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NJarhead
10-29-2013, 03:41 PM
The Steelers waived punter Zoltan Mesko on Tuesday, after he had been inconsistent since being signed before the start of the regular season.


The team added punter Mat McBriar, a 10-year veteran who played eight seasons for the Dallas Cowboys. McBriar was born in Melbourne, Australia, and began as an Australian rules football player. He played at the University of Hawaii and signed with the Denver Broncos as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2003. He was traded to the Seattle Seahawks in the 2003 preseason for a conditional draft pick, but Seattle waived him prior to the start of the season.

http://www.steelers.com/news/article-1/Mesko-released-McBriar-signed/be8ed728-05a8-4bc5-b553-e416b277103d


I hope they can bring Butler back in for competition next off season. I like the idea of having a young guy who can contribute.

Count Steeler
10-29-2013, 03:56 PM
Sounds like another winner.

NJarhead
10-29-2013, 04:02 PM
Anything was going to be an improvement. Not like the FA market is loaded with pro bowlers

Dwinsgames
10-29-2013, 05:25 PM
whatever it takes to spend all that money recovered by restructuring Ike .... this guy probably wont be any better than what we had ,,, Mesko has had a tough go of it but he is a proven guy on a run of bad luck but whatever

tube517
10-29-2013, 05:35 PM
Might as well have called Paul Ernster

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk

Psycho Ward 86
10-29-2013, 06:01 PM
whatever it takes to spend all that money recovered by restructuring Ike .... this guy probably wont be any better than what we had ,,, Mesko has had a tough go of it but he is a proven guy on a run of bad luck but whatever

no one has a run of bad luck on 34 punts. mcbriar is a 2 time all-pro, thats more proven than anything mesko has done. i wonder what happened to brian moorman and drew butler

SteelerFanInStl
10-29-2013, 06:08 PM
I hope they can bring Butler back in for competition next off season. I like the idea of having a young guy who can contribute.

They got rid of him for a reason. He just wasn't very good. Our run of "average at best" punters continues.

zulater
10-29-2013, 06:17 PM
Cutting Mesko comes off as stupid to me. For one thing Butler never should have been cut. He averaged 50 yards per in preseason, he earned the job and should have kept it.

Next this is stupid because Mesko's last two punts as a Steeler were his best.(56, and 65 yards) This smacks of cheap bullying to prove a point on Tomlin's part. Beating up the scrawny kid never proves jack shit to the rest of the playground. Never mind Mesko's full season salary is already guaranteed. So now you stress the salary cap more by bringing in a new punter. Also Mesko was Suisham's holder. With Suisham coming off his worst week as a Steeler did you really need to throw a new holder at him? Lastly we play in Foxboro next week. Mesko's old stomping grounds. Not only did he figure to get up for that game. Also he knows the November wind currents of that stadium better than anyone. Not only would that have been helpful to him it might have also helped Suisham.

So I think was a stupid move made by a coach who can only bully weaklings.

SteelerFanInStl
10-29-2013, 06:30 PM
I agree, it's a move that really didn't need to be made. There's no point in cutting him in the middle of the season other than to say "hey look, we're doing something!". You can't blame the failings of the offense on the punter.

Heinz Hitman
10-29-2013, 07:02 PM
I heard that his next move is to replace the water boy. That should really send a message to the rest of the team.

I agree that Mesko getting cut seems very petty. Waste of a move. But if they did something right this year it would go against the trend, so I guess I get it?

Shoes
10-29-2013, 07:04 PM
Cutting Mesko comes off as stupid to me. For one thing Butler never should have been cut. He averaged 50 yards per in preseason, he earned the job and should have kept it.

Next this is stupid because Mesko's last two punts as a Steeler were his best.(56, and 65 yards) This smacks of cheap bullying to prove a point on Tomlin's part. Beating up the scrawny kid never proves jack shit to the rest of the playground. Never mind Mesko's full season salary is already guaranteed. So now you stress the salary cap more by bringing in a new punter. Also Mesko was Suisham's holder. With Suisham coming off his worst week as a Steeler did you really need to throw a new holder at him? Lastly we play in Foxboro next week. Mesko's old stomping grounds. Not only did he figure to get up for that game. Also he knows the November wind currents of that stadium better than anyone. Not only would that have been helpful to him it might have also helped Suisham.

So I think was a stupid move made by a coach who can only bully weaklings.

I agree with this. How about trying to fixing the offense so you don't need a punter on nearly every series. Another grasping for straws move by Tomlin.

Shoes
10-29-2013, 08:39 PM
Mesko kick was blocked because Paulson can't block. He can't catch either..

At about 32 second mark....make the screen full.


http://www.nflrush.com/video/steelers

salamander
10-29-2013, 08:59 PM
The team sucks....so let's cut the punter!

Shoes
10-29-2013, 09:06 PM
The team sucks....so let's cut the punter!

I'm convinced Tomlin is in over his head. This guy may be a position coach, but he's surely not head coach qualified imo.

Dwinsgames
10-29-2013, 09:34 PM
no one has a run of bad luck on 34 punts. mcbriar is a 2 time all-pro, thats more proven than anything mesko has done. i wonder what happened to brian moorman and drew butler

just in case you have not been paying attention ( and are here to do nothing but pick at my posts ) he hasn't had 34 bad punts and your Mcbriar averages just a little over 2 yards per punt more than Mesko is this year .... 2 yards per punt is not going to change the outcomes of these games but it is going to eat what little cap space we have left up

Seven
10-29-2013, 09:35 PM
This is concerning to me. We've gone through four punters in three months. Moorman and Butler were both solid players. Mesko was having a bad year but he's a proven guy who will turn it around. Now we're trying Matt McBriar? What's with all the retreads? Drew Butler is a competitor. I don't like the indecision at the position.

Mistah Q
10-29-2013, 09:47 PM
Tomlin's grasping at straws... and scapegoats

Psycho Ward 86
10-29-2013, 10:00 PM
just in case you have not been paying attention ( and are here to do nothing but pick at my posts ) he hasn't had 34 bad punts and your Mcbriar averages just a little over 2 yards per punt more than Mesko is this year .... 2 yards per punt is not going to change the outcomes of these games but it is going to eat what little cap space we have left up

im paying attention. are you paying attention to the contradictions in what you are saying? you palpably prefer mesko to mcbriar because "he is a proven guy," but you dont care for mcbriar who is a x2 all-pro punter, and not long removed from it. 2 yards per punt is a lot as an average for guys who punt it 50-80 times a season for a living. im amused you used yards per punt as a measure of a punter's success when thats about as accurate as measuring a DB by the number of tackles he can get. Do you think mesko is better than ray guy because he has a superior career punting average?

back on topic, this move kind, even though its just special teams, just kind of seems to scream at people that the front office has no idea what the hell it's doing right now. "Hey, lets try to salvage a lost season by pushing more money into future seasons where we start fresh." "Hey lets let the punter who did worse in the preseason win the job. Then lets cut him for a guy off the street then cut the new guy and sign a guy who wasnt one of the 2 guys that were originally competing for the job smh. And zu's point about us throwing a brand new holder at suisham right after he had a shitty week is the cherry on top

NJarhead
10-30-2013, 06:04 AM
They got rid of him for a reason. He just wasn't very good. Our run of "average at best" punters continues.

By all accounts, he improved from last season. I don't believe Mesko "beat him out" based on what we've seen. Mesko beat him out based on history and expectation.

zulater
10-30-2013, 06:05 AM
By all accounts, he improved from last season. I don't believe Mesko "beat him out" based on what we've seen. Mesko beat him out based on history and expectation.

That's my take too.

SteelerFanInStl
10-30-2013, 08:06 AM
By all accounts, he improved from last season. I don't believe Mesko "beat him out" based on what we've seen. Mesko beat him out based on history and expectation.

I agree but Butler still isn't a very good punter. I don't see any reason to bring him back in unless if we want to continue to settle for mediocrity.

NJarhead
10-30-2013, 08:10 AM
I agree but Butler still isn't a very good punter. I don't see any reason to bring him back in unless if we want to continue to settle for mediocrity.

Suisham wasn't known for much than sucking either, but he got his shit together had, aside from last Sunday, has been one of the best in the league. Butler has a leg and I'm sure he wants to play in the NFL. With that in mind, why wouldn't he be working his ass off to make that dream come true? He made it to the end in the competition this year, I see no reason why we wouldn't throw him in the mix again. If he sucks, then cut him again, but what if he doesn't?

Dwinsgames
10-30-2013, 09:50 AM
Suisham wasn't known for much than sucking either, but he got his shit together had, aside from last Sunday, has been one of the best in the league. Butler has a leg and I'm sure he wants to play in the NFL. With that in mind, why wouldn't he be working his ass off to make that dream come true? He made it to the end in the competition this year, I see no reason why we wouldn't throw him in the mix again. If he sucks, then cut him again, but what if he doesn't?

we cut Rob Bironas how many times in favor of quadzlla ... its clear who the better kicker is / was

NJarhead
10-30-2013, 09:56 AM
we cut Rob Bironas how many times in favor of quadzlla ... its clear who the better kicker is / was

I'm not seeing your point. Jeff Reed was an great kicker, until he wasn't. Butler was awful last year (though not worse than Mesko this year). By all accounts, in camp, he was right there in the competition. In fact, he never really got to compete with Mesko. I'll bet the coaching staff regrets that.

steelreserve
10-30-2013, 10:10 AM
Waste of money, waste of time. What are we using up, a half-million dollars on this idiot move? Ka-ching! That's the sound of more dead money being racked up for next year.

NJarhead
10-30-2013, 10:15 AM
Waste of money, waste of time. What are we using up, a half-million dollars on this idiot move? Ka-ching! That's the sound of more dead money being racked up for next year.

Mat McBriar will count $550,000 against salary cap this season. Zoltan Mesko's $650,000 cap hit wiped out. Not vested vet.

Psycho Ward 86
10-30-2013, 05:23 PM
Mat McBriar will count $550,000 against salary cap this season. Zoltan Mesko's $650,000 cap hit wiped out. Not vested vet.

how is mesko's cap hit wiped out?

NJarhead
10-31-2013, 07:05 AM
how is mesko's cap hit wiped out?


Mat McBriar will count $550,000 against salary cap this season. Zoltan Mesko's $650,000 cap hit wiped out. Not vested vet.



Waived: A non-vested player (less than four years of service) who is terminated goes through waivers. When he is released another team can claim him within a certain period of time. A vested veteran only goes through the waiver system from the trading deadline in midseason through the end of the season. During the offseason and all the way up to the trading deadline, a vested veteran gets released.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8085ee3e/article/even-in-the-offseason-nfl-education-never-ends


Gerry Dulac: Drew Butler did not sign with another team and is still out there, and why the Steelers haven't made that move, after what they've seen from Zoltan Mesko, is beyond me.

Mesko is the lowest ranked punter in the AFC and second lowest in the NFL. There is no thump in his leg and he has failed repeatedly to deliver any kind of solid punt with a long field. Even Mike Tomlin referred to some of his punts as "junior varsity punts." If he's doing that now, what's he going to do when the weather get colder and the ball gets harder in November and December?

So why do the Steelers keep him? Especially with Drew Butler still sitting out there? I don't know.

Butler had a great camp. He put on 20 pounds, showed a lot of thump in his leg and beat out veteran Brian Moorman, who was brought in to battle him. And Moorman was a three-time Pro Bowler who was named to the NFL's all-decade team.

Here's another thing: Mesko counts $630,000 against the salary cap this season. If the Steelers cut him, he wouldn't count against the cap because he's not a vested veteran. Butler would count a whole lot less, not to mention be a better punter.
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2013/10/23/Gerry-Dulac-s-Steelers-chat-transcript-10-23-13.print

Are you wanting to argue with me now?

Psycho Ward 86
10-31-2013, 05:06 PM
Are you wanting to argue with me now?

uh, no because that was a serious question. thanks for clearing that up though!

steelreserve
10-31-2013, 07:17 PM
Just a point of clarification ... I wouldn't think Mesko's entire cap hit is wiped out, it'd be anything remaining for the rest of the year that's wiped out. I don't see any scenario in which we wouldn't have to count what we already paid him for the first 8 weeks. So wipe out about $300,000 and add $550,000. Overall, it costs us about a quarter-million dollars, is what I'm seeing. Better than a half-million, but seriously, come on.

NJarhead
11-01-2013, 07:15 AM
uh, no because that was a serious question. thanks for clearing that up though!

You're welcome.

- - - Updated - - -


Just a point of clarification ... I wouldn't think Mesko's entire cap hit is wiped out, it'd be anything remaining for the rest of the year that's wiped out. I don't see any scenario in which we wouldn't have to count what we already paid him for the first 8 weeks. So wipe out about $300,000 and add $550,000. Overall, it costs us about a quarter-million dollars, is what I'm seeing. Better than a half-million, but seriously, come on.

It's not that he doesn't get paid. It's just doesn't count against the cap.

steelreserve
11-01-2013, 12:55 PM
It's not that he doesn't get paid. It's just doesn't count against the cap.

Are you sure? I am 99.9% certain that if you release someone halfway through the season, you are still on the hook for what you paid him already. And that the "vested veteran" designation only meant that your full salary is guaranteed if you're on the Week 1 roster. Plus some other things with medical care, retirement, and how waivers/releases are handled that don't really apply here.

NJarhead
11-01-2013, 01:21 PM
Are you sure? I am 99.9% certain that if you release someone halfway through the season, you are still on the hook for what you paid him already. And that the "vested veteran" designation only meant that your full salary is guaranteed if you're on the Week 1 roster. Plus some other things with medical care, retirement, and how waivers/releases are handled that don't really apply here.

He's paid, but it doesn't count towards our spending limit. That's what that whole rule is about. We pay him for the games he played, but none of it counts against what we're allowed to spend. The Steelers went an additional -550k under the cap when he was released.
Not an expert on the subject, but this is what is being reported.

steelreserve
11-01-2013, 01:32 PM
Yeah, it sounds confusing to me, but if that's true, then good for us. I'm still a bit skeptical that the league would let even a dime of salary-cap space slide ... otherwise, it seems like every year you'd hear about a lot of teams releasing guys mid-season to take advantage of this. Like I said, skeptical - but I really don't know for sure, and you could be right too.

Dwinsgames
11-10-2013, 12:28 PM
some upgrade ...ehem someone was saying ???

stillers4me
11-10-2013, 12:30 PM
In fairness, it's pretty windy there today. We still suck.

tube517
11-10-2013, 12:30 PM
http://www.jerseydatabase.com/jerseys/backs/UB/1/UB141.png


http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/mitch%20berger%20image.JPG


Just a phone call away. :chuckle:

fansince'76
11-10-2013, 12:47 PM
some upgrade ...ehem someone was saying ???

That's what you get when you try and replace a punter/kicker in midseason. You don't get better.

Dwinsgames
11-10-2013, 12:49 PM
That's what you get when you try and replace a punter/kicker in midseason. You don't get better.


regression should never be confused with progression , yet somehow it is by many ...

I agree with you though its not the answer at getting better

bayz101
11-10-2013, 02:53 PM
It's very windy in Pittsburgh today. Not going to judge him based on this game.

tube517
11-10-2013, 03:06 PM
Yeah, give McBerger another chance

NCSteeler
11-10-2013, 03:36 PM
Wow, I'm glad we jumped out there and made a season saving roster move. More blow Harding from the head blow hard. Is he gonna cut thepu ter again today and redo someone. Else's contract to push dead money into future years

NCSteeler
11-10-2013, 03:58 PM
Anyone remember our FO s failed attempt at Andy Lee where we low balled and basically just wrote a contract for SF, these many years later he's still booting great punts for them and we are still thing a punter.

Count Steeler
11-10-2013, 04:35 PM
Well, we are 1-1 since making this move.

Butch
11-10-2013, 06:54 PM
Tube517 you beat me to it. BRING BACK MITCH!!!

- - - Updated - - -

I did not game but how did their punter do in that wind today?

Count Steeler
11-10-2013, 07:31 PM
Moorman 9 punts (wow) 24.2 yd avg. McBriar 5 punts (wow) 36.0 yd avg. From NFL.com, game stats.

Texasteel
11-10-2013, 08:30 PM
We would have been better of if Ben would have just thrown a deep INT on forth down.

Psycho Ward 86
11-11-2013, 01:17 PM
We would have been better of if Ben would have just thrown a deep INT on forth down.

hell, maybe we'll start a new trend in the league

Count Steeler
11-11-2013, 04:14 PM
hell, maybe we'll start a new trend in the league

Why catch the ball?

stillers4me
11-11-2013, 04:18 PM
We would have been better of if Ben would have just thrown a deep INT on forth down.


Unfortunately, I think that can be arranged.