Let's continue talking about various aspects of Pittsburgh's 14-17 loss to the Chicago Bears with a look at how the special teams fared on Sunday. Of course, two missed field goal opportunities by Jeff Reed helped Chicago steal a victory at home against the defending champions. But there were other phases of the special teams that gave Steelers fans reason to be optimistic moving forward.
* I was one again very pleased with the coverage units on special teams. The Bears averaged a little less than 18 yards per kickoff return and just 7 yards per punt return. Andre Frazier, in particular, seems to keep sticking out as the guy most frequently around the football on special teams coverage units. It's not a one man effort though. All 11 guys seem to be flooding to the ball while still maintaining their discipline and staying in their lanes. I believe the defense will continue to be a bit vulnerable with Polamalu injured, so it will be as important as ever for the special teams to limit field position for opposing offenses.
* On a similar note, a tip of the cap to punter Daniel Sepulveda for a job well done Sunday. Last week against the Titans, Sepulveda posted nice numbers - 7 punts, 42.7 average, 4 downed inside the 20. But I didn't see a booming leg that made me believe he could be a true weapon. I did today, though. Sepulveda punted 3 times for an average of 54.3 yards per punt. He had one beauty - a 58 yarder - that landed inside the 10 and sat down nicely inside the 5 yard line before being downed by Joe Burnett at the 3 yard line. Sepulveda had much better hang time and leg on his kicks this week despite the rainy conditions in Chicago.
* What can you say about Jeff Reed's performance? He's been so good for so long that it's not even really worth going there. If he struggles in forthcoming weeks, there will be a legitimate cause for concern. You can't win in this league without a kicker that is nails. The Steelers in particular need great field goal kicking. They're not an outstanding red zone team. Let's just move on for now and hope this was an aberration.
* Finally, Stefan Logan was again good in his second NFL game. Not great, but solid. He finished with an average of 25 yards per kickoff return and took one punt return 19 yards that helped set up a Pittsburgh touchdown. Honestly though, despite him playing pretty well through two weeks, I would be fairly surprised if Logan remains on the 53-man roster for the remainder of the season. Unless he's really effecting ballgames, he's not worth keeping on the roster.