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Questions abound as to why Pittsburgh Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin decided against deactivating and or suspending kicker Jeff Reed after his arrest Sunday night. After all, wide receiver Santonio Holmes was deactivated following his arrest before last year's home contest against the New York Giants.

Here is the most likely reason Tomlin did not proceed in a similar manner.

The following quotation is from Carl Francis of the NFL Players Association on the suspension of Holmes:

“After speaking with our attorney, we have had discussions with his agent Joel Segal regarding the possibility of filing a grievance against the Steelers' improper suspension and fine by the club.”

This was Tomlin’s response:

“I’m not concerned about their view about whether we chose to activate him,” Tomlin said. “We’ve got 53 men on the team. We choose to activate 45 for a particular game. That’s what we chose to do and we move forward.”

Tomlin didn’t appreciate the union threatening to push their weight around when it comes to his decisions that he felt were in the team's best interest. But make no mistake: Tomlin felt the pressure.

The NFL decided not to punish Holmes, presumably because Tomlin had already taken action. But I suspect Tomlin was asked (or told) not to take pre-emptive action the next time one of his players got arrested. It’s better for all parties to allow the NFL to do its investigation and let the process that was agreed to by the players union play itself out.

Here are a couple of quotes from Tomlin with regard to the Reed incident at his press conference this week.

“We have a level of commitment and we understand what being a part of this league is about, we respect the heck out of that. The investigation is ongoing, the information that’s gathered is on going. This process will run its course.”

Tomlin simply doesn’t want to deal with the union again and cause himself even more distractions. He’s a young coach who found out that making snap decisions like he did when he deactivated Holmes might have consequences.

Tomlin did not mention the players union at his news conference. His reasoning for not suspending or deactivating Reed was that the timing of the arrest was so early in the week, that he and the Steelers had plenty of time to deal with the issue and its distractions, whereas the Holmes arrest took place on a Thursday night, just days before the game.

Few are buying this line of reasoning, but how can anyone fault Tomlin for not stating the real reason he didn’t take action? Did he really want to admit publicly that the players union helped make this decision for him after he said a year ago that he’s not concerned about their view of the matter?

Don’t expect Tomlin to take pre-emptive action again as he had taken with Holmes. There is a process in place that was agreed to by both the NFL and players union.

Tomlin has other things to worry about anyway.

He should be concerned about the mental state of his place kicker right now. Reed began to draw attention to himself in February when he was arrested for smashing a towel dispenser at a convenience store. He was charged at that time for criminal mischief.

Then, he made headlines in August back toward the end of training camp by pulling an elaborate prank on his teammates by having a couple of buses pull up before practice toward the end of the camp. The players celebrated because they thought the buses were there to take them to a movies for the afternoon. They soon found out that Reed pulled a fast one on them.

While Reed has always been known to be a prankster, this incident got its fair share of media attention.  Reed was also in the news more than once regarding his current contract situation. He has rarely passed up an opportunity to speak publicly about it. He actually turned down a contract offer that was offered to him by the Steelers and decided to play out the year and test free agency.

Now we get details of his latest arrest where he allegedly drew up his fists to a police officer.

Reed has had a year so far that has been full of arrests, prank jokes, and failed contract negotiations. It shouldn’t surprise you that Reed is also 25th ranked in field goal percentage this year.

A place kicker is very much like a golfer. If you watch a golf tournament, you will notice that many of the players are in a trance like state as they are completely mentally focused on the job at hand. They cannot perform at a high level when their mind is cluttered with various thoughts.

A place kicker in the NFL is very much the same. There are thousands of players that can the kick the football. But there are few that have the mental makeup to make kicks when it counts. A kicker doesn’t need to bring any more attention onto him.

Reed has certainly done that. He’s already cost his team a victory this season with two blown kicks in Chicago. He must know that after this latest arrest, any kick he misses from here on out will be scrutinized.

He has to worry about a fan base that will begin to turn on him if he fails to ice another game. They will point to his overall shenanigans and hold him as a scapegoat for the loss.

He must also feel added pressure to not let his teammates down again as he did in Chicago. Pressure is also mounting for him to perform so he can get paid in the offseason with a new contract. With no new contract in place, a legal situation hanging over his head, and a 25th ranked field goal percentage, Reed has a lot to think about it.

It is the “thinking”  that should worry the Steelers and their fan base.

 What is wrong with the Titans?                                   

There have been plenty of studies on turnover differential that demonstrate how NFL teams who benefit from a large number of turnovers one season will often have it go the opposite way the next.

Here are a just a few examples from the past few seasons:

The Seattle Seahawks had the third-best ranking in the NFC for turnover differential in 2005. They fell to 15th-worst ranking in 2006.

2005 Seattle +9 (13-3) Super Bowl participant                       

2006 Seattle -9 (9-7)

The Baltimore Ravens went from an AFC's best ranking in turnover differential in 2006 to having the worst in 2007.

2006 Ravens +15 (13-3) playoffs                                                                       

2007 Ravens -17 (5-11)

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers ranked 15th-worst in turnover differential in 2006. They were ranked #1 with the best differential in 2007.

2006 Tampa Bay -11 (4-12)                                                                              

2007 Tampa Bay +15 (9-7) playoffs

Seattle ranked 2nd-best in the NFC in turnover differential in 2007. They fell to 13th-worst in the 2008.

2007 Seattle  +10 (10-6) playoffs                                                                        

2008 Seattle  -7  (4-12)

Last season in 2008, Miami and Tennessee were listed #1 and #2 respectively in the AFC with the best turnover differentials. Both teams, surprisingly, had excellent seasons.

2008

Miami +17  (11-5) playoffs                                                                                

Titans +14 (13-3) top seed

How many times have you heard an NFL analyst question what has happened to the Titans this year? They will say something to the effect of, “It's a mystery, because they have pretty much the same players.”

Here is what they're overlooking.

In 2009, the Titans are dead last in the AFC with a -10 Turnover differential.   Therefore, it shouldn'[t be a surprise that, through six weeks, they have yet to win a game.

With Miami's rough start, it also shouldn't surprise you that they are ranked 11th in the AFC.

2009

Titans - 10  (0-6)                                                                                               

Dolphins -3 (2-3)

The Denver Broncos were dead last in turnover differential last season and failed to make the playoffs. They are currently second best in the AFC this season.

2008 Denver -17 (8-8)                                                                                  

2009 Denver +9  (6-0)

The moral of the story here is that when an NFL team either surprises you, by being either better or worse than expected, take a look at turnover differential to find the likely explanations for its fortunes.

YARDS PER PLAY DIFFERENTIAL RANKINGS WEEK 7

INDIANAPOLIS  +2.2  - Peaking two soon has always been a problem for the Colts

PITTSBURGH   +1.5    –  Roethlisberger and his majestic 9.1 Yards per pass attempt avg.

NEW ORLEANS  +1.4  -  They are in a tough situational spot this week.

PHILADELPHIA  +1.2  -  Oakland game had to be fixed

DALLAS   +1.2  -  Cowboys need to put it all together this Sunday

PACKERS  +1.2  - They are hoping they don’t get the flu from the Browns

DENVER  +1.1 - Josh McDaniel is a genius

GIANTS  +1.1  - Take a look at their schedule. It isn’t how they start, it is how they finish.

REDSKINS +.6  - When a team is outgaining their opponents like this and still losing, this is bad coaching.

BEARS  +.5 – Cedric Benson has a score to settle with the Bears this week

 

MATCHUP OF THE WEEK   VIKINGS AT PITTSBURGH

VIKINGS +0.0 yards per play differential

STEELERS +1.5 yards per play differential

Ah- oh, Vikings in big trouble.