Lady Steel
02-21-2015, 11:55 PM
Despite attention from Tomlin
There is ample evidence that suggests Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin take special teams seriously. While other coaches are hesitant to use their best players on special teams, Tomlin continues to use Pro Bowl receiver Antonio Brown as his punt returner. Colbert invested a third-round draft choice in Dri Archer last spring to help the return game, and he had the foresight to sign his consistent place kicker to an affordable five-year contract extension before the season.
Those are moves that point to the Steelers understanding the importance of special teams. But for all the effort they put forth last offseason, the on-field results disappointed again in 2014. Other than the continued excellence of kicker Shaun Suisham, nothing Colbert or Tomlin did to address the problems on special teams helped very much.
The Steelers have had a revolving door at punter for years and rookie Brad Wing did little to distinguish himself from the previous ones. Wing was the team's fifth punter in the past four seasons and, like the others, he ranked near the bottom of the league's statistics for yards and net yards.
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2015/02/22/Special-teams-special-problems/stories/201502220114
There is ample evidence that suggests Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin take special teams seriously. While other coaches are hesitant to use their best players on special teams, Tomlin continues to use Pro Bowl receiver Antonio Brown as his punt returner. Colbert invested a third-round draft choice in Dri Archer last spring to help the return game, and he had the foresight to sign his consistent place kicker to an affordable five-year contract extension before the season.
Those are moves that point to the Steelers understanding the importance of special teams. But for all the effort they put forth last offseason, the on-field results disappointed again in 2014. Other than the continued excellence of kicker Shaun Suisham, nothing Colbert or Tomlin did to address the problems on special teams helped very much.
The Steelers have had a revolving door at punter for years and rookie Brad Wing did little to distinguish himself from the previous ones. Wing was the team's fifth punter in the past four seasons and, like the others, he ranked near the bottom of the league's statistics for yards and net yards.
http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2015/02/22/Special-teams-special-problems/stories/201502220114