Pit released Jeff Reed

[NE39]

I'm a little surprised, as Reed has been a very good kicker before struggling some this year. It may have to do with the bad blood with the team after they franchise-tagged him this year.

Pittsburgh is a notoriously difficult stadium to kick in, being outside near water and with a loose grass field, so Reed's number are pretty impressive over his career when viewed through that prism. He has really struggled there this year, going 4-for-9, but he is 9-for-11 on the road with his misses coming from 46 and 51.

Do you think he is an upgrade to the recently-signed Shayne Graham? I think his leg is a little better than Grahams.

 

[Modest]

Sign'em!!!

 

[jmt57]

I would take Jeff Reed of past years, but not the 2010 version. He has missed seven field goals this year (15 of 22). For whatever reason a lot of NFL kickers seem to go from pretty good to mediocre very quickly.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Sign em if he can kick-off better than the clown we have now. Not a good thing to give the opposing team the ball at the 30-yard line EVERYTIME!!!!

 

[Calciumee]

I just read this on the ticker on Madden 11!

Technology eh

 

[Patspsycho]

I don't think Ms. Kraft will take too kindly to his alleged abuse of paper towel dispensers.

 

[Marqui]

Sign him please. Shayne is terrible at kickoffs.

 

[fxkane]

I"m sure we'll have our eye on Reed. But as to the kickoffs and field postion, a I recall, Adam V. used to start them off at around the 30 also. Of course, he made up for that with his field goal prowess.

 

[Froob]

please no, I think grahram is still better than him. And that will leave the steelers with like shaun suisam and whoever they can steal from the UFL. Reed sucks but there really isn't a better option out there don't understand this move.

 

[Gwedd]

Sign him please. Shayne is terrible at kickoffs.

How so? Every one of his kicks landed between the goal and 6-yard line. That's pretty consistent, and the Steeler's start positions had much more to do with tackling issues than with where the ball was placed and/or hang time.

Graham is a veteran kicker and will be fine. Don't forget, too, that's he's trying to get comfortable not only with a new team, but also a rookie punter who is acting as his holder, and a new long-snapper. For being together less than a week, I'd say he did a damned fine jib.

 

[lostjumper]

My Grandfather-in-law is a steelers fan. He said he wasn't surprised to see Reed cut at all. Said he looked huge and soft this year, seemed to come into camp with a lot of weight and was in poor shape. Seems like it affected his kicking. I don't want anything to do with him.

 

[Disco Volante]

I'm a little worried the Jets will release Folk and get Reed.

Not sure what Reed has left, but Folk has proven himself to be the same ol' choker.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I'd sooner sign an Oboe Reed.

 

[Zeus]

Just what we don't need - another Mike van der Jerk. An idiot kicker with a solid two-digit IQ and a hollow leg (nothing to do with kicking prowess but rather a somewhat dated allusion to prodigous alcohol consumption).

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I would give Reed some thought. He's 11-13 away from Heinz field this year and I think he's been perfect on playoff kicks. Graham's misses against the Jets last year are a concern IMO.

We most likely won't have to play at Heinz again this year

 

[Dagg]

Graham worries me but Reed looked like he was liquored up or bloated due to heavy booze consumption.

 

[Nikolai]

No way I would want Reed. Graham is meh, but at least he doesn't come with Reed's baggage.

 

[Real World]

Heinz Field is one of the worst, if not the worst stadium to kick in. I'd sign him asap. Shayne Graham is horrible. He's one of the worst over his career, at opponent avg field position for kickoffs.

 

[NE39]

Good point about Reeds off-field questions. However, he would ony be filling in for the remainder of this year.

One thing about Reed is he has a lot of playoff experience. Graham has only been in two playoff games and is 1-3 on FG attemptes, with the one make coming from 21 yards.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

How so? Every one of his kicks landed between the goal and 6-yard line. That's pretty consistent, and the Steeler's start positions had much more to do with tackling issues than with where the ball was placed and/or hang time.

Based on last night, mid-60s seemed to be his range on kickoffs, pretty consistently -- except for the one he kicked from the 50 which he couldn't get to the back of the end zone and the opening kick off which he got 70 yards, to the goal line. (His kicks were 70, 68, 65, 63, 63, 64, 62, 55.) That's not enough. You need a guy who can give you a touchback at least occasionally. When every kickoff is returnable, barring wind or a penalty, you're just asking for trouble over the long haul. To have a guy who cannot even reach the end zone on kickoffs is not a long-term plan.

To me, though, it looked like his kickoffs were very very flat and extremely returnable. I don't remember each one, but the Steelers routinely were getting 25 to 30 yards on the kickoffs, and came close to breaking a couple much deeper but for some good tackling.