Former Wagner kicker Czech goes 1-for-2 in Steelers debut

[Seahawks Fan]

Former Wagner kicker Czech goes 1-for-2 in Steelers debut

by Staten Island Advance
Friday August 14, 2009, 3:05 PM

Maybe it was nerves. Former Wagner College kicker Piotr Czech made his first professional appearance with the Steelers on Thursday night, and when he lined up the 36-yarder at the start of the third quarter he did something he rarely did with the Seahawks; he missed.

The Polish-born kicker was able to redeem himself later in the game, however, by splitting the uprights on a 44-yard field goal with 1:44 to go in the fourth.

The Steelers went on to win the game, 20-10, and Czech was 2-for-2 on PATs

http://www.silive.com/colleges/index.ssf/2009/08/former_wagner_kicker_czech_goe.html#more

[Seahawks Fan]

Czech-mate

Monday, August 17, 2009
By BOB LABRIOLA
Steelers.com

LATROBE, Pa. – It long has been a training camp ritual to make rookies sing during dinner. As it turned out here on Monday afternoon, it might be the veterans who are singing to Piotr Czech. At the very least, they should be singing his praises for the next few days.

One of the traditions Coach Mike Tomlin has established during training camp is to pick an extremely hot day during the end of the team’s stay at Saint Vincent College and then gather the players with about 30 minutes left in the afternoon session. At that point, the ball is placed down at a pre-arranged distance, and from there it’s simple: if the kicker makes the field goal, practice is over; miss it, and the whole team is required to finish the session as scheduled.

Jeff Reed is a veteran with two Super Bowl rings, and since he also was 2-for-2 in this particular exercise, Tomlin hung it on Czech, a first-year player from Wagner College who was born in Olesnica, Poland.

The distance was 52 yards, and Czech nailed it.



http://news.steelers.com/article/108351/