Jeff Reed will earn the same salary whether he kicks off or punter Daniel Sepulveda holds that extra duty this season. It also might help save Reed's right leg if he only has to kick field goals and conversions. But that's not the point. "I've been playing football since my 12th-grade year in high school and I've never not kicked off," Reed said."It's one of those situations where, in my eyes, I'm being fired." Sepulveda will kick off in Denver tonight for the second consecutive game as Tomlin seriously considers giving him that job. It's an obvious dissatisfaction with Reed's kickoffs, but Reed believes he has done a good job kicking off since he joined the Steelers in 2002 and does not accept the blame for the four kickoff returns for touchdowns against the Steelers last season. "I'm cheering for Dan," Reed said. "It's not like I'm against him, or that I'm mad at him. It's not his fault. He's a talented guy. "But I'm very capable of doing it, I always thought I had been. And I thought I've done pretty well, at times a little inconsistent, but that's life. "I hate not making every kick a touchback, but it's not going to happen. I'm a hang-time kind of kicker and always have been. And I'll get a touchback here and there. It starts with me, but you also have to have a good coverage team. Teams are not going to take a knee if it does go into the end zone if your coverage team is weak." Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
