With a slew of available free-agent placekickers out there, the Steelers almost have to consider moving on from Josh Scobee after a night when he botched back-to-back 49- and 41-yard kicks and severely altered the Steelers' game planning in overtime.
The life of a kicker can no doubt be a despondent one, and in a postgame media scene that was almost entirely focused on Scobee, he had to sit there and face the harsh reality.
Among his quotes (via USA Today):
"I wanted to redeem myself, but I didn't get it," he said. "I understand it. I just have to move on."
"I feel like I let the team down. It's a bad feeling. It was a hard-fought game on both sides. I wish I had been able to come through, but it just wasn't my night."
And on whether or not he'll lose his job:
"I can't think about that stuff," he said. "I just have to let it play out."
Fervent watchers of the show Hard Knocks remember Scobee's painfully sheepish rookie year in Jacksonville and how many kicks he missed in the preseason at the beginning of his tenure. After a decade there, things got easier and he eventually earned a captain's "C."
Now he's in a new location that is extremely difficult to kick in and the learning curve starts all over again. Unfortunately, a search of available placekickers turns up names like Jay Feely, Rian Lindell, Shayne Graham, Alex Henery, Connor Barth, Chris Boswell and Kai Forbath.
NFL Media's James Palmer reported the Steelerswill try out Boswell on Saturday, according to a source. The team is also planning to try out Forbath, a source informed of the kicker's plans told NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport.
Will Scobee get the time he needs to acclimate to Heinz Field? Like Scobee said, he can't think about that stuff.
