Suishy had some big misses last year and doesn't have the strongest leg for kickoffs and long field goals. So why don't we have another kicker option. Rap Man doesn't look like it.

Future for Steelers kicker
May, 19, 2012
By Jamison Hensley | ESPN.com

C from Ontario, Canada, writes: Shaun Suisham grew up close to me and I want him to do well. But I'm a Steeler fan first, so why is he on the team still? He bombed hard last year, his field-goal percentage was 31st in the league last season. Please tell me this young guy can beat Shaun out! Or at least the Steelers will do something.

Dennis from Clermont, Fla.: Jamison, when will the Steelers get serious about needing a kicker? With a team that has a defense that can always keep games close, an above average kicker is a necessity, but the team never invests in that position.

Jamison Hensley from AFC North headquarters responds: There has to be some surprise that the Steelers didn't bring in serious competition to take on Suisham. Pittsburgh recently worked out Dave Rayner, another less-than-stellar veteran, but it didn't sign him. While no kicker for the Steelers will ever rank high in field-goal percentage, because half of his games are at challenging Heinz Field, Suisham struggled on the road as well. He made 9 of 13 kicks beyond 30 yards away from home (69 percent).

This lack of consistency in the kicking game can become a problem, especially if the Steelers can't improve on being the 18th-ranked red-zone offense. The only competition for Suisham is Danny Hrapmann, an undrafted rookie out of Southern Mississippi. He connected on 67.6 percent (23 of 34) of his field goals last season. In other words, he's not a real threat to Suisham. The Steelers should have looked at a veteran like Neil Rackers, who since signed with Washington. Pittsburgh should be more concerned about its kicker situation.

I get the feeling the Steelers like Suisham more than most of us do.

Suisham should be a lot better than he is. I think he has it in him to be a very good kicker and I think his problems are of a confidence nature. When he's going good, he can really blast field goals incredibly straight.

But one miss seems to send him into tail-spins he has trouble extricating himself from.

Hell, I don't know.

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The Betty White Watch:

Still unwanted by 32 NFL teams.

Pretty good on NBC though!

KC, you could be right about how the Steelers coaches feel about Sweezy. At one point last season, I thought I saw a show of no-confidence in him by Coach Tomlin and thought that he might either be replaced or at least get some competition during our late bye. Never happened, so I may have been mistaken in my perception, I don't know.

Increasing RZ efficiency will make this less of a problem, though that's easier said than done. And even if we do, you still want a reliable kicker between 30 and high 40 yards out.

I hope there is some camp competition and then we'll see what shakes out.

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Playing football was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. If I could go out today and suit up, I would do it.--Jack Butler

On opportunities for a long field goal, Tomlin went for the first down. Didn't trust Swishy to make the field goal.

Actually, Skippy ranked very high in percentage for several years, if I'm not mistaken. His last (partial) season in Pittsburgh was lousy, but he was making the kicks before that. Even in Heinz.

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"But Brian was the quarterback. He lay on the ground like a sniper had shot him, so they threw me out of the game. It's big entertainment now; protect the quarterback; $200.00 to your favorite charity."

I think several of his misses were from 50+. Also, his kicking % was much better during his junior and Soph. year.

Im not saying he will be the next Gary Anderson, but I think he is a decent udfa prospect. Several sites listed him as the 2nd best kicker prospect.

Anyone else know what kind of prospect he is?

i wonder after the OTA what type of roster changes might happen

I'm not entirely opposed to that mindset of being on the edge Mr. Belichick, or should I call you Gregg Easterbrook?

Not disagreeing with all said concerns here, we'd like to have a real leg for once. You can't always pull game decisions from a percentage chart, football is more an intuitive response to what you see going on and increasing your option pool should be a bit more of the plan going forward.

Suisham really has only had one bad year for the Steelers- he was money in 2010 (I'm sure the Super Bowl miss will be brought up, but it was a long FG attempt- even for indoors).

But I'm of the opinion that the Steelers shouldn't be going for FGs in the "pink zone" anyway- they should play that zone as four-down territory.

Just MHO.

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I know this, your ability to think concisely, your ability to make good judgments is much easier on Thursday night than during the heat of the game. -Bill Walsh

2010 was a bit of an anomaly if you look at his entire career - 79% average overall - didn't even make that number last year. Overlooked position this season.