, they were just the opposite.

"When we look at everything we've done, and by we I mean my wife (Kristen) and myself, being able to touch the lives of so many thousands of people, it's been a great run," Houser said. "I'll think of how wonderful Mr. and Mrs. Benson have been to me, how grateful I am to management for sticking with me for nine years, how much I loved being part of the organization and how we've been able to build so many great relationships and being able to see this city bounce back after Katrina.

"There's nothing better than being able to run out on the Superdome floor on game day representing the Saints, the city of New Orleans and the state of Louisiana. But this is a business where you put your best foot forward on the field, and if I'm not part of that plan, then I've got to move forward."

Houser said his immediate plans were to reflect on his time with the Saints before deciding on whether to continue his playing career.

"My wife and I love New Orleans," he said. "It's the place where we want to raise our kids, and I'd realistically thought I would retire here.

"I'm keeping my options open. The Saints just signed a 14-year veteran, so there's no reason why I shouldn't be able to continue, too."

SNAP DECISION - NOLA.com

[Buckskin86]

Kevin Houser, who was cut by the Saints, and other players seek to get film investment back
Posted by Robert Scott, The Times-Picayune
June 30, 2009


Susan Poag/The Times-Picayune
The Saints are not saying whether an investment deal brokered by New Orleans Saints longsnapper Kevin Houser contributed to the team's decision to cut him this week.

BATON ROUGE -- A veteran Saints football player who was just released from the squad is trying to get back money that he and other team members invested in an Elmwood motion picture studio, representatives for the player and the film company said Tuesday.

Kevin Houser, who for nine years handled snaps for punts and field goals, was let go Monday and replaced with an older player in a move that puzzled fans and observers.

Houser put a "very significant" amount of money into Louisiana Film Studios, and others with the team followed that lead hoping to reap a financial benefit that has not materialized, his attorney Rob Couhig said.

Studio Chief Executive Wayne Read said the project has had trouble qualifying for state tax credits to boost its finances but that in any event, the investors will be repaid. He said Houser was involved in helping to raise investment dollars for the project.

"Everyone's going to be made whole, " Read said.

Also, a construction company owned partly by Houser's wife, Kristen Houser, did contracting work for the studio and has not been paid in full, her attorney Jimmy Castex Jr. said. The company and its subcontractors began work in January and are owed about $681,000 by the studio and Read, Castex said.

Saints officials would not talk about the impact that the investment controversy has had on the team, player relations or Houser's position.

"We are not privy to any of our player's individual investments, and as a policy we do not comment on such matters, " Saints spokesman Greg Bensel said.

Kevin Houser, who was cut by the Saints, and other players seek to get film investment back - New Orleans Saints Beat

Houser was solid for Saints
Teddy Renois Staff Writer
Tuesday, June 30, 2009

I was going to give props to LSU?s baseball program for winning its sixth national championship. However, I was derailed by something that happened on Monday.

It seems the New Orleans Saints decided to part ways with nine-year veteran long snapper Kevin Houser.

In his place, the Saints signed 14-year veteran Jason Kyle from the Carolina Panthers.

I need to ask this question.

When was the last time you remember seeing a bad snap by Houser during a field goal or punt?

I?m sure Houser wasn?t perfect during his nine seasons with the Saints, but it is hard to remember any bad snaps over his tenure.

Houser was solid for Saints | DailyComet.com | The Thibodaux Daily Comet | Thibodaux, LA

[Buckskin86]

Former New Orleans Saints longsnapper Kevin Houser says he was surprised to be released by the team
Posted by Robert Travis Scott, The Times-Picayune
July 02, 2009


Michael DeMocker/The Times-Picayune
Kevin Houser said today that he was surprised when he was released by the New Orleans Saints.

Former New Orleans Saints player Kevin Houser said Thursday that he was surprised and unprepared for the call that came Monday from Coach Sean Payton telling him that he was being released from the team.

Houser said Payton was businesslike and did not discuss a film studio investment controversy that has affected Houser and more than two dozen current and former players and coaches for the Saints who could lose nearly $2 million.

The team members individually sought to purchase state tax credits from Louisiana Film Studios, which has yet to acquire the credits or repay the players for their investment. Many of the players had followed Houser's lead in putting money into the project, and Houser has sought legal assistance to get repaid.

But in an interview Thursday, he said that when Payton called, at a time both men were on vacation, he was not told that the tax credit controversy or any potential ill feelings among the team members played a role in his dismissal.

"Was I prepared for it? No. Was it heart wrenching? Yes. did I lock myself in the bathroom and cry like a baby? Sure," Houser said.

"But, that being said, listen, it's a business world. We're all something that were meant to be put out there to win a championship. And if there's anything, or maybe this could have caused a rift, and if there are any underlying issues out there that people didn't come out and say to me, or that people did not have all the answers to the questions that they had for one reason or another .... listen, I understand."

Former New Orleans Saints longsnapper Kevin Houser says he was surprised to be released by the team - New Orleans Saints Beat

[Buckskin86]

Bad investments sour New Orleans Saints' relationship with long snapper Kevin Houser
Posted by Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune
July 08, 2009

Only Coach Sean Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis know if Kevin Houser's unceremonious release last week was related to Tax Credit-gate.

But the evidence points overwhelmingly to Houser being kicked out of the house for his unwitting role as point man in Wayne Read's film tax-credit scheme at Louisiana Film Studios.

Why else would the Saints release him?

It couldn't have been for pay. Houser was scheduled to earn $745,000 this season. His replacement, Jason Kyle, will earn at least $845,000, the minimum the Saints can pay him as a 14-year veteran.

It couldn't have been for performance. In nine seasons, Houser never botched a bad snap. Not one.

Oh, sure, he might've zipped one a tad high or a little left from time to time. But he never duck-hooked or dribbled one so poorly it cost the Saints a blocked punt or field goal.

By my unofficial count, that's 1,257 long snaps: 640 for punts, 354 for extra points and 263 for field goals.

Do you know how hard it is to do anything a thousand times without error?

By all accounts, Kyle snaps the ball with similar distinction. He reportedly had only one poor snap in seven seasons with the Carolina Panthers. He was a salary-cap casualty after Julius Peppers' one-year, $16.7 million deal. So the Saints appear to be getting a good hand (or pair of hands) in Kyle.

But to claim Kyle is an "upgrade" over Houser, as the Saints did in the club's official release this week, is difficult to digest. In fact, it comes across as disingenuous in the wake of the tax-credit imbroglio.

Bad investments sour New Orleans Saints' relationship with long snapper Kevin Houser - Jeff Duncan on Saints

[Buckskin86]

Film studio developer says he's still going to pay back Kevin Houser and other New Orleans Saints players for project
Posted by Robert Scott, The Times-Picayune
July 10, 2009

The developer of a financially troubled film studio in Elmwood pledged today to pay back the New Orleans Saints players and coaches for the money they are due from the project but said a deal still is not completed with potential investors that would make those repayments possible.

Wayne Read says that he still plans to pay back the New Orleans Saints players in the tax credit issue.Wayne Read, chief executive of Louisiana Film Studios, said he spent the Saints' money on studio rent and development and hopes that talks with interested investors will result in an agreement soon in which new managers and owners will take over the studio.

"I hope to begin making payments to the players before the end of 2009," Read said. "Hopefully I will reach agreements with one of the potential funding groups shortly. Their investment will give me the funds needed to satisfy our debt and provide a firm foundation for the further development of the studio."

He did not identify the potential investors.

Read said he got help last year from former Saints long snapper Kevin Houser to promote the studio. Houser was a point man in getting 26 other current and former Saints players and coaches to give Read nearly $2 million, which was supposed to be repaid in the form of state tax credits by the end of March.

Kevin Houser is one of several folks seeking money on a tax credit issue.The Saints members are still waiting to get the credits or their money back. Houser, whose wife is a partner in a construction firm that also is seeking money owed by the studio, was released from the team last week.

Film studio developer says he's still going to pay back Kevin Houser and other New Orleans Saints players for project - New Orleans Saints Beat

Saints players' money paid business expenses
Saturday, July 11, 2009
By Robert Travis Scott
Capital bureau

BATON ROUGE -- The chief of a financially troubled film studio in Elmwood explained Friday why he has not yet paid back the Saints players and coaches who spent nearly $2 million to buy tax credits from the project: He no longer has the money, and he hasn't secured new investors.

Wayne Read, chief executive of Louisiana Film Studios, said he spent the Saints' money on studio rent and development and hopes that talks with interested investors will result in an agreement soon in which new managers and owners will take over.

"I hope to begin making payments to the players before the end of 2009," Read said. "Hopefully, I will reach agreements with one of the potential funding groups shortly. Their investment will give me the funds needed to satisfy our debt and provide a firm foundation for the further development of the studio."

He did not identify the potential investors. Read has said often in recent months that he was on the verge of obtaining new investments for the studio.

The tax-credit flap, which recently came to light, has threatened to disrupt the Saints locker room while potentially damaging Louisiana's budding reputation as a movie-making destination.

Head coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees and legendary former Saints quarterback Archie Manning are among the 27 current and former coaches and players who stand to lose money on the deal. Manning said he received a call from an FBI agent looking into the matter.

Saints long snapper Kevin Houser, who served as a point man recruiting investments from team members, was released last week and replaced with a new player in his position.

Houser last year became an enthusiastic promoter of the newly formed film studio project, which operates in a former Winn-Dixie warehouse on a 25-acre site in Jefferson Parish's Elmwood commercial area. Read said Houser and his wife, Kristen Houser, "shared a vision and a real commitment to this film studio and were part of the LFS team." The couple traveled with Read to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah to help spread the word

New Orleans, Louisiana Local News ? NOLA.com

Westlake’s Kevin Houser takes cash hit: Ex-Saint among those who lost money on film studio investment
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS — Former Westlake High and Ohio State football star Kevin Houser is among a group of current and former New Orleans Saints that is out nearly $1.9 million after the head of a Louisiana movie studio failed to repay the players’ investment in the studio.
The studio head says he intends to repay the group — after he finds other investors.
Houser, a long snapper who was released by the Saints on June 29, says he invested $125,000 in the studio.
He said he has been contacted by a law enforcement agency that he refused to identify.
Hall of Fame quarterback Archie Manning told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans that he has been contacted by the FBI about the investments.
Both the FBI and the U.S. attorney’s office have refused to confirm or deny that an investigation has started.
Coach Sean Payton, quarterback Drew Brees and Manning were among those who bought what they thought were state film industry tax credits. A state official, however, said the studio never applied for them.

http://chronicle.northcoastnow.com/2...io-investment/

[Buckskin86]

Originally published Thursday, July 23, 2009
Seahawks sign Kevin Houser as long-snapper
Former Saint Kevin Houser is the second player at that position to sign with Seattle.
By Danny O'Neil
Seattle Times staff reporter

The Seahawks signed veteran long-snapper Kevin Houser on Thursday, giving the team a second player at that position heading into training camp, which begins July 31.

Houser, 31, played the past eight seasons for the New Orleans Saints. He will compete with Bryan Pittman, another veteran long-snapper signed this offseason, for the Seahawks' snapping job.

Seattle has used three different long-snappers the past two seasons, turning to veteran Jeff Robinson in 2007 and again last season after 2008 draft pick Tyler Schmitt suffered a back injury that required surgery. Schmitt was waived this offseason.

Ryan Senser, who participated in this year's offseason minicamps as a long-snapper for the Seahawks, was released by the team on July 2.

Seahawks | Seahawks sign Kevin Houser as long-snapper | Seattle Times Newspaper

[Buckskin86]

July 24, 2009
Report: Seahawks release long-snapper Bryan Pittman
Posted by Danny O'Neil

Seattle released long-snapper Bryan Pittman, according to this report from Mike Sando on ESPN.com. The transaction was not included in the team's announcement of signing third-round choice Deon Butler, but it comes after Seattle added Kevin Houser -- a veteran long snapper from New Orleans -- earlier this week.

Seahawks Blog | Report: Seahawks release long-snapper Bryan Pittman | Seattle Times Newspaper

Posted by: Shaun Dolence
Alright, so my assumption was wrong. Long snapper Kevin Houser was not added to entice competition during training camp. Apparently, Seattle signed Houser with the intention of giving him possession of the job, should he perform as expected.

The Seahawks released long snapper Bryan Pittman on Saturday. According to Mike Sando of ESPN.com, Pittman suffered a non-football injury to his hand that could take up to four weeks to heal. Pittman was signed last May to solidify a position that has been unstable since 2006.

http://12thmanrising.com/2009/07/26/personnel-changes/