Fortunately for Charger Center Rodenhauser, His Job Is a Snap

SAN DIEGO —  He is listed as an offensive lineman, and he has been in 48 consecutive National Football League games without playing a down on offense.

If center Mark Rodenhauser was stationed in front of quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver, Tolliver would be spending a lot of time in the hospital.

Rodenhauser, however, is as sure being steadily employed by the Chargers this season as Bobby Beathard. Rodenhauser’s contract calls for an average of $123,000 a year to snap the ball on extra-point attempts, field-goal tries and punts.

Why play quarterback and get sacked? That’s $123,000 for five or six plays a game, 16 weeks a year.

“The first line in our special teams notebook is that the deep snapper is the single most important part of the kicking game,” said Larry Pasquale, Charger special teams coach. “Mark Rodenhauser is the best long snapper there is.”

Now if he had to prove himself as an offensive lineman, “I’d be on the highway,” said Rodenhauser, 6-feet-5, 283 pounds. “It’s not the first thing you think of when you’re growing up: ‘Boy, I’m going to be a long snapper.’

“But God didn’t bless me with other talents; he gave me this one. If I had my druthers, I’d rather be out there every down. I do realize, though, that there are certain inadequacies in my offensive line play.”

How bad has he been?

--No one in the NFL chose to expend a draft pick on him.

--He tried to make it as an offensive lineman with the USFL’s Michigan Panthers, but was cut.

--The Memphis Showboats signed him, watched him in practice and released him.

--State Farm Insurance hired him as a claims adjuster.

--He played football on weekends for the River Grove Cowboys, a semipro team in a Chicago suburb, and started.

--He played nose guard and something called the ‘R’ position for the Chicago Bruisers in Arena Football. “I got penalized for roughing the quarterback,” he said.

--Signed by the Bears during the NFL strike of 1987, he started at center.

--The Bears released him at the end of 1987.

--The Minnesota Vikings signed and later released him.

“The bottom line is I’m still here,” he said.

How good does he have to be?

“I’m basically a one-trick pony; I screw that up and I’m out of here,” he said. “I have nothing else to fall back on because I can’t contribute as an offensive lineman.

“The hardest part of the job is the margin of error. In almost any other position, if you’re good 80% of the time, you’re doing well. If I were good on 80% of the snaps, I’d be history. The margin of error is minimal.”

A bad snap draws attention to Rodenhauser. A good snap comes without notice.

When Rodenhauser snaps the ball, it lands in the hands of the holder laces facing forward. He throws more strikes than Nolan Ryan. His snaps come fast and on the mark. It’s a skill, “one of those silly people tricks,” said Rodenhauser, but a job vacancy in the NFL that demands the highest level of expertise.

“I’ve been in the real world before and I know I have one of the best jobs in America,” Rodenhauser said. “At first I was bothered that I couldn’t perform on regular basis in the offensive line. I was very upset with myself and I felt like packing it in. I had certain expectations of myself, but everyone has their limitations.

“I may be in for only a limited amount of plays, but when I’m in, it’s a crucial point in the game. We’re either turning ball over to the other team or trying to get some points. It has a lot to do with the outcome.”

Rodenhauser might be due a raise. His snaps to punter John Kidd travel 15 yards in three-quarters of a second. His short snap to the holder allows placekicker John Carney to get the ball in the air in 1.1 to 1.2 seconds.

“Kidd gets his best net punting average in his career, and Carney has the highest field-goal percentage in the league and breaks a Charger record,” Pasquale said. “You have to say somewhere in the middle of all that is Rodenhauser.”

While Rodenhauser’s duties might be limited, Pasquale said the Chargers have more than simply a long snapper on their payroll.

“He’s a unique kind of person,” Pasquale said. “You really need to have a guy like this. He adds a lot. His personality, his sense of humor, the way he keeps everyone loose. He thinks on a different wavelength than the rest of us.

“When I’m having a conversation with players I usually have control and know what direction we’re going in. With Mark I never really do.”

Rodenhauser has appointed himself practice dummy for both the offense and defense, he relieves tired teammates along the offensive line in practice, and he is editor and chief of a players-only newspaper.

“One of the finest literary works on the face of the planet,” Kidd said.

“He writes it with a sixth-grade mentality so we can all understand it,” Tolliver said.

He has brought his computer to camp this year and he already has produced two locker room newspapers with a third in production.

“There’s no pretense whatsoever to try and cover the true facts,” Rodenhauser said. “I guess in that context, it’s probably almost more factual than the daily newspapers that cover this team.”

Rodenhauser produced five editions last season and he said he prefers to publish a paper only after the Chargers have won a game. This year, he said, he’s aiming to produce 12 newspapers.

His margin of error, in this case, could be substantial.