Shaun Suisham
Encyclopedia
Shaun Christopher Suisham (icon; born December 29, 1981) is a Canadian placekicker
of American football
for the Pittsburgh Steelers
of the National Football League
(NFL). He was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football
at Bowling Green
.
Suisham has also been a member of the Washington Redskins
and Dallas Cowboys
.
to Rick and Wendy Suisham. The 1999 conference offensive MVP, Suisham graduated from Wallaceburg District Secondary School
. In 1998, Suisham kicked two field goals (from 58 and 27 yards) and helped Wallaceburg win the league championship for the first time since 1968. Starting from the spring 2000 semester, Suisham attended Bowling Green State University
. Injured during spring practice, Suisham redshirted his freshman season and was on the active roster from 2001 to 2004. He played under coach Urban Meyer
in 2001 and 2002.
In the 2004 CFL Draft
, the Ottawa Renegades
drafted Suisham and traded his rights to the Edmonton Eskimos
. Suisham never signed with either team.
He left Bowling Green as the all-time leading scorer of the Falcons
football team with 361 points and broke records with 45 career field goals and 31 touchback
s. In 2003, he was special teams MVP, and in 2004 he was Second-Team All-MAC
. Suisham graduated from Bowling Green in 2005 with a degree in exercise science.
practice squad and signed with the team on October 24, 2005. After two weeks on the team, in which he went 2 for 2 on field goal
s, he was released so the Cowboys could sign Billy Cundiff
. Cundiff struggled so Dallas re-signed Suisham for the last game of the regular season.
During the 2006
off-season, Suisham was re-signed by the Dallas Cowboys. Originally, he was supposed to be second on the depth chart
behind Mike Vanderjagt
. After Vanderjagt missed two potentially game-winning field goal attempts in a preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings
, Suisham was named the starter
for the Cowboys' season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars
on September 10, 2006. He attempted two kicks during the game, the first of which was good from a then-career-long 52 yards. The second attempt, which would have given the Cowboys the lead, hit the right upright of the goalpost. He went on to kick for five more weeks as a kick off specialist.
On October 12, 2006, the Cowboys released Suisham.
in the Redskins' season-opener on September 9, 2007.
He re-signed with the Redskins on March 16, 2009.
On December 6, 2009, Suisham missed a 23-yard field goal that likely would have sealed an upset win against the undefeated New Orleans Saints
. The Redskins went on to lose the game in overtime, 33-30. The Redskins released Suisham on December 8, 2009, and replaced him with former UFL kicker Graham Gano
.
missed 10 field goals in 2009. Suisham was two out of three in the regular season. On January 17, 2010, he played in the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, his fourth game after replacing Nick Folk. He missed twice, including kicks from 48 and 49 yards, making one field goal from 33 yards.
He was not tendered by Dallas after the season, becoming a free agent.
On December 5, 2010, Suisham made two field goals in the Steelers 13-10 victory against the Baltimore Ravens. He also handled the punting duties for the Steelers after Daniel Sepulveda
tore his ACL.
On December 12, 2010, Suisham made three field goals in the Steelers' victory over the Bengals.
Suisham finished the regular season 14 of 15 on field goal attempts, with his only miss coming from 41 yards out in Week 16 against the Carolina Panthers
.
On January 15, 2011, Suisham missed a 43-yard field goal in the divisional playoff round, the first postseason miss by a Steelers kicker since Jeff Reed's rookie year of 2002.
On February 6, 2011, Suisham missed a 52-yard field goal in Super Bowl XLV
. The Steelers lost 31-25 to the Green Bay Packers.
On September 25, 2011, Suisham made a 38-yard game winning field goal against the Colts with 4 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...
of American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
for the Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
(NFL). He was signed by the Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Bowling Green
Bowling Green Falcons football
The Bowling Green Falcons football team is the interscholastic football team at Bowling Green State University. Bowling Green competes as a member of the Mid-American Conference in the East Division. The Falcons have won ten conference championships....
.
Suisham has also been a member of the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
and Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
.
Early life and college
Suisham was born in Wallaceburg, OntarioWallaceburg, Ontario
Wallaceburg is an unincorporated community and town located in the municipality of Chatham-Kent in Southern Ontario, Canada. Originally a small settlement, it was recognized for its significant contribution to the lumber and boat building industries and strategic location along the banks of the...
to Rick and Wendy Suisham. The 1999 conference offensive MVP, Suisham graduated from Wallaceburg District Secondary School
Wallaceburg District Secondary School
Wallaceburg District Secondary School is a high school in Wallaceburg, Ontario. It has a student population of about 800 and a faculty of around 40...
. In 1998, Suisham kicked two field goals (from 58 and 27 yards) and helped Wallaceburg win the league championship for the first time since 1968. Starting from the spring 2000 semester, Suisham attended Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University
Bowling Green State University, often referred to as Bowling Green or BGSU, is a public, coeducational research university located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 by the State of Ohio as part of the Lowry Bill, which also established Kent State...
. Injured during spring practice, Suisham redshirted his freshman season and was on the active roster from 2001 to 2004. He played under coach Urban Meyer
Urban Meyer
Urban Frank Meyer, III is an American football coach and former player. He is head football coach at Ohio State University, having been hired for the position in November 2011...
in 2001 and 2002.
In the 2004 CFL Draft
2004 CFL Draft
-Round one:-Round two:-Round Three:-Round Four:-Round Five:-Round Six:...
, the Ottawa Renegades
Ottawa Renegades
Ottawa Renegades was the most recent name of a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario founded in 2002, seven years after the storied Ottawa Rough Riders folded...
drafted Suisham and traded his rights to the Edmonton Eskimos
Edmonton Eskimos
The Edmonton Eskimos are a Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They currently play in the West Division of the Canadian Football League . Edmonton is currently the third-youngest franchise in the CFL, although there were clubs with the name Edmonton Eskimos as early as 1895...
. Suisham never signed with either team.
He left Bowling Green as the all-time leading scorer of the Falcons
Bowling Green Falcons football
The Bowling Green Falcons football team is the interscholastic football team at Bowling Green State University. Bowling Green competes as a member of the Mid-American Conference in the East Division. The Falcons have won ten conference championships....
football team with 361 points and broke records with 45 career field goals and 31 touchback
Touchback
In American football, a touchback is a ruling which is made and signaled by an official when the ball becomes dead behind or above a goal line and the team who is attacking that goal line is responsible for the ball being there. Responsibility is determined by which team gave the ball the impetus...
s. In 2003, he was special teams MVP, and in 2004 he was Second-Team All-MAC
Mid-American Conference
The Mid-American Conference is a National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I college athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twelve full member schools are in Ohio and Michigan, with single members...
. Suisham graduated from Bowling Green in 2005 with a degree in exercise science.
Dallas Cowboys (2005-2006)
Suisham joined the Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
practice squad and signed with the team on October 24, 2005. After two weeks on the team, in which he went 2 for 2 on field goal
Field goal (football)
A field goal in American football and Canadian football is a goal that may be scored during general play . Field goals may be scored by a placekick or the now practically extinct drop kick.The drop kick fell out of favor in 1934 when the shape of the ball was changed...
s, he was released so the Cowboys could sign Billy Cundiff
Billy Cundiff
William A. "Billy" Cundiff is an American football placekicker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He was signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2002...
. Cundiff struggled so Dallas re-signed Suisham for the last game of the regular season.
During the 2006
2006 NFL season
The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006...
off-season, Suisham was re-signed by the Dallas Cowboys. Originally, he was supposed to be second on the depth chart
Depth chart
In sports, a depth chart is used to show the placements of the starting players and the secondary players. Generally a starting player will be listed first or on top while a back-up will be listed below...
behind Mike Vanderjagt
Mike Vanderjagt
Michael John "Mike" Vanderjagt , is a professional American and Canadian football placekicker and punter who has played in the Arena Football League, the Canadian Football League and National Football League...
. After Vanderjagt missed two potentially game-winning field goal attempts in a preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
, Suisham was named the starter
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
for the Cowboys' season opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
on September 10, 2006. He attempted two kicks during the game, the first of which was good from a then-career-long 52 yards. The second attempt, which would have given the Cowboys the lead, hit the right upright of the goalpost. He went on to kick for five more weeks as a kick off specialist.
On October 12, 2006, the Cowboys released Suisham.
Washington Redskins (2006-2009)
Suisham was signed on November 22, 2006 to the Washington Redskins' practice squad. The Redskins promoted him to the active roster on December 2, 2006. He missed his first attempt from 50 yards but went on to make 8 consecutive field goals to finish out the year. He kicked his first game-winning field goal from 39 yards in an overtime victory over the Miami DolphinsMiami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the Redskins' season-opener on September 9, 2007.
He re-signed with the Redskins on March 16, 2009.
On December 6, 2009, Suisham missed a 23-yard field goal that likely would have sealed an upset win against the undefeated New Orleans Saints
New Orleans Saints
The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. They are members of the South Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League ....
. The Redskins went on to lose the game in overtime, 33-30. The Redskins released Suisham on December 8, 2009, and replaced him with former UFL kicker Graham Gano
Graham Gano
Graham Gano is an American football placekicker for the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Florida State...
.
Dallas Cowboys (2009)
On December 21, 2009, the Cowboys signed Shaun Suisham, after Nick FolkNick Folk
Nicholas "Nick" Alexander Folk is an American football kicker who currently plays for the New York Jets of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
missed 10 field goals in 2009. Suisham was two out of three in the regular season. On January 17, 2010, he played in the NFC Divisional Playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings, his fourth game after replacing Nick Folk. He missed twice, including kicks from 48 and 49 yards, making one field goal from 33 yards.
He was not tendered by Dallas after the season, becoming a free agent.
Pittsburgh Steelers (2010-present)
On November 16, 2010, Suisham signed with the Pittsburgh Steelers after a tryout, as Jeff Reed had poor outings throughout the 2010 season. On November 28, 2010, Suisham kicked four 40+ yard field goals (45, 46, 48, and 41 yards) against Buffalo, including the game-winning kick in overtime. No other player in NFL history has kicked four field goals of 40 yards or longer, including an OT game-winner, in one game, but Suisham has done it twice. Suisham had a 5 field goal effort of 40+ yards for the Redskins in a 23-20 overtime victory over the Jets in 2007.On December 5, 2010, Suisham made two field goals in the Steelers 13-10 victory against the Baltimore Ravens. He also handled the punting duties for the Steelers after Daniel Sepulveda
Daniel Sepulveda
Daniel Wade Sepulveda is an American football punter for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the fourth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at Baylor. He is the only two-time Ray Guy Award winner.-College career:He was an All-American at Baylor...
tore his ACL.
On December 12, 2010, Suisham made three field goals in the Steelers' victory over the Bengals.
Suisham finished the regular season 14 of 15 on field goal attempts, with his only miss coming from 41 yards out in Week 16 against the Carolina Panthers
Carolina Panthers
The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
.
On January 15, 2011, Suisham missed a 43-yard field goal in the divisional playoff round, the first postseason miss by a Steelers kicker since Jeff Reed's rookie year of 2002.
On February 6, 2011, Suisham missed a 52-yard field goal in Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV
Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League champion for the 2010 season. The game was held at Cowboys Stadium in...
. The Steelers lost 31-25 to the Green Bay Packers.
On September 25, 2011, Suisham made a 38-yard game winning field goal against the Colts with 4 seconds remaining in the 4th quarter