Steelers notebook
Heinz Field looms for Colts’ prolific placekicker PITTSBURGH – As a senior at West Virginia University in 1992, Mike Vanderjagt missed five extra points. No one figured then that he was destined to one day become the NFL’s most accurate place-kicker.
After last week’s 38-yard field goal with four seconds to play lifted the Indianapolis Colts to a 22-20 win over Baltimore, Vanderjagt is there. He’s made 87.3 percent of his kicks, missing only 18 field goals (124-142) in five NFL seasons.
However, Heinz Field looms. And even though Vanderjagt spent his post-WVU and pre-NFL days in the Canadian Football League, the conditions at Heinz Field might be trickier than any he’s faced.
Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Todd Peterson would tell him all about it, if he could.
“I’ve been told I’m not allowed to,” said the man who replaced Kris Brown this season.
Even though Peterson can’t talk about the slippery surface, Steelers special teams coach Kevin Spencer acknowledged that the field is difficult for kickers. Yet, last year’s abominable stats have been upgraded. In two games played in mild conditions this season, kickers have converted 9 of 12 field-goal attempts.
“You kind of wish it was a one o’clock game because it’s a little bit windier. I don’t know what it’ll be like at nine o’clock,” Spencer said of Monday’s game against Vanderjagt and the Colts. “But, hey, he’s still a dome guy. We’ll find out what he does outside.”
Spencer knows all about Vanderjagt. Spencer coached him the last four seasons with the Colts.
“He’s good, very good,” Spencer said. “He’s a very confident guy, verging on cocky. He’s very flamboyant. He works the deal very good. But when you get beneath the Broadway stuff, he’s a heck of a kicker. He’s made some big kicks. Last week is a good example.”
Should Vanderjagt worry about Heinz Field?
“It’s got a reputation and you can’t ignore that reputation,” Spencer said. “I’m sure that he talked to a few people about what it’s like. Mike will say all the right things, like ‘hey, no big deal.’ But I’m sure he’s thinking about the percentages of the guys who’ve come in here and kicked and I’m sure he heard what the kid from Cleveland, (Phil) Dawson, said about the field. It’s got to be in the back of his head. I’ll remind him when we get out there in pre-game.”
Dawson, who missed a 45-yard field goal in overtime three weeks ago, called Heinz Field “the worst field I’ve ever played on … and I’ve played in Cincinnati.” Peterson would agree, if he could, even though he’s connected on 4 of 5 attempts at Heinz Field.
“Worrying about it does me no good. It’s not like it’s going to get changed,” Peterson said. “So was I na?ve coming here? No. I still maintain the things I said all along: It’s a great organization, a great group of guys, I think we can win and I’m excited to be here. If it’s a tough place to kick and we win, then it doesn’t matter.
“I said in the beginning I wasn’t hung up on the best stats. I just want to win.”
Bell making noise
The news Friday that Kendrell Bell would play Monday brought cheers from all quarters of the NFL’s 11th-ranked defense. Bell, of course, has played in only one quarter this season while dealing with a problematic ankle sprain, but he looked much better at the end of this practice week.
“He looked like his old self,” said James Farrior, Bell’s new inside linebacking partner.
“I finally saw him run around and knock a couple people on the ground,” said Coach Bill Cowher.
Said Bell of the Steelers’ fall from No. 1 defense last year: “People are looking for some kind of savior in general. It doesn’t necessarily have to be me. They’re looking for something to bring up the defense. It’s really not a problem. We just have to learn how to communicate better. That’s the biggest thing.”
Backup running back Chris Fuamatu-Ma’afala is also due back after missing two games with torn rib cartilage. Back up tight end Jerame Tuman (thigh) is not expected to play.
Where’s the big guy?
Since Tommy Maddox moved under center eight-and-a-half quarters ago, he’s made Plaxico Burress his No. 1 target.
With Kordell Stewart at quarterback the first 11-plus quarters of the season, Hines Ward led the team with 23 catches for 279 yards. With Maddox at quarterback, Ward has caught 10 passes for 76 yards.
Burress caught six passes for 62 yards from Stewart and a whopping 15 passes for 251 yards from Maddox. Last week, Burress caught eight passes for 149 yards.
“Last weekend it was good to see him go out and play the way he did,” said rookie slot receiver Antwaan Randle El. “But I think that had a lot to do with the way he practiced. If he continues to practice the way he practiced, he’s going to always be able to go out on the field and do some things.”
Ward and Burress became the first tandem in Steelers history to match 1,000-yard seasons. Ward caught 94 passes for 1,003 yards and is on pace this season for 106 catches for 1,136 yards. Burress caught 66 passes last season for 1,008 yards. He’s on pace to make 67 catches for 1,002 yards this season, but if Maddox stays healthy those numbers could even be better.
Quotable
Burress on the difference between he and Ward off the field: “I don’t go out as much as he does. I stay a little further away. When I go home, I’m in for the night. I stay to myself a lot. I don’t really get out too much. I like to be alone. I do a lot of thinking. That’s the kind of person I am. I’m a laid-back person. I’m not trying to hurt anybody. Hines is more of a people person. People tell me that I look unapproachable. Maybe it’s because of how I look or the way I dress. For whatever reason, people say they don’t ask for my autograph because I look unapproachable. He’s the type of person who would stop what he’s doing to make that person happy and sign an autograph. Whereas with me, I’m saying you can’t make everybody happy.”