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Jeff Reed can’t kick very far
By Dagger | November 19, 2009
We’ve spent way too much time talking about Special Teams this year, but here we go again. We wrote a few articles over the past 2 seasons about Jeff Reed’s kickoff struggles and some discussion over at Steelerfury.com last Sunday brought this to the front of my mind.
Many fans are predicting that this is Jeff Reed’s last season in Pittsburgh. I don’t like all his antics off the field but he has been clutch time and time again for the Steelers. At times he has been so MONEY that you consider a huge kick in the playoffs almost a gimmie.
If you want him gone though, here is some more fuel to the fire:
1. He ranks last in the NFL in Distance per Kickoff at 60.1 yards. Over half the league’s kickers sit at 67.0 yards or more.
2. Jeff Reed has only 1 Touchback on the season. Last in the NFL. 18 kickers have six or more Touchbacks.
3. Atlanta’s kicker has 19 touchbacks. Patriots’ kicker has 18. Carolina’s kicker has 17. I repeat….Jeff Reed has 1 touchback.
This next stat is a kicker/coverage unit combination.
4. Steeler opponents average starting field position is the 33.4 yard line (4th worst in the NFL). It’s crazy to think that by not kicking the ball directly out of bounds on kickoffs, the Steelers are only saving themselves 6 yards per kickoff. Ouch. The “longer” kickoff guys and coverage units force their opponents to start their drives at the 23.5 yard line. So, a good kickoff guy can force the other team’s offense to go an additional 10 yards per drive in order to get into FG or TD range. That’s a big deal….especially when you figure that your team Covers and Returns a handful of kicks in each game.
Topics: NFL, Sports, Steelers | 16 Comments »
November 20th, 2009 at 4:51 am
oh jeff reed. if he could only be used to kick field goals. i, like the rest of the steeler faithful, pull my hair out everytime he kicks off. i know the defense is stellar, but its hard thinking how much better theyd be if they could pin them to inside the 20. that extra 13-15 yards goes a long way. we seem to rarely win the field position battles, and i think it starts on kickoff.
November 20th, 2009 at 5:06 am
I'm glad someone finally pointed this out. Good article Dagger.
November 20th, 2009 at 9:44 am
I don't get it. They have a guy who exclusively returns kickoffs on the team yet they cant get a guy who kicks the ball 5 yards out of the endzone?
November 20th, 2009 at 2:17 pm
"We’ve spent way too much time talking about Special Teams this year…"
No, I'd say that spending a great deal of time talking about the Steelers' special teams is quite justified: http://www.footballoutsiders.com/extra-points/200...
November 20th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
The man does put points on the board though – and I know it's been asked but can Robo-Punter kick off?
November 20th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I hold my breath every time on a kick off. I have realized that Jeff does not kick the football the farthest in this league. But, he is very good at kicking field goals. That alone does not want me to release him. Here's my solution: A lot of teams nowadays have "kickoff specialists." It is usually someone who has a booming leg and can get those touchbacks.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:24 pm
For years the Ravens managed to find a roster spot for a designated kickoff specialist while keeping Matt Stover for field goals and extra points. I suggest the Steelers do the same if they keep Reed around. Need a roster spot, cut Logan and split punt return duties between Holmes and Moore, and kickoff return duties between Wallace and Mendenhall.
November 20th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
I think the biggest issue is the touchback #. The other kickers average 2 TBs per game. This affects the probability and quality of kick returns. Without TBs, the coverage unit runs more. When you have more returns, there is more chance of a mistake.
November 20th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
maybe instead of getting sloppy drunk all the time if he would work out and live a healthy life style his performance on the field would be better
F U Reed
I dont think we re-sign this bum next year
November 20th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Say the Steelers D can on average hold teams to bout 6 or 8 downs and out per drive when they r on point. then if the other team punts, its almost guaranteed they r gonna back us up to our own endzone all the time. Reed is responsible for more than just a speed bump for the D, but also Roethlisberger because no QB can be expected to make 90 yard drives on a consistent basis. You can tell Jeff I said that.
-Tyrone
November 20th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
agree 100%!
November 21st, 2009 at 2:16 pm
…Furthermore, if Reed would learn to protect his body, all he has to do is fall down slowly around the runners legs, instead of just trying to push him or just get in his way. THat would have slowed him down for others – In TWO cases. This is tackle football, not touch football. That last run back would have ended on the 45 yard line had he just tangled the runners legs up a bit.
November 22nd, 2009 at 6:22 pm
Just gave up another return for a TD against KC. Putrid.
November 24th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
i'm mad that everyone seems to want to blame jeff reed. this is really asinine. you guys are smarter than that.
the problem with (#1) the average length of KO: how many pooch KO's has jeff had because of the failure of the coverage unit? this is stupid to blame the kicker for pooching KO's because his people can't tackle. factoring pooches into the average skews the number. so that's a stupid metric.
additionally, you really want to blame the length of his kickoffs on the TD's? of the 4 td's reed has "given up", three landed at the 2,3, and 4. so you really want to blame reed for those "short" kickoff's? because it sounds like everyone is saying, "reed can't kick it to the end zone, and that's why we gave up 4 td's." more stupidity.
please, there are a lot of blogs, but this has been my favorite because of detailed and logical analysis. please don't ruin that.
January 18th, 2010 at 1:45 am
i like your thinking logan started strong then went limp wallace is our guy or holmes.
January 18th, 2010 at 1:34 am
great point send this to steelers new special teams coach 4 games we lost were due to special teams mishaps lets see that means we would be 13-3 not 9-7 and there are new accurate kickers that can kick off 70 yards or more whmmm? what should i do mike tomlin if i take full responsibilty for these losses. loyalty is great but sometimes you have do the right thing this is hard and honest. kick em in the teeth steelers oh yeh forget that now we play football like girls don't bump to hard or tackle a qauterback or bump heads come on girls lets try to play football nicely im ready to turn off my tv completley