As expected, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Tuesday that placekicker Jeff Reed will play Sunday when Pittsburgh hosts Minnesota.
It's actually not that difficult of a decision for Tomlin to make.
The NFLPA could file a grievance against the team if Tomlin chose to bench Reed over his arrest Sunday night in Pittsburgh on several charges, including resisting arrest.
And the NFLPA would likely win any such grievance.
It's a bit different than Tomlin's benching of Santonio Holmes last season following his arrest for marijuana possession.
First off, Holmes' situation happened on a Thursday, just a couple of days before the Steelers were set to play the New York Giants.
That gave Tomlin the leeway to bench Holmes because his arrest could be considered a distraction. You'll notice that Tomlin never said he was keeping Holmes inactive because of the arrest.
Also, because the Steelers have multiple wide receivers, Holmes' deactivation didn't affect the overall roster.
A coach can decide to deactivate whomever he wants, after all. We've already seen Tennessee have Jevon Kearse and New England deactivate Adalius Thomas – both of who were healthy - for games this season.
But to deactivate a kicker, the Steelers would have to cut somebody else and sign another kicker. That player who lost his roster spot, even for a week, would have a serious complaint.
So the Steelers will wait, see how this thing plays out, and move on from there. Any suspension would have to be mandated by the NFL and would likely only occur if Reed is convicted.
By the time that happens, Reed's problems could be some other team's. He'll be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season and this latest run-in with the law probably means he's playing his last season with Pittsburgh.
© In other news Tuesday, Tomlin said Rashard Mendenhall will continue to start at running back, giving way every third series to Willie Parker.
42 comments:
Dale,
Hows 43 doing?
Hopefully no set backs from the game.
Zeke
first, why is this such a big deal? a guy got drunk and pissed off an over zealous cop. it happens all the time and the charges usually get dropped or lowered in a plea deal.
second, no one is saying a word about spaeth pissing in public or that he was most likely drunk as well.
third, what's the deal with the hometown cops? tell the guys to get back in the car and give them a warning! do you know how many times when i was in the college the cops let me....
this is just stupid.
I agree with marc for the most part. But I don't live in Pittsburgh and I don't know what goes on in there as it relates to cops.
One thing is for sure - Jeff Reed sounds like a fun time.
All kidding aside, before Reed beat up the towel dispenser, he had a party guy image and it was all fun and games. Now he has two marks on his record.
And lets be honest, he didn't do anything THAT nuts. If he actually tried to fight a cop, well thats stupid and a little crazy(probably drunken stupid, but that should never be an excuse because you put yourself in that situation in the first place).
But hey at least he wasn't driving and I mean that seriously. Like Dale said, he was probably gone before this even occured anyway, but he probably should grow up. This isn't a 3rd or 4th year player, he is 30 years old.
I don't often say this, but I agree with Patrick whole-heartedly. In Reed's drunken mind, he thought he was,to quote Elliott Smith, "sticking up for a friend, when there's nothing much to defend".
He is established veteran, but Matt Spaeth should be careful. He is not an established veteran, and David Johnson is a better blocker. I would not be surprised if Johnson sees more playing time against the Vikings
Dale, so what is this "scandalous intramural behavior" by Jeff Reed that Mark Madden keeps talking about? If Madden knows about it, then you must know about it too.
I do but I'm not going to repeat it.
And Polamalu is fine.
Hey Dale,
great blog. What's the deal on the Big Legursky? his injury looked pretty nasty.
As far as I know, Legursky is OK.
That rationale by Tomlin about what part of the week the misdeed occurred in was ridiculous. It's amazing he could say it with a straight face. If they think sitting down the kicker is going to cause them too many problems, they should just say so. And I would certainly believe the police officers on the scene over somebody with a history of being a jackass, even if he's a beloved "Stiller." Of course, in some people's tiny minds, wearing the black and gold means you can do no wrong. Ride around with dope in your car? No problem. Assault a defenseless woman? Sure.
Two sides to a story. Wearing a uniform,any uniform, doesn't mean you are right.
Not having been there, I'll take the side of law enforcement every time over a person with a pattern of being a drunken hothead.
marc and patrick - u guys are idiots
the Cops were just doing their jobs. Reed apparently curled his fists at the cop like he was gonna fight them and most likely was mouthing off. Reed is a scumbag and this will be his last year
If Reed's gone do the Steelers look for a veteran or do they use a late draft pick to get a new kicker? Maybe a little of both? Draft a guy and bring in a vet for a no holds barred boot-match during camp. I'm hoping they get someone who is stronger on kickoffs.
I have seen and heard too many stories about crooked cops and cops on power trips to always beleive the cops die of the story in an incident. Go to youtube and watch some videos of cops tasering grannys and pushing little kids around cause they are skateboarding and tell me the cop is always to be beleived. Thats why we have a legal system, trials and innocent until proven guilty...because the authority isn't always right.
I meant the cops SIDE of the story in the comment above...typo...sorry
no need to get hostile there.
i was half joking with the cop comment. but, really, i've seen cops tell people to stop pissing and go home. i've seen cops help a noticeably drunk person get to their car so they could get a ride home. i've seen cops tell guys, walk away now or i'm gonna arrest you.
and, please remember, we're innocent until proven guilty in this country.
You guys make me laugh. If these evil cops are at fault here then why did Spaeth (the reason the cops approached them) only get a simple ticket?
Because he didn't mouth off or screw with the cops like drunky Reed did
well this "event" probably just cost him a few hundred thousand on his next contract - wherever that is....Spaeth isn't the only one who pissed it away.
Farmer Fran.
I think we are playing a very hot Viking team this week. So what's your thoughts on the GAME!
Zeke
defensively - we'll need to commit more to the run without smith leaving some open space for their WR's. Our LB's must keep swing passes to RB's in check. Force Favre to take shots downfield.
offensively - this is all on the o-line. at this time, ben is playing at such a high level he just needs time to operate. wallace will be a key matchup for us. passes to mendy out of the backfield could be deadly.
this is a "barometer" game. win or lose, if it's close then things are looking good.
i think its going to be a great game. i do feel you will hear a few boo's in the crowd n Reed misses a field goal!
If Jeff Reed misses a first field goal, the boos will rain down. What happens if he misses a second field goal? This is worrisome.
I don't know whether Reed did anything or not. Neither does anybody else on this board. We can make assumptions based on past history, but that's all they are, assumptions.
Some assumed the accusations against Roethlisberger that were levied this summer were true. Others went the other way. Should he have also been cut, Brant. It was a far worse accusation.
I know, it was a civil suit and not criminal charges, but if it was found that he did rape somebody, it would be a far greater transgression.
As for Tomlin's explanation, if you know the guy, it's perfectly acceptable. He's very narrow-minded when it comes to the game - like many of the new coaches in the league. Friday, they are concerned solely with the game at hand. For him to spend an hour of his day talking to Santonio Holmes about his situation would have been considered a distraction.
A hour on Monday morning is not.
point taken, dale. i guess its easy for me to say but you would think an incident happening 48 hours before a game gives you less time to make a knee jerk reaction than something that happens with a week to spare before game time. I think it comes down to releasing an active player to sign a fill in kicker for a week. if reed played any other position with long snapper and punter being the exception, i think he would also be deactivated this week.
I think that definitely is a factor. Why take away somebody's paycheck because another guy may have messed up. But again, they've had more time to digest the information from this incident.
The Steelers have a very good police source on staff and they pretty much know all the details about anything that happens within minutes of it happening.
The fact of the matter is that we can shuffle around our wr's if we need to but we only have one kicker. Jeff Reed made an ass of himself but he didn't hurt anyone so lets not blow his drunken idiocy out of proportion. The guy apparently has a problem and will be leaving after this year.
However, lets not sabotage the hard work of our whole team/staff just to teach him a lesson TODAY when he will be seriously punished by the courts and loss of money in FA in a FEW MONTHS. Reed will get his punishment even if the team doesn't level it on him right now.
i just read how the browns are dealing with the flue. 12 players were out of practice. shaun rogers was sick during the steelers game and was driven back to cleveland in a separate vehicle.
should we expect some of our o-linemen to go down this week?
dale, anyone with flu problems at practice?
I haven't gone out to practice yet, but am getting ready to do so now. I was thinking the same thing, however.
All of the offensive linemen were in the locker room before practice. Many of the defensive players were not.
Dale, I don't think you'll find me ever saying that Roethlisberger should have been cut or punished in any way. It WAS a civil action, and most people almost immediately saw it for what it was, a money grab. I feel fairly confident, based on Reed's track record and other factors, that the police report on this incident is pretty damn accurate, but if the Steelers want to make up goofy excuses for why they're not taking any action, that's their prerogative. I suppose you thought it was fine and dandy that James Harrison went unpunished, too. There was never a denial of any sort about the central allegations in that case, but hey, when you're an All-Pro linebacker, you're an All-Pro linebacker, and fans and sports writers will continue to suck up to you.
Oh, I forgot. The Steelers did get tough with fourth-string receiver Cedric Wilson, who did basically the same thing as Harrison. But I can't remember on which day of the week Cedric opened up his can of whoop-ass on a woman.
Except Brant, there were people who saw Cedric Wilson hit his girlfriend. And that was the second time he had been accused of hitting his girlfriend. Harrison's abuse wasn't witnessed so it was a he-said, she-said kind of deal. It was also his first and only case of abuse.
We went from a drunk guy acting silly around cops too a guy that hit a women. Wow now that's compairing apples to apples. I like Reed, though I don't know him personally, he seems like a fun guy. I just wish he would stay out of the news for a while. I would like to see him in a Steeler uni in the future. This is the only problem I have. We're going to miss him when he's gone. IMO
Now back to football.
To unlease the beast?
Zeke
As Zeke said, the Harrison incident really isn't much different than Roethlisberger's. A he-said, she-said thing. The only two people who really know what happened are Harrison and his girlfriend.
What Reed is accused of - in my opinion - hardly rises to the level of that.
Was it stupid? Yes. So was tearing down a towel dispenser in a bathroom. But at the end of the day, it's just that, an embarrassing episode.
I don't condone fighting with cops, but then again, he wasn't fighting with them. They say he raised his fists to them, which sounds a little out of character to me. Reed's a lover, not a fighter.
you raise anything against most city cops and before you've finished thinking about whatever you planned to do, you're most likely on the ground
Thats the way it goes and I don't see why it would be different for a drunken Jeff Reed.
Did anyone hear about the game we have coming up against that 6-0 team?
I think this is the week we see if the Steelers can turn it on when its needed. A statement game for the 2009 season in my opinion and I think mistake free football for the Steelers takes it.
Well, in Harrison's case 'he-said' is what 'she-said'. According to police he corroberated her account.
I hope when we get thru discussing the domestic issues of the day we can share a few recipes.
Not sure what you mean by "statement game" Patrick. It's not a game that will determine if we get to the playoffs or not.
But it definitely will tell us if we can play with the big boys - Saints, Giants, Indy, Pats, OMG Denver?? - when playoff time rolls around.
We've had a few weak teams in a row so no excuse that we are coming off hard games, playing at home, opponent has a glaring weakness (same as ours - weak against the pass and banged up in the secondary). No reason not to win this game. Pitt by a TD.
Farmer Fran.
30% of favre's completions are to RB's. that is 3rd highest in the league. the league average is 21%.
interestingly, 36% of the great joe flacco's completions are to RB's, highest in the league.
ben is at 17%, tied for 25th in the league.
Reed said his parents were with him at the time. Gotta figure that was a fun time. "Hey Mom, hang loose while I curse at the cops, and go grab Spaeth before he pees on anybody's shoes!" I can't imagine what Thanksgiving is like at the Reed household. Does Reed get angry when the turkey is gone and tear down the china cabinet? Bottom line is I can't see him getting re-signed.
Fran, we're pretty much thinking the same thing but expressing it in different words.
"But it definitely will tell us if we can play with the big boys - Saints, Giants, Indy, Pats, OMG Denver?? - when playoff time rolls around."
Thats exactly the statement I think the Steelers need to make.
Maybe not to the rest of the league, but to themselves. Because honestly, they haven't beat anybody great yet.
Anyone else hear about who has and hasn't been practicing this week? Been having trouble finding any info!
Dale?
I would have a lot of completions to RB's if Adrian Peterson was one of them too.
meh, peterson barely catches passes as it is. He's never been much of a pass catcher.
Now chester taylor you gotta watch out for. especially on 3rd downs....
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