Who's fault is it really that Shaun Suisham got hurt?

Shaun Suisham isn't your average NFL place kicker. Since joining the Steelers in 2010, he's had more of a linebacker's mentality than anything else. It's the kind of spirit that gets you the respect of your teammates and the fans on Sundays. 


It's also the kind of spirit that gets you injured.

Suisham's boot to open the third quarter of the Hall of Fame Game in Canton last Sunday will be the last to skirt off his foot this season. The kicker with a heart of a linebacker got a little too involved in the actual football, eventually limping off the pitch after a tackle attempt along the sideline, and into an MRI tube.

A torn ACL, they said. The whole season, they said. 

Enter Garrett Hartley, who the Steelers signed this week to boot extra points in the occasionally-notorious Heinz Field this year. With the condition of the Steelers' offense the way it is, and the added length tacked onto extra points, it could be a demanding job.

Pittsburgh was understandably confident when they inked Suisham to a four-year deal last August. He was a 90 percent field goal and PAT kicker last season, among the top-5 in the NFL. But then they made the classic mistake: not bringing in the second man in case of injury.

With that lack of depth at the position, the question naturally arises as to why they had Suisham in the gameplan on Sunday at all? Why put him at risk for a potential injury? Surely, there were any number of kickers sloshing around NFL rosters who were available for the job. For a month, for a few weeks, for the night.

It's only natural enough to put the blame for something on the guy who actually did it. It was, after all, Suisham who went in for the tackle and tore his knee. But it's the coaches who are paid to make the decision as to who is on the field and who is not to start with. 

That's Mike Tomlin, who this offseason signed an extension that will give him $7 million a year to make those decisions. 

He was forthright enough to sit the recently-extended Ben Roethlisberger that night and stick Landry Jones in there to pitch. Sure, it wasn't a pleasant sight, but the game didn't count and he got some meaningful reps against a real defense. And now they don't have to worry about their No. 1 quarterback being injured for the future. 

If only the same decision were made for another one of their important players. But now, because it was not, the AFC North just got a little harder for the Steelers to win. If it comes down to a 45 yard field goal, that is.