Steelers 2011 free agency

[Mr. Goosemahn]

IMHO...this is a guy that I would dump faster than that nut case I took to the prom years ago. I'm not sure of his salary but as a 4th round selection, he makes more than the average punter and he hasn't really impressed anybody a whole helluva lot so far. That being said...the real kicker ( pun intended ) for him is the 3rd ACL injury. If we need to find a fill in punter for our regular punter every year then let's just go ahead and get a good reliable one and be done with it, just cut our loses and move on....and hey, maybe we can save a buck or two to put toward someone else .

I think you're not giving Sepulveda the credit he deserves. He's not an elite punter, but he's a pretty good one, much better than Berger, much better than Kapinos, and I'm retty sure he's better than almost all punters available in free agency. Allow me to show why:

For starters, Sepulveda doesn't earn that much. He signed a one year, $1.01 million dollar contract before this season started. That's probably the lowest salary for any starter on our team, except maybe Suisham.

Now, focusing in on stats and what they mean, here are the basic ones:

Average Yards per Punt: 45.5 (4th best in the league)
1. Shane Lechler, Oakland - 47
2. Mike Scifres, San Diego - 46.7
3. Brandon Fields, Miami - 46.2
4. Daniel Sepulveda, Pittsburgh - 45.5

Net Average Yards per Punt: 39.1 (tied for 4th best in the league)
1. Shane Lechler, Oakland -
2. Sam Kock, Baltimore -
2. Adam Podlesh, Jacksonville -
4. Brett Kern, Tennessee - 39.1
4. Daniel Sepulveda, Pittsburgh - 39.1

Furthermore, he had no punts blocked and no punts returned for a TD, which is both a testament to his ability and the rest of our ST unit.

Finally, return yards. This stat can be a little tricky to measure and evaluate, but IMO it shows one very important detail that other stats don't:

How well does the punt travel with our ST players.

Basically, a great punt has two components: distance and hangtime. If a punt travels a long distance, that's great, but it's useless if it had no hangtime. The more hangtime a punt has, the more time defenders have to get to the returner. If the defenders start closing in on the returner, a fair catch will be called. This is one area where I felt Sepulveda did a great job, and is shows in the stats:

Among punters with more than 50 punts (real punters, not QB's, K's, or other players who ocasionally punt), Sepulveda ranked 4th with 198 yards in 56 punts.
1. Adam Podlesh, Jacksonville - 123 yards in 57 punts
2. Kevin Huber, Cincinnati - 124 in 71 punts
3. Zoltan Mesko, New England - 179 in 58 punts
4. Daniel Sepulveda, Pittsburgh - 198 in 56 punts

Again, this stat is also a testament to our ST unit, but my theory that Sepulveda does a good job in balancing distance and hangtime is reinforced by the fact that Sepulveda is 4th in the league in fair catches. That is, Sepulveda is the 4th punter that causes most fair catches.
1. Steve Weatherford, New York Jets - 27 in 84 punts
2. Sam Koch, Baltimore - 22 in 81 punts
2. Pat McAfee, Indianapolis - 22 in 65 punts
4. Daniel Sepulveda, Pittsburgh - 21 in 56 punts

Finally, one stat that is also useful to have is touchbacks. Sometimes they are good, sometime they are bad, usually though, they are useful to prevent returns. For example, yesterday's game vs. the Browns. Every time we kicked off we used a squib kick to make sure that Cribbs was less likely to end up with the ball. It was extremely effective. Same thing with touchbacks. Make sure the returner doesn't get the ball.

- Sepulveda is third in the league in touchbacks with 8.
1. Dustin Colquitt, Kansas City - 10
2. Mike Scifres, San Diego - 9
3. Daniel Sepulveda, Pittsburgh - 8

So I ask you, do you really want to let Sepulveda walk? He's (statistically, at least) a top 5 punter in almost all the important categories, AND he's still young (26). Shane Lechler is 34, Mike Scifres is 30, Mat McBriar is 31, etc.

Sepulveda is a pretty darn good punter and I'm very happy we have him on the team. You guys should be happy to have him too. It's a shame he's having trouble with his ACL, but there is no way I would want him to leave without a clear, and better, replacement for him.

Oh, and btw, the stats come from NFL.com's NFL Stats by Player:
http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorysta...S&d-447263-n=1

[Real Deal Steel]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6004943


We need to get him!! Plain and simple. This guy,coupled with us adding more youth on the lines, coupled with that weak schedule,..would give us a great shot at another SB.

[bensshoes]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6004943


We need to get him!! Plain and simple. This guy,coupled with us adding more youth on the lines, coupled with that weak schedule,..would give us a great shot at another SB.

agreed plus he's gonna be looking for a winner as he's made plenty of money thanks to Mr. Magoo "Al Davis"

[DanRooney]

Leftwich will be our backup next year.

I think I called it right 2 years ago when I said Dixon sucked ass.

--- Added 1/19/2011 at 05:28 PM ---

Potential FAs:
OT Willie Colon (5), ......keep (if Flozell retires)
QB Dennis Dixon (3),.....walk
DE Nick Eason (8), .......walk
OG Trai Essex (6),.........keep (he's better at LT than Scott)
ILB Keyaron Fox (7),.....keep
CB William Gay (4),.......keep (Butler will take Madison's place, Gay will get a 2 year extension)
CB Tuff Harris (3),.........walk
OT Tony Hills (3),..........keep (Scott will be gone)
NT Chris Hoke (10),.......retire
CB Anthony Madison (5),.walk
RB Mewelde Moore (7),...walk (Dwyer's time to shine)
OT Jonathan Scott (4),..walk (he's been pulled in almost every single game)
P Daniel Sepulveda (4),...keep
TE Matt Spaeth (4),.......walk
PK Shaun Suisham (5),....lets see how he works out
CB Ike Taylor (8),..........he's the best we have at corner,keep
LS Greg Warren (6),.......keep
OLB LaMarr Woodley (4).....depends on how much he wants

[86WARD]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=6004943


We need to get him!! Plain and simple. This guy,coupled with us adding more youth on the lines, coupled with that weak schedule,..would give us a great shot at another SB.

I'd give up that whole list for Nnamdi...lol.

[uclkyle]

Potential FAs:
OT Willie Colon (5), ......walk I say keep, he's at least solid depth and won't get much attention from other teams.

QB Dennis Dixon (3),.....walk Dixon could go either way. I would actually try and keep. Batch is getting really old and Dixon at least knows the offense. Unless a team gives him with the farm, try and keep him.

DE Nick Eason (8), .......walk Doesn't really matter. If he's cheap, why not keep him.

OG Trai Essex (6),.........walk Try and keep him

ILB Keyaron Fox (7),.....keep Walk....will likely attrack some attention.

CB William Gay (4),.......walk Keep....nobody is going to offer him money. Why not keep him as a 3rd of 4th.

CB Tuff Harris (3),.........haven't seen enough to make a decision Agree, who knows.
OT Tony Hills (3),..........walk Keep...I like his potential and talent level.

NT Chris Hoke (10),.......depends on our draft plans Keep, he'll stay for cheap anyways

CB Anthony Madison (5),.walk agreed

RB Mewelde Moore (7),...walk definetly keep....he's a valuable third down back. You can never have enough experience in the backfield.

OT Jonathan Scott (4),..keep agreed
P Daniel Sepulveda (4),...keep DEF a walker.......he will never punt for us again.

TE Matt Spaeth (4),.......walk agreed

PK Shaun Suisham (5),....lets see how he works out i would keep him

CB Ike Taylor (8),..........he's the best we have at corner,keep This will purely depend on the price. I'm saying walk.

LS Greg Warren (6),.......keep Keep unless someone with fewer years and less expensive cap number comes along.

OLB LaMarr Woodley (4)..depends on asking price,I thought he would have a better showing in a contract year. I would try and keep him, more so than Ike.