Steelers notebook
New kicker earning the respect of his teammates PITTSBURGH – Jeff Reed earned his job Tuesday by kicking field goals at Heinz Field. Reed earned the respect of his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates Thursday by kicking field goals at the UPMC practice facility.
“It was good,” said Reed, a rookie from the University of North Carolina. “My kickoffs were good and the field goals were good.”
While warming up for the team’s weekly placement work Thursday, Reed could barely reach the uprights from 45 yards away. But during the live scrimmage, Reed showed better height on his short kicks than had former kicker Todd Peterson. Reed then wowed his teammates with a perfect 48-yarder to end the session. He left the field to the sound of raucous cheering.
“It was more like a getting-to-know-everybody day,” he said. “If you make your kicks, they’ll respect you and I think I earned some respect today.”
Although Reed was signed Tuesday, it wasn’t clear whether he’d earned Coach Bill Cowher’s respect. When asked Wednesday what had separated Reed from the other candidates, Cowher couldn’t come up with an answer. The slight didn’t bother Reed.
“It doesn’t matter,” he said. “He’s a great guy, a good coach. I told him when I signed the papers that I’d always wanted to play for him or Jim Haslett. I’ve already been with both of them so it’s just awesome.”
Reed kicked for Haslett, the coach of the New Orleans Saints, this past summer. Haslett cut Reed but didn’t lose Reed’s respect.
“They’re emotional guys. They act like they’re on the field,” Reed said. “Some coaches are really good coaches but they just stand over there.”
Is Reed ready for Cowher to become emotional after a missed kick?
“I’ve been yelled at plenty of times and I’m going to get yelled at plenty more,” Reed said. “Nobody’s perfect. I came here to get the job done and it’s in my hands.”
Reed was a walk-on at North Carolina and kicked for the Tar Heels in the 2000 and 2001 seasons. He made 28 of 36 field goals and 66 of 67 extra points. With the Saints last preseason, he made 29 and 28-yard field goals, the only two he attempted.
Since being cut by the Saints, Reed has had eight tryouts. The one at Heinz Field was replete with wind, rain and the ultra-sandy surface.
“If I can kick in that, I’ll be fine,” said Reed, who will wear uniform No. 3, last worn by former kicker Kris Brown.
“I picked it because it was my number in high school when I first started kicking, and one of my idols is John Carney and that’s his number,” Reed said.
NUMBERS GAME: Speaking of uniform numbers, the Steelers assigned the uniform Greg Lloyd made famous, No. 95, to newly signed linebacker Mike Jones, who wore No. 51 last year when he was with the team.
In practice Wednesday, Hines Ward wore No. 19 and Plaxico Burress wore No. 4.
“Those were our college numbers,” Ward said. “This is Rivalry Week in college football. All the guys are talking about the big games, so we wanted to get into the spirit of things.”
NEW DEFENSIVE BACK: Steelers defensive coordinator Tim Lewis may not have a problem with his dime defense this week because he may not have enough defensive backs to use the alignment. Reserves Mike Logan and Hank Poteat will miss Sunday’s game with injuries, which leaves only Deshea Townsend as a backup with any experience.
“We’ve got a guy named Chidi Iwuoma,” Lewis said with his tongue in cheek. “We’ll be alright.”
Iwuoma missed his second practice of the week Thursday and is questionable for the game with a knee injury. As insurance, the Steelers added rookie safety Erik Totten to their active roster and released defensive tackle Chris Hoke.
Totten (5-9, 194), from Western Washington, signed with the Steelers as a free agent after last April’s draft. He’s been with the practice squad most of the season.
QUOTABLE: Lee Flowers on the 1-9 Cincinnati Bengals’ motivation Sunday: “To not go 1-10. I know most of those guys over there and they have a good team. It’s unfortunate that they’re a couple players away from being a premier team, but that’s not my problem.”