Snap, Hold, Kick: What Happens on Field Goal Attempts and What Might Be Wrong in Kansas City

Breaking down recent issues in the kicking game

I was lucky enough to play college football. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I learned so much from a coaching staff with decades of NFL experience — all of them with ties to the Chiefs. I got a four year degree in quarterbacking along with my marketing degree.

As a quarterback, my on field career, however, more closely resembled Chase Daniel than Patrick Mahomes. I didn’t see a ton of time on the field. I was a career backup.

Like any competitor, I wanted to see the field, and the best chance I had was to earn the job as the holder. So I tried out my sophomore year, and won the job. It got me on the field and traveling with the team earlier than I otherwise would have.

I learned how to hold from someone with NFL holding experience. He taught me the operation. And I have three seasons of on-field experience under my belt doing it.

Never in my life did I think that experience would come in handy for an article, but here we are. There has been a lot of issues with the Chiefs’ hold/kick exchange in the last few weeks. A once reliable Harrison Butker has been struggling — and certainly deserves some of the blame for the struggles.

But there is clearly criticism out there — namely from former Chiefs’ punter Dustin Colquitt — about holder Tommy Townsend’s role in the struggles this year of the kicking game.

I decided to share what I know about the process, and look at what could have gone wrong on a couple recent examples. Here’s a breakdown of the snap, hold, and kick on any field goal attempt.