should we let Jeff Reed go?

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers Hotline

By Harvey “Mr. Steeler” Aronson


As we all remember, Jeff Reed was arrested last October 18 for simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct, and public drunkenness after a night out with Matt Spaeth. His court hearing to face the charges was supposed to be yesterday, but because the police officer that made the arrest was unavailable, Reed has a stay of execution (so to speak) until 12:30 p.m. on March 1. Reed was at home in North Carolina and made the appearance in the ‘Burgh only to be told to go home and come back March 1. With that said, Steelers Hotline reader Bruce Reynolds answered back to my column yesterday by email with the following:

“I think the answer your question in the Hotline is yes, Reed should go. I think this for three reasons.

1. The poor starting field positions he is giving opposing teams is likely resulting in far more points than he provides by making a clutch kick at Heinz Field that no one else might make. That results in a net loss of points to us.

2. Reed kicks better than any other kicker who comes to Heinz Field because it's his home field. He kicks there year round, and just as I would be able to get around my house blindfolded better than someone who visits once a year for an hour, I would bet any kicker who spent as much time kicking at Heinz Field as Reed does would get just as proficient.

3. I don't think that Reed's off-field antics are staying off field. Reed is an alcoholic, and I believe his uncharacteristic field goal misses at the start of the season, while on the road, were likely due to his partying the night before. It appears this problem was handled in-house since it cleared up quickly, but this is a problem that only gets worse... never better.

Reed should be let go.


a more objective evaluation comes from Ken Laird:

Ken Laird, ESPNRadio1250.com, Steelers Blog


SPECIALISTS LOCKS: Daniel Sepulveda

QUESTION MARKS: Jeff Reed, Piotr Czech, Greg Warren, Jared Retkofsky

Reed would seem to be an obvious franchise tag guy in the looming uncapped year where teams get an additional tag. The kicker value is not outrageous for the average of the top five at the position, and Reed has an argument to make that he is among the league's best anyway. Kickoff length has not been one of Reed's strong points, though, and the team could well decide to draft a placekicker in the late rounds of the draft (6-7). Czech is also an interesting option, and he spent last training camp with the team to give him some familiarity with the organization. He appears to have a strong leg, although he didn't kick as well during game action at Heinz Field during preseason.

DEGREE OF NEED: 4 out of 10.

[BURGH86STEEL]

If they don't resign Reed some fans will scream bloody murder the first time another kicker misses a game winning FG.

[Shawn]

I have very mixed feelings about bringing in a replacement. Until we have a viable option who we feel can kick the ball deep and hit those clutch FGs I say we keep him.

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers | Reed's court hearing postponed

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:21:43

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Pittsburgh Steelers PK Jeff Reed's court hearing for several citations has been postponed until Monday, March 1, because the officer that wrote the citations was not available to attend the hearing at the original date. Reed was cited for simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness during an incident Oct. 18.

[williar]

No! We shouldn't let Jeff Reed go. He's a great (clutch) kicker. Keep Reed, let Sepulveda go. He ain't nothing special.

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers | Reed's court hearing postponed

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:21:43

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports Pittsburgh Steelers PK Jeff Reed's court hearing for several citations has been postponed until Monday, March 1, because the officer that wrote the citations was not available to attend the hearing at the original date. Reed was cited for simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness during an incident Oct. 18.

I don't believe Jeff Reed is a party animal...

[RuthlessBurgher]

No! We shouldn't let Jeff Reed go. He's a great (clutch) kicker. Keep Reed, let Sepulveda go. He ain't nothing special.

I agree that Reed should be kept, but what don't you like about Sepulveda? He's young, got a good leg, can tackle people if they get past his coverage unit, and has mastered downing the ball inside the 20 with the "Aussie Roll" (for his career, he has downed 57 punts inside the 20 compared to only 6 touchbacks...that's nearly a 10-to-1 ratio...mighty impressive!).

I expect him to improve with experience...not to mention that both of his pro seasons so far followed an torn ACL surgery (he tore it once in college, and then again in 200. They always say that players tend to be significantly better the second year after an ACL reconstruction, but we have yet to see him get to that point yet in the pros (2007 and 2009 were both only one year removed from surgery). He's been good, and he will get even better.

[hawaiiansteel]

with all the needs we have already, i doubt we want to add a punter to that list.

we will most likely tender Sepulveda, i just don't think he's good enough to warrant a high tender.

[jj28west]

No! We shouldn't let Jeff Reed go. He's a great (clutch) kicker. Keep Reed, let Sepulveda go. He ain't nothing special.

Is this sarcasm? You must be referring to the Steelers punter '08 edition as "nothing special". I thought Sep had decent hang time and turned into a defender immediately after the punt saving a couple returns for TD's.

I know I am not the first to bring this up but with a strong leg like that maybe we could get him to do kickoffs like the Colts and Saints punters.

[hawaiiansteel]

No! We shouldn't let Jeff Reed go. He's a great (clutch) kicker. Keep Reed, let Sepulveda go. He ain't nothing special.

Is this sarcasm? You must be referring to the Steelers punter '08 edition as "nothing special". I thought Sep had decent hang time and turned into a defender immediately after the punt saving a couple returns for TD's.

I know I am not the first to bring this up but with a strong leg like that maybe we could get him to do kickoffs like the Colts and Saints punters.

Sepulveda was recently asked in an interview if he could kick off and he replied that he could not do kickoffs as well as Jeff Reed.

so i guess the answer is "no"...