There was some feeling that the Steelers released placekicker Jeff Reed as a scapegoat following last Sunday’s 39-26 loss to the New England Patriots.
That couldn’t be farther from the truth.
It was obvious that Reed, the Steelers’ placekicker since 2002, had lost his confidence.
When players start blaming the playing surface, media and fans for failure, it means they really don’t have any answers.
And with that, the Steelers knew they had to move on.
Reed, who was scheduled to become a free agent at the conclusion of the season, wasn’t going to be in 2011. So why not try out a new kicker?
What’s the worst he could do, miss some kicks?
With Reed making an NFL-low 68.2 percent of his field goal attempts this season, there was no fear of that, either.
Of course, every kick Shaun Suisham misses the remainder of this season will be highly scrutinized. People will wonder if Reed would have made the kick.
But that’s part of the job description for NFL kickers.
© Chris Kemoeatu and Lawrence Timmons were back at practice Thursday, meaning both should be good to go on Sunday.
Brett Keisel was still limited.
Troy Polamalu sat out again, but plans on playing.
19 comments:
I have argued this with people who say when he misses a kick against Oakland that fans will be screaming for Reed back. What exactly has Reed done at home this year to give any confidence he would make the kick?
He's 4 for 9. Against Atlanta he was 3/5, against Baltimore 0/2 and 1/2 against NE.
For the year he's 8/9 under 30, 5/5 30-39, 0/4 40-49 and 2/4 over 50.
The NFL is about what have you done for me lately? You can't go back to previous years when he was clutch, those kind of numbers this year do not scream confidence in him kicking field goals.
So even if the new guy misses some field goals there is no evidence with the way Reed was kicking this year that he would make them.
Exactly. But that will be the argument that will be made.
Dale - you should provide links to your O-R articles here...
@Henigin
I second that.
Not being from the area, I check this blog much more often than the observer reporter site.
If the theory is that only results now matter, and not how good the player has done in past years, then why is Randle El still on the team?
Did the Steelers have an open tryout? This was a chance to find a new "Reed" like they did a decade ago, instead of settling for someone with a poor track record.
Dale,
Any chance William Gay moves down a spot? Someone mentioned Madison taking his place. I don't think that's the right move either. Lewis or Butler need to get a look.
If anyone should be the scapegoat it should be #22. They have to give Lewis another look!! I know he failed in his first opportunity but #22 fails weekly!
give Lewis a chance!
give Lewis a chance!
if anyone cares, Jarron Gilbert was just released. Hes more known for jumping out of pools then anything on the field, but he seemed to be a fan favorite before the draft. Might be worth a look.
anyone read the transcript of arians' interview?
he should have been fired last year, he will definitely be gone this year. unless, of course, they win the super bowl again.
I saw the Why Does Our Offense Suck? article in the P-G. Where is there a transcript? I'd like to read it so I can finish grinding my teeth completely to the bone.
I cannot stand Arians. I can't even talk about it anymore at this point. He and Ben seem to be joined at the hip. I would love to see something out of the offense on Sunday. The only thing I see changing is maybe Ben can pull off some minor miracles now and then to get them moving, because I doubt it's going to happen strategy-wise.
Patrick, I love jarron gilbert and was hoping the steelers got him. Even after he was released by the bears. But he being released so many times already, I think this is the 2nd time the jets release him meaning they don't mind if they lose him, it tells me he's just not that good. Something must be up with him
ALTHOUGH, JOhn mitchell is an amazing dline coach. He's even made steve mclendon servicable, and in the preseason harris and worthington actually didn't look bad
roster is tied up with aaron smith injured though. And on the practice squad the jets would probably just pick him up after cotchery is healthy again
Agree eith everything above, except that if the Jets take him off our PS they would have to put him on their active roster I beleive?
I think Harris is on the PS, maybe Gilbert has more of an upside? I think he could play NT in a pinch as well. Theres also plenty of expendable guys on the PS. But you're right, if hes released that much, maybe he just can't hack it.
yeah, they would have to put him on their roster, but they already had him on their roster before releasing him. Only reason he was released is because cotchery is out and they had to sign one of their PS receivers, who will go back to the PS when cotchery is back
My only issue with cutting Reed...
What is more likely? That Reed (one of the best in the league the last 3 years) will recover from his slump or that Suisham will suddenly become a good kicker having been below average for his career?
I think Reed recovering from his slump is more likely and thus the eventuality they should have bet on.
If anyone should be released its Bruce Arians.
Suisham was the only kicker the Steelers worked out.
Madison, I don't believe, would be an upgrade. Lewis failed so badly when given a chance in the preseason, he got himself buried on the bench. Butler was active last week and immediately got hurt.
As for Jarron Gilbert, just because the guy can jump out of a pool doesn't mean he can play. Being released so many times would suggest that is the case.
Suisham's career percentage is 79 percent. Reed is 81. Not much of a difference there.
how many drunken embarassing incidents has Suisham been involved in?
How do you know Reed would get out of his slump? Many kickers lose confidence and they never get it back, because they start messing with their mechanics which just makes the problem worse and they lose even more confidence.
I keep reading and hearing how bad Suishman is, so I looked up his kicking stats last year. They are not as bad as people are making it sound. He was 20/24 (83.3%) compared to Reed who was 27/31 (87.1%)He was 9/10 on 20-29(missing the one kick everyone is up in arms about against NO) Reed was 7/7. 5/7 on 30-39, Reed 15/16. 6/6 40-49, Reed 4/5. 0/1 50+, Reed 0/2.
He had two OT winning kicks a 39 yd and 46 yd. He had of course the missed kick against NO with 1:56 left in the 4th qt. Reed had one winning 33 yd kick in OT last year. Of course Reed also had the Chicago game where he missed 2 FGs in the 4th qt. a 38 and 43.
Of course you can also say Reed has never missed in the playoffs and that Suisham did when he was playing for Dallas.
He could turn out to be the worst kicker in Steelers history, but the way Reed was kicking could have given him that title this year as well. I know it doesn't make much sense to some people, but how about actually letting him miss a kick before wanting him ran out of town.
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