It’s feast or famine for special teams

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

When it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers special teams this season, they’re either making “splash plays,” or they’re getting all wet.

Pittsburgh has benefited from a few momentum-changing moments — also known, in the vernacular of coach Mike Tomlin, as “splash plays” — from its kick and punt return units. But it’s also been hurt by gaffes that had costly potential.

Sunday’s 38-17 win against the Tennessee Titans provided examples of each. The electrifying Antonio Brown’s 52-yard kickoff return, for example, set up a touchdown that put the Steelers ahead for good. A successful fake field goal pass also set up a score.

But Pittsburgh’s most memorable special teams play, for the second consecutive week, was having a kick blocked. This time it was a Daniel Sepulveda punt. There was a successful Tennessee onside kick, too.

It seems as if, this season, there’s been little middle ground on Pittsburgh’s special teams.

“You can play a whole game well, and have one play that’s disastrous, and it kind of gives the image of not playing well for that whole day,” special teams captain Arnaz Battle said. “That’s the nature of special teams, which is fine. I think we’ve done a pretty good overall, but we strive to be perfect, and we can be.”

Just like an offensive lineman or a stay-at-home defenseman in hockey, it seems nobody notices the special teams ... unless something goes wrong.

Pittsburgh has had 37 kick plays this season (punts, field-goal and extra-point attempts). Counting a field goal just before halftime of a 17-10 loss two weeks ago in Houston, two have been blocked.

Those two mistakes do more than enough to erase the positives. The kickoff return unit is second in the AFC in average yards, the punt return team third, and the punt coverage team first.

“Making big plays on special teams, that’s expected of us,” special teams coordinator Al Everest said. “We can’t turn around and give them the opportunity to make plays on special teams.

“And that’s the nature of special teams. It always has been that way and we’ve got to accept that responsibility. Our job is to make those kind of plays and not give them up.”

Perhaps an early favorite for Pro Bowl return specialist honors, Brown has drawn enough attention that teams have kicked punts away from him. That drove the hard-to-please Tomlin to say, “I don’t know if he’s done enough to dictate that at this point. He hasn’t even gone to the house.”

If that’s how Tomlin reacts to what has been a plus, imagine what he says about the plays made against his unit.