Steelers welcome Matt

Steelers rookie tight end Matt Spaeth celebrates his third-quarter touchdown catch with Hines Ward.

By Scott Brown
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Hines Ward has made more than 60 touchdown receptions during his NFL career, but the Steelers wide receiver still remembers how special that first one is.
So when Matt Spaeth caught a 5-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter of the Steelers' 34-7 win Sunday against the Browns, Ward made sure to retrieve the ball.

He just probably didn't expect the response he got when he tried to give it to Spaeth. The rookie tight end asked Ward if he could take the ball over to the Steelers' sideline at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

That Spaeth remembered he still had work to do -- he is part of the Steelers' extra-point team -- in the midst of a moment he won't soon forget probably merits a positive mention in coach Mike Tomlin's latest installment of "The News."

His touchdown is just as newsworthy since it showed the value of having a 6-foot-7 player with sure hands near the end zone.
It, not to mention the work Spaeth has gotten in two-tight end sets, has in some small way justified the Steelers' picking him in April's draft.

Not that Steelers' fans had anything against Spaeth, a friendly sort whose Minnesota accent is as pronounced as he is tall. But the Steelers appeared to have more pressing needs than tight end, especially since starter Heath Miller was considered underutilized, when they took one on the first day of the draft.

"It motivates you," Spaeth said of the less-than-enthusiastic reaction to the Steelers' taking him in the third round, "but, at the same time, they picked me, and the fans can kind of think what they think, and I'm going to be here regardless. I'm trying to prove to myself and prove to everybody that I can play in this league."

A polished receiver who considers blocking his forte, Spaeth is still a work in progress in both areas.

His responsibilities as a receiver are no easier than trying to block players who are bigger and faster than the ones he faced regularly at the University of Minnesota, since Spaeth has to read the defense before knowing what pass pattern he is supposed to run.

He didn't catch a pass during the Steelers' five preseason games, which means the one he caught for the touchdown against the Browns had to be a relief. Spaeth said it didn't hit him that he had scored a touchdown in the NFL until later in the game while he rode an exercise bike on the sideline to stay loose.

He said the game ball, which Ward safely delivered to the sideline, is in his locker at the Steelers' South Side practice facility. He plans on having his parents, who are coming to Pittsburgh for the Steelers' home opener Sunday, take the ball back to their home in Minnesota.

Spaeth's teammates will no doubt tease him about not wanting the ball -- for a second time.

"When it happened, the last thing on my mind was what to do with the ball," Spaeth said of his first NFL touchdown with a laugh. "I've been getting a lot of crap about that. (His teammates) are like, 'It's your first touchdown, and you don't even want to keep the ball.' "

Scott Brown can be reached at sbrown@tribweb.com or 412-481-5432.