Gostkowski: Getting ball to kickers isn’t a snap

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski is quick to correct anyone who says that getting the football back to a punter or the holder for a placekicker is a snap.

As a placekicker, he has a lot to lose if the snap is bad.

“It’s a day-to-day process. You have to be patient,” said Gostkowski, who hit 36 of 40 field goal tries in 2008 en route to the Pro Bowl. “There are days when you feel like you’re going to be in a rhythm with (the snapper) and days when you’re not. The hardest thing sometimes is going from one to the other.”

Former Patriots’ star Lonnie Paxton knows how important it is for snappers and kickers to be on the same page. He was the snapper when Adam Vinatieri made a name for himself as one of the greatest clutch kickers in the history of the NFL, and he assumed the role with Gostkowski when Vinatieri left for the Indianapolis Colts after the 2005 season.

Now Paxton is the second-highest-paid long-snapper in the league after signing a five-year, $5.3 million contract with the Denver Broncos this year.

This season, two players — Jake Ingram, a sixth-round draft pick out of Hawaii, and Nate Hodel, an eight-year veteran from Illinois — are vying for Paxton’s old position.

The snapper or the holder usually doesn’t get much notice — until there’s a blunder. Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys famously fumbled the snap on a potential game-winning field goal against the Seattle Seahawks in a playoff game in January 2007.

“There’s not much room for error for a specialist, be it a punter, kicker or snapper,” Gostkowski said. “Most snapping, they have to be pretty precise.”

Punter Chris Hanson said Gostkowski’s All-Pro season was a testimony to the entire field goal unit.

“I’m not taking anything away from him, but it’s a total team effort,” he said.

Notes: The Patriots announced the re-signing of rookie free agent defensive back Jamar Love from Arkansas and the signing of third-year outside linebacker Rob Nincovich, who has played for both the Dolphins and the Saints. … The Patriots waived veteran linebacker Vince Redd, who played in five games last year as a rookie out of Liberty College.