Drew Butler has the door open for him to win a permanent job in the N.F.L.. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

The logical choice to replace the former Baylor Bear was originally thought to be a familiar face: Jeremy Kapinos.  Not only had Kapinos filled in admirably in the middle of both the 2010 and 2011 seasons for Sepulveda (12 regular season games) went down, he even averaged a respectable 45.0 Yards Per Punt last season.

While it appeared that the Steelers would be comfortable with Kapinos heading into the 2012 season, the veteran recently sustained a back injury and has consequently been unable to win the starting job outright.

Drew Butler & The 2012 Punter Job

Thankfully, the Steelers’ hedged their bets this offseason when they were able to sign the talented and highly productive Drew Butler out of Georgia as an Undrafted Free Agent just over three months ago.

While some might have ignored or overlooked the move because it happened after the Draft period was over, some, including this writer, believed that Butler had a legitimate shot of unseating the veteran in front of him on the depth chart due to his talent and the overall Punting ability he displayed during his four-year career with the Bulldogs.  And because Kapinos has been forced to nurse his sore back and is not “100%,” Butler currently has an incredible opportunity to seize the starting Punter position, and carve out a lengthy career with the Steelers.

In his first professional effort, Butler turned in a solid performance during last Thursday’s preseason game against the Eagles.  On the evening, 2009 Ray Guy Award winner punted 6 times for 298 Yards at an impressive 49.7 Yards per boot, and kicked a 61 Yard bomb which pinned the Eagles all the way back at their own 36 when the return netted zero.

Final Thoughts

While Butler may have done a nice job in his first exhibition game, continued consistency throughout camp will be of the utmost importance for the youngster as the preseason continues.  Kapinos will be hungry to upstage the Rookie upstart, and Butler should be ready for some stiff competition once the veteran returns to game action.  Butler has made his impression felt however, and regardless of Kapinos’ health, the Rookie deserves the chance to earn the starting nod outright over the next three weeks.

The Steelers have lacked quality and consistency at the Punter position for a lengthy period, and have not had a player at the position make it to the Pro Bowl since Bobby Walden in 1969 (only Pittsburgh Punter to ever earn Pro Bowl nod).  Whether it is Butler or Kapinos, the Steelers could stand to have a long-term option at Punter.  Granted, the Punter battle might not be the most “sexy” in terms of overall interest, excitement, or media coverage, but it is nevertheless an important question which the Steelers must answer before their Week 1 game in Denver.

Statistics Courtesy of: ESPN.com Steelers Page, http://www.pro-football-reference.com/, and ESPN.com College Player Pages (Butler)

Time to chime in readers:  Will Butler unseat Kapinos?  Should the Steelers keep him on speed-dial just in case?  Will Pittsburgh finally find a Punter which can be consistently healthy, and perform well on a consistent basis?

For all your Steelers news and discussions follow us on Twitter @nicepickcowherC, follow me on Twitter @DominicDiTolla, and like us on Facebook.

Suisham and Kapinos are the starters at Kicker and Punter as we enter Training Camp. Mandatory Credit: John Rieger-US PRESSWIRE

Punter Situation

Before I begin, I must say that liked Daniel Sepulveda as a Punter, and during his tenure in Pittsburgh he did a solid enough job.  The unfortunate part about Sepulveda though was the fact that he missed so much time with injuries and the team was forced to call on mid-season signees three times in six years to replace him (I take a cold shower and cry when I think about Mitch Berger and Paul Ernster and their 30 yard shank boots).  Because of Sepulveda’s knee injuries, Pittsburgh’s brass made the sensible financial and football move and showed him the door after the 2011 season ended.  Now that Sepulveda is gone, his mid-season replacement in the last two seasons, Jeremy Kapinos, appears to have his best chance to win the full-time job.

Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-US PRESSWIREDrew Butler will be trying to take Kapinos' job this season.

To his credit, Kapinos chipped in and did an adequate job after Sepulveda went down with his injuries down the stretch in 2010 and 2011.  Over 12 regular season games with the Steelers, Kapinos logged 48 Punts for 2106 Yards for a 43.9 Yards Per Punt average.  In 2011, Kapinos averaged a career high 45.0 Yards Per Punt and tied his career long with a 59 Yard boot.  Still, Kapinos has yet to prove himself over a full season with the club (not his fault because he was called up at mid-season both times, and he did start all 16 games with Green Bay during the 2009 season), and will face a stiff challenge for his job from Rookie UDFA Drew Butler over the coming months.

Butler, whose Father was long-time Chicago Bears Kicker and Bulldog alum Kevin Butler, had himself a fine career at Georgia where he started for three years.  Butler’s best season came as a Sophomore when he won the Ray Guy Award in 2009.  During that season, Butler logged 56 Punts for 2,691 Yards, and led the nation with a 48.1 Yards Per Punt clip.  Over his next two seasons, Butler’s Yards Per Punt statistics sank just a bit (2010: 44.5 (19th) and 2011: 44.2 (18th) as well), but he produced on an efficient basis and established himself as one of the best and most consistent Punters in the nation.  Butler did such a fine job for the Bulldogs that he was named to the Georgia’s All-Decade Team for his accomplishments on the field, and was also recognized for his work in the classroom when he earned a National Football Foundation (NFF) Scholar Athlete Award.

It should be an interesting competition between Kapinos and Butler because of the fact that Butler was a bit of a shock to go undrafted.  I am glad that the Steelers picked up a quality Punter like Butler who has potential, and did not have to use a draft pick to do it.  I am at least comfortable with Kapinos shouldering the load, and he has a decent amount of experience.  Nevertheless, I would like to see what Butler can do when given his chance.  If Butler ends up panning out, it would be a huge steal for the club which was able to add depth in Rounds 5-7 to other positions of need.  I really do not mind who steps up and takes the job, I just want the club to find an answer and gain some stability at the Punter position.

Kicker Situation

While I am at least comfortable with Kapinos as the Punter if he indeed wins the job outright, I cannot feel the same way about Shaun Suisham entering this season.  Let me first start off by saying that Steelers were a bit spoiled by the consistency of Jeff Reed from the 2007-2009 seasons.  During that three-year stretch, there were few, if any, Kickers that were able to produce and produce as well as Skippy did.  I for one was able to ignore Reed’s odd behavior towards bathroom towel dispensers and “Doc Brown” hairdo because of his (77 of 87) 88.5% Field Goal percentage, and his ability to hit clutch kicks.  Reed for whatever reason tanked bad in 2010, and was cut after hitting only 15 of 22 (68.1%) Field Goals through the first 9 games of the season.

Hrapmann will look to take Suisham's job this season. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-US PRESSWIRE

After being almost money when he was signed at midseason for the then-erratic Reed, Suisham did a terrific job.  Over 2010′s final 7 weeks, Suisham went 14 of 15 on Field Goal Attempts (93.3%), and nailed 8 of 9 from 40+ Yards away.  Then however, the postseason began, and Suisham began to have some consistency issues as he missed two Field Goals in the three Playoff games.

Then during 2011, Suisham’s accuracy remained a tad off, and it really showed on Field Goals from 30+ Yards as well.  Suisham went 23 for 31 (74.2%) on his Field Goals during his first full year with the Steelers, and most shockingly went 13 for 21 (61.9%) on Field Goals from 30+ Yards away.  To be fair, Suisham’s career Field Goal average is (124 of 156) 79.5%, and in his combined career with the Steelers he has performed at just about that level at a (37 of 46) 80.4% clip.  Yet with Suisham’s recent struggles, the team signed Undrafted Rookie Danny Hrapmann from Southern Mississippi to put some heat on him over the coming months.

Hrapmann showed flashes of being a terrific Kicker at Southern Mississippi during his career, and was even named a 1st Team All-American by the Walter Camp Foundation in 2010.  That season, Hrapmann went 26 of 31 (83.9%) on Field Goals, 55 of 55 on PAT’s, which gave him 133 Points overall.  His Points totals ranked him 3rd in the country in Scoring, 3rd in the country in Field Goals, and he made 8 of his 11 Field Goals from 40+ Yards away.

Unfortunately for Hrapmann, his Senior campaign was marred by some inconsistency, and his Draft stock slipped so much that he was not even selected by a team last month.  Hrapmann’s Field Goal percentage slipped greatly down to 67.6% (23 of 34) and was a tad off from long distance as he went 7 for 16 on Field Goals from 40+ Yards away.  Yet that is not to say that Hrapmann’s 2011 season was terrible.  He ranked 3rd in total Field Goals again with 23, ranked tied for 10th overall in total Points with 130, and made 61 of his 62 Extra Points on the year.  Hrapmann even played hero in a couple of games last season, as he most notably went 5 for 5 in a 30-29 win over Central Florida, and three of his Kicks were from over 40 Yards (42, 44, 48) as the Eagles triumphed that night.

For a smaller guy (5’9″ 164 lbs.), Hrapmann has a pretty big leg (15 Field Goals of 40+ Yards over the last two seasons), which should help him kick in cold and wintery conditions.  The question will be whether or not he is the 2010 version of himself accuracy-wise not the 2011 version of himself accuracy-wise.  Thus, Hrapmann will have to be at his best to unseat the veteran Suisham will really have to have a bad Training Camp and Preseason to lose the Kicker job.  Like the Punter position, I do not mind who wins the job, I just want the Steelers to find a consistent answer at said spot.

Final Thoughts

So what will end up happening with the Kicker and Punter positions?  I believe that Kapinos and Butler will probably battle until the final days of the preseason until a clear victor emerges.  I am sure the Steelers are well aware of what Kapinos can do, but it will be intriguing to see if Butler can overtake him for the job and the roster spot.  In regards to Suisham and Hrapmann, I hope at least one of them rekindles the consistency which they both possessed in 2010.  Either guy I am fine with having, just as long as one can prove they can do the job on a regular basis and kick in the muck come late in the season.

Heinz Field’s turf is a complete and total slop-fest come the end of November, and steady Special Teams play will be needed on all fronts.  Probably the place it will be needed most is in the Kicking Game, and especially when the Steelers head towards the open end of the stadium.  I will be keeping my fingers crossed for the next few months, and hope that some long-term answers emerge.  The Steelers can ill-afford to have shoddy Special Teams play, and it would be nice if two of these four players stepped up their games in 2012 and beyond.

Statistics Courtesy of: ESPN.com Steelers Page, http://www.pro-football-reference.com/, and ESPN.com College Player Pages (Hrapmann, Butler)

For all your Steelers news and discussions follow us on Twitter @nicepickcowherC, follow me on Twitter @DominicDiTolla, and like us on Facebook.

Yep, more kicking news.  I think I’ve spent more time this season writing about glorified soccer wash-outs than in the first three years of my blog combined.

To the heartbreak of my female readers (all three of them), Daniel Sepulveda was placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL in his plant leg, ending his season.  Again.  This guy is the most injury-prone punter of all time.  Too bad, too, because this year was the first time he began to consistently show the big leg which enticed the Pittsburgh Steelers to waste a 4th round draft pick on him.

His replacement will be Penn State alum Jeremy Kapinos.  Punting over at Happy Valley was evidently what won him the job as the Steelers were looking for someone used to kicking in inclement weather.  Kapinos played only a handful of NFL games after graduating undrafted in 2007 until finally hooking on with the Packers.  He played all 16 games last year and his averages seem in line with what we got out of Sepulveda.  Green Bay let him go after the season and other than filling in for the Colts when their punter got suspended one game for public intoxication, he hasn’t played this season.

Hey, he couldn’t be any worse than Mitch Berger, right?

When I heard the Steelers were working out punters, I had nightmares of Berger Time 2.  To think that putz has a Super Bowl ring.  Which reminds me, the Steelers won it all with the aid of Mitch’s magnificent soaring 20 yard boots.  Perhaps a busted up punter is the Black and Gold’s version of a four leaf clover. One can only hope…

Ah, sweet sweet TIVO.  Allowing me to maintain some semblance of a social life and still blog about our fifth string wide receiver’s route running ability.

Some random thoughts from the Pittsburgh Steelers Meaningless Game #2:

QUARTERBACKS - Ben Roethlisberger saw his first action of the season.  He looked to be in mid-season form.  And by “mid-season form,” I mean he ran around in the pocket like a kid with ADD and then showed his typical bad decision making by throwing a poor ball that resulted in a pick.  He also held the ball too long on a 2nd and goal resulting in a sack and five yard loss.   These blunders helped contribute to his being the only quarterback who failed to lead a touchdown drive on Saturday.  To be fair, he appeared to be in good physical shape and showed some nice ability to roll out while making crisp throws on the run.

Byron Leftwich looked pretty good in his brief appearance, highlighted by a 68 yard bomb to Mike Wallace which he dropped in perfectly to the speedy wideout.  Of course, the ignorant bloggers and columnists are using this as proof positive that the Great QB Controversy of 2010 is over.  To them I say this:  the Giants were clearly playing vanilla schemes and generating ZERO PASS RUSH.  On one play, Lord Byron actually SCRAMBLED away from two defenders and lumbered forward for 5 yards.  The chances of him doing that in a real game are about as likely as the Pirates winning the World Series.

Mark my words, as soon as the season starts and he faces a real honest to goodness pass rush, his statue-like pocket presence will doom our offense.

Dennis Dixon looked fantastic as usual but it was strictly in mop-up time.  At this point, there’s no use in my singing his praises until we start the season 0-2 under the immobile Leftwich.

DEFENSE - The Giants held Eli Manning out after suffering a gaping head wound in their first preseason game while backup Jim Sorgi is hurt.  So they went the entire game with third stringer Rhett Bomar.   I’m not trying to sound any alarm bells based on meaningless games but you don’t exactly want to see practice squad fodder like Bomar lead a TD drive against your FIRST TEAM defense.  Which is exactly what happened in the second quarter.

Bomar bomar’d a deep pass to Other Steve Smith for a 45 yard play on coverage by Bryant McFadden.  Granted B-Mac was playing looser than a sorority girl down in Milledgeville but I’d like to see better from a secondary that was torched last year.

Then again, that secondary may have been a bit confused due to Ike Taylor getting tossed from the game four plays into the game.  I always figured players treated these contests like a joke but there was Face Me Ike swinging punches at Hakeem Nicks for some inexplicable reason.  Maybe he had dinner reservations at Tavern on the Green or something.

Slightly more encouraging was the play of second year corner Joe Burnett.  He made a fantastic reaching INT of a tipped Bomar pass.  Considering nobody in our secondary could hold on to a pass last year, I think Burnett may merit a move up in the depth chart past Willie Gay if he continues to show good hands.

Second rounder Jason Worilds saw his first action of the season and showed very little.  He got stood up at the line of scrimmage on almost every play which was the knock on him coming out of college (good rusher, bad run stuffer).  Speaking of which, Keyaron Fox showed very good sideline-to-sideline movement when in with the second team.  Meanwhile, speedy RB Ahmed Bradshaw beat beat both James Harrison and Lawrence Timmons to the outside on a 9 yard TD.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Daniel Sepulveda handled the kickoffs and may have taken the job away from Skippy.   His kicks traveled about 5 yards farther than Reed’s and more importantly, he’d get enough loft on the kicks that the coverage could get into place.

On returns, rookie Antonio Brown saw time as a kick and punt returner.  He didn’t set the world on fire but handled the job capably enough.  I wouldn’t say he’s an upgrade over Stefan Logan but I don’t think he’d be any worse either.   Which is my long-winded way of saying Joystick may be in danger of not making this team.

RUNNING BACK – The Steelers’ commitment to the run is admirable.  And necessary because they aren’t going to win without a good run game.  The problem is, we’re two games in and I’m not convinced they can run effectively.  Mendenhall ran 8 times for a measly 11 yards.

Which isn’t all his fault because anything up the middle is doomed due to massive penetration allowed by a leaky offensive line.  Runs around the corners aren’t much better.  Flozell Adams, in particular, seems to be struggling with the move to RT.  I’ll chalk some of it up to just not knowing the schemes (yet) but he needs to get up to speed soon.

Mewelde Moore had a couple nice runs which should solidify him as the #2 back.  Although Issac Redman continued to impress.  They used him as a fullback on some first team formations giving them the option of handing off to either FB/RB.  And he scored another red zone TD although this one was from 12 yards out.  At this point, I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make it as the 3rd back.

All in all, a good night for the Steelers against a depleted and half-assing Giants team.  With cut downs looming, there should be a couple hard decisions to make in the near future.

Pittsburgh Steelers kicker Jeff Reed celebrated Sunday’s victory over the Browns by getting his drink on. Of course, this ended the way Skippy’s drunken escapades usually end. Handcuffs, and not the good kind, for our wayward kicker and embarrassment for the Steelers organization. With his contract set to expire at the end of the season, this latest foolishness probably seals his fate as far as remaining in the Black and Gold is concerned.

This has been a weird year for the Steelers when it comes to running afoul of the law. They can’t just get in trouble, it always has to be some odd situation or crazy set of circumstances. First, it was Reed’s vicious assault on a paper towel dispenser. Then came the Ben Roethlisberger lawsuit, filled with disturbing accusations and a nutjob of an alleged victim. Now we have Skippy fighting for his right to urinate.

Reed, his father (?), and Steelers TE Matt Spaeth were out carousing on the North Shore. Spaeth evidently decided to relieve himself right on the street next to their SUV.  Believe me, female readers, when I say this is not an uncommon thing for men to do.  *Ahem*  The ever vigilant Pittsburgh Police, who evidently wiped the city clean of all robberies, rapes, and murders because whizzing has now taken top priority, were on the scene! SIR, PLEASE UNHAND YOUR JOHNSON AND STEP AWAY FROM THE VEHICLE!!

Good thing that wasn’t Santonio Holmes. The insipid police would’ve thought he was packing heat instead of packing, uh, something else and opened fire.

Anyway, while Spaeth was being ticketed, Skippy went nuts. He jumped out of the vehicle to protest this outrage.  His father was driving, by the way. I point that out for two reasons. One, it shows Skippy is responsible enough to bring along a sober companion as a designated driver. And two, that’s a pretty good son to use his athletic fame to hook his dad up with some groupies.

As Skippy defended Spaeth’s right to pee wherever he wants, the story becomes a bit weird. To quote the cop, “he got into a fighters stance.” Now, I have several really close friends. And I’ve been part of a team. However, I never liked anybody enough to get into a pissing contest, er, physical confrontation over their urinary freedom.

Well, this “fight” went about as you’d expect. Skippy is a kicker, after all. The cop put him in some sort of Brazilian jujitsu arm lock while his partner cuffed him. Good thing that cop wasn’t a paper towel dispenser. Reed would have kicked his ass.

Skippy was given a citation for simple assault, resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness although he was released to his father’s custody. They said he smelt of alcohol. NO SHIT!? A crazy belligerent dude with Troll Doll hair who just stumbled out of a bar had been DRINKING!?! Herr Goodell and the NFL Gestapo is reviewing the case so I fully expect the Steelers to be without their kicker for at least one game.

The larger picture here is Skippy’s future. The Steelers won’t change kickers mid-stream but the future is very much in doubt. Reed turned down a token contract offer at the end of preseason. With Piotr Czech waiting in the wings, I have a feeling this incident will be the breaking point for the Steelers. Prepare to see Reed suiting up for a different team in 2010, a team more tolerant of imbecilic behavior.

I’m guessing the Cincinnati Bengals.