Pittsburgh Steelers' Punting Woes Continue
By Kipper
@pghsportsforum
Pittsburgh Steelers' punting woes continue
By Jeff.Hartman
http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com...-woes-continue
Often overlooked in the game of football, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been one of the worst punting teams in the NFL the past few seasons, and that doesn't look to be improving anytime soon.
The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered through three punters last season, and seem to have a new punter on the roster every year they training camp. Gone are the days of Zoltan Meskos and Mat McBriar, and enter the new Brad Wing era.
That era could have fans longing for Chris Gardocki or Jeremy Kapinos, and that says a lot.
Since 1996, there have only been two punters who have lasted more than two seasons with the Steelers. The often injured Daniel Sepulveda (2007-2011) and longtime Steelers' punter Josh Miller who kicked for the team from 1996 till 2003.
The inability for the Steelers to find a punter who has the leg to get distance and hangtime on their punts has been troublesome in many different ways when it comes to the outcome of a game. When the team is backed up in their own end and has to punt, the amount of times the punt hasn't left their side of the field has made life too easy for opposing offenses and too difficult for the Steelers' defense.
Wing's first game for the Steelers against the New York Giants started off rough. His first three punts traveled 23, 21 and 27 yards respectively, and although he bounced back with punts of 52, 46 and 42 yards, the inconsistency is what tends to hurt on a weekly basis.
Although Wing handled all of the punting duties for the Steelers Saturday night in New Jersey, it is expected that his competition, former Chicago Bears punter Adam Podlesh, will make it to camp eventually to make the competition complete. Podlesh has been absent for the first two weeks of camp due to personal reasons.
Whether it is Wing, Podlesh or someone else that owns the starting punting job for the Steelers heading into the regular season, the kicking needs to improve in a drastic way.