Coach Takes A Look At Special teams!

Steelers Notebook: Special teams put on notice

Wednesday, October 31, 2007
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Mike Tomlin told the rest of his team just how serious he is about improving his special teams when he cut cornerback Ricardo Colclough yesterday.
Colclough, a second-round draft pick in 2004, blew an assignment in Cincinnati that helped Glen Holt return a kickoff 42 yards for the Bengals. Apparently, Tomlin had seen enough of Colclough and cut him loose, replacing him with Anthony Madison, one of their best special-teams players as a rookie last season.
The Steelers announced the release after Tomlin's news conference, and the coach was unavailable for comment.
"This is the first year for us as a staff and a football team, but we have more continuity on offense and defense than we have in the kicking game," Tomlin said earlier.
Colclough not only played poorly on special teams, but he was a bust as a second-round pick from tiny Tusculum. Not only did the Steelers draft him in the second round, but they traded away their fourth-round choice to move higher in the second round, the 38th overall choice in the 2004 draft.
He never started a game in the 33 he played. He played in only three last year before he was placed on injured reserve with a neck injury.
Rookie William Gay, a fifth-round draft pick, moved ahead of him on the depth chart at the start of the season as the No. 4 corner.
Colclough was not active until after Bryant McFadden severely sprained his ankle Sept. 30. Since then, Colclough has played only on special teams, although not well enough.
Tomlin criticized the kick coverage team yesterday.
"We have to do a better job in the kicking game in terms of covering kicks," Tomlin said. "We addressed that yesterday with the team and look forward to getting out and working this week in that area specifically ... ."
Madison made the team as an undrafted rookie from Alabama last season. He was a terror on special teams in training camp.
Colclough had a $510,000 salary in 2007 as part of the four-year contract he signed as a rookie. The Steelers are not liable to pay him the rest of this year's salary.