Closer Look At The 2010 Kickoffs Of Steelers Kicker Shaun Suisham

Stats in a NFL gamebook or players stats listing almost never tell the whole story. Such is the case with Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham. With the new rule being approved that moves the kickoff up from the 30 to the 35 yard-line, I wanted to get a clearer picture of his kickoffs from last season. I went back and watched all of his 2010 kickoffs with the Steelers and that included the playoffs as well. In the table below, I have documented every one of his kickoffs. I did not include the two in which he had to re-kick due to penalty however.

You will see I listed the reported temperature, wind speed and wind direction that was reported via the official records. I am still researching the direction that each stadium faces and will add it in place of L & R which I currently have listed. For Heinz Field I have South and North listed with the South End being the dreaded open end.

In the stats books, Suisham is credited with just a 58.9 yard average. 17 of his kicks however were a combination of squib kicks, low line drives and pooch kicks as you can see below. These were clearly by design and he was directed to do so. Another 2 of his kickoffs needed to be held by another player because the ball kept getting blown off of the kicking tee. Both these times took place in the week 14 game against the Bengals at Heinz Field on a wet and rainy day. Even if you were to remove all of his squib kicks during the regular season his average only goes up to 61.7. That is still not fantastic; however, it is nearly 3 yards better than his average shows.

Next up I wanted to see his kickoffs at Heinz Field that were not squib kicks. Including the playoffs, there were 24 of these for a 62.4 average. Still not great, but that place is also no picnic to kick at either.

Next I wanted to look at how many kicks would have made it at least 1 yard deep into the endzone if he had kicked off from the 35, like the NFL will do in 2011. This means when kicking off from the 30 in 2010, the kick would of needed to be caught at the 4 yard-line or less. Including the 3 playoff games, there were 6 kicks that would have gone at least a yard deep in the endzone had Suisham had 5 more yards. Of those 6, there is a good chance at least 4 or 5 would of been downed for a touchback, maybe even all 6.

As you can see below, Suisham kicked great in the Super Bowl with the roof closed. Most kickers should though in my opinion. Suisham averaged 71.4 yards with those 5 kicks. Very impressive, but as I mentioned, that was indoors.

It is yet to be seen the direction the Steelers will go in regards to the kicker position in 2011. Suisham is an unrestricted free agent, but the Steelers may look elsewhere. Could that even mean the Steelers would draft a kicker? A punter perhaps, but they might take a long look at some undrafted college kickers assuming the new labor deal is in place. They also have Swayze Waters signed to the offseason roster, so he will get a long look as well. For now, at least you have the big picture with Suisham as opposed to just a few stats in a stat book.