Pressley Harvin III was the Pittsburgh Steelers 7th round draft pick in April. He was brought in to finally settle the punting position. But he's been a little inconsistent so far this preseason.
His first punt against the Dallas Cowboys in the Hall of Fame game was a beauty, pinning Dallas inside their own 2 yard-line. He's had some good ones, but in particular Friday night in Carolina, he had some short ones. Some of it could be the coaches asking for sideline punts, or specific things beyond pure distance. But the Steelers were deep inside their own territory a few times when he came out to punt.
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His opponent Jordan Berry has been just as good if not a little better than Harvin so far. But we have seven years of experience watching Berry be wildly inconsistent during games. When the team needs a booming punt is when Berry usually does his worst.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer Gerry Dulac doesn't believe Harvin has done enough to surpass Berry on the Steelers roster. That would be extremely upsetting to most of Steeler Nation.
"Rookie Pressley Harvin III, whose booming punts are only visible in practice, should not displace Jordan Berry," Dulac wrote.
Each punter received one full game to take all of the punting duties. Harvin against Dallas, and Berry against Philadelphia. Harvin averaged 45.8 yards per punt, 3 inside the 20, and a long of 51 in his game. Berry averaged 44 yards per punt, 2 inside the 20, and a long of 54.
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The Steelers only punted once against the Detroit Lions and it was Harvin with a 50-yarder. Against Carolina, the dismal offense gave both punters plenty of chances. Both punted 4 times with Berry edging Harvin in average 43.8 to 42.3, and in distance 55 to 48.
I think everyone would have loved to see Harvin blow Berry out of the water, but it just didn't happen.
At the end of the day, the Steelers have been trying to find a replacement for Berry, and may opt to give Harvin the chance to grow rather than see Berry do the punting for another season. Chances are Berry will still be around if they decide they need to bring him back at a later time. Just like they did last season.
Who do yinz think deserves the punting job? Click to comment below!
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