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Tuesday, March 26, 2002

You're going to miss Kris Brown after all.

His departure will someday soon become known as the Second Coming -- or, in this case, the Second Leaving -- of Gary Anderson: Another good kicker who got the boot from the Steelers over money.

Club officials officially announced Monday that they couldn't afford Brown's four-year, $4.7 million pricetag. They couldn't bear to match the expansion Houston Texans' version of a baseball offer, for crying out loud, with the final two seasons at $750,000 apiece guaranteed. What if the kid turned into, you know, Derek Bell or something?

Maybe the Steelers could have equaled the rich Texans offer, then ripped up the contract for a more logical, if not cap friendly, deal with Brown. The same as they did with halfback Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afala a year ago. Brown, though, chose expansionism and a Texas homecoming over restructuring. Instead, they chose to turn up their noses at his bemoaning the Heinz Field surface, at his willingness to sup with the Houston bosses and (probably far more galling) Buffalo's Tom Donahoe. Then the Steelers went out and signed another kicker Monday.

What three points can I make about Todd Peterson?

1. You're going to miss Kris Brown's accuracy.

Look, Peterson is a swell fella, profiled on the AllProDad.com site for being a good Christian plus a doting father. He is also a decent kicker. Take it from his former employer, Kansas City Chiefs coach Dick Vermeil, a gent who rarely utters anything less than gushing positives and glowing plaudits. Yet Vermeil had this to say barely a week ago about the unrestricted free agent getting the boot from the Chiefs:

"I like Todd. He's a great kid and a wonderful human being. But he still has to make 28-yard field goals."

Last season, Peterson missed a 28-yard attempt in a two-point loss to Oakland. Peterson missed a 28-yard attempt in a Denver game that eventually went to overtime. Where he promptly bounced a 41-yard attempt off an upright.

OK, so he won the game for 6-10 KC with a 32-yarder in OT.

It should be noted that five of his eight muffed tries last season came from makeable-putt range: 28 through 41 yards. Brown was a marksman in his short to middle game, missing seven times in 63 tries inside 40 yards the past three seasons -- with three of those botched ones coming in Heinz Field this year alone.

Brown's toe won a lot more games than it lost for teams that went 29-20, no matter how loudly the Steelers Nation doth protest. For every four-miss Baltimore there was a five-made Cleveland. True, he missed a league-leading 14 attempts last season, of which 10 occurred off the sandy, soft surface and into a windy open end at Heinz Field. Visiting kickers fared far worse than him, missing six of 11 attempts on the new North Shore.

Peterson spent much of his eight-year NFL career inside a dome, with Seattle Seahawks who ventured to a 40-40 record, though his career 79.8 accuracy percentage skews a shade higher outdoors than indoors. Interestingly, his percentage slipped the past two Chiefs seasons to its lowest marks of his career, at 75 and 77 percent.

2. You're going to miss Kris Brown's length.

The kid -- and he just turned 25 late this past season -- was improving. His range increased from a season's best 51 yards his rookie year to 52 yards the next to 55 yards last season. And kickers, like pitchers, don't seem to get it until their late 20s.

Peterson isn't exactly hoary at 32 years old. Yet the extent of his range seemed to top out at 51 over the past four seasons.

3. You're going to miss Kris Brown's kickoffs.

No, the Steelers didn't even manage to trade up in that category, either. Peterson, whom Kansas City neglected to use in kickoff duty during 2000, averaged a career-worst 59.9 yards off the tee last season. Brown averaged a career-high 60.2 yards. Again, they were going in different directions.

More than that last season, Brown's number of touchbacks were greater, nine compared to seven, and his kicks were returned for fewer yardage than Peterson's, 21.3 compared to 22.7.

And everyone knows how putrid the Steelers' kickoff team was last season.

Don't mistake those screwed-up assignments and muffed snaps and blocked kickss as Brown's fault.

Don't mistake Peterson for a bum, either.

This fella is a fine kicker, perhaps even well suited for a team with Super Bowl possibilities. His four-year, $3.925 million contract will fit snugly under the Steelers' salary cap as well, with an $800,000 hit this season. Which, if you ask me, is still a large sum for one of those dime-a-dozen kickers. Heck, that's 8 million dimes.

Maybe Fox Chapel's Joe O'Donnell, a recent Steelers signee sent off to NFL Europe, will yet transform into an NFL America star kicker. Maybe that seventh-round compensation pick from the Texans will turn into another plum draftee like Brown. Maybe Peterson will turn into another Gary Anderson. Maybe Peterson will turn into another Chris Jacke, an offseason free-agent signee who never worked out, giving way to a re-signed Norm Johnson.

Chances are, Peterson will not be Kris Brown.

For that, you're going to boo-hoo over the kid kicker you used to boo.

In addition to The Big Picture, Chuck Finder writes a general-sports column exclusive to the http://www.post-gazette.com/ every Tuesday. He can be reached at cfinder@post-gazette.com