Good Heath Miller Article

[Oviedo]

Excellent Heath Miller article. Hopefully Haley really uses the TE like NE, NO and GB do and make the TE a real primary go to weapon. With Saunders coming back we can do a lot of damage with the TEs.

Heath Miller Announces His Return To Prominence In Steelers Offense
by Neal Coolong on Sep 11, 2012 10:41 AM EDT in Steelers Roster


It's been a while since Steelers tight end Heath Miller was a consistent target in Pittsburgh's offense.
He caught 76 passes for 789 yards - both career highs - in 2009, and seemed to be on the upswing of an outstanding career.
Since then, he's caught 93 passes for 1,143 yards, or, an average of 47 catches and 571 yards a season. That's a pretty significant drop in production for a player who hasn't suffered major injury. It just seemed he got lost in the addition of Young Money - the nickname of the talented trio of Steelers receivers added in 2010-11, Mike Wallace, Emmanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown.
Miller showed his still a viable option, especially in the red zone in Pittsburgh's 31-19 loss at Denver.

Miller had four catches for 50 yards and a touchdown, including an out-and-up move that baffled Broncos linebacker Wesley Woodyard that went for 23 yards on 3rd-and-20. He was targeted three times in the end zone (seven in the game overall), and would have had two touchdowns if not for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throwing a dart instead of an arc to a wide open Miller in the right corner.

While Miller, known as a soft-spoken, humble guy, wouldn't complain about his role in the offense, his receiving ability has been put on the back burner over the past two years, partially due to the emergence of the Steelers' deep passing ability, and partially due to a shaky offensive line. Miller was often held him to help in pass protection, thus limiting his targets.

It's unfortunate. Over the last two seasons and Week 1 this year, the Steelers had won every game in which Miller caught a touchdown. Denver was their first loss when Miller crossed the goal line.
There was much talk this offseason about the Steelers' desire to run the ball, and their sagging red zone production last season strongly suggested improvement in that department was needed. The Steelers threw the ball inside the 10-yard line seven times in Week 1, with four of those being aimed at Miller. He caught one for a touchdown, caught another out of bounds, had one tipped away and would have had a second touchdown if the throw was a little higher.
If the Steelers take anything away from the loss, it's that Miller is being utilized again, and the offense will improve with him being a focal point of it.

[Djfan]

He's the ultimate Steelers player.

He got lost in the BA TE oddities.

[Oviedo]

He's the ultimate Steelers player.

He got lost in the BA TE oddities.

I agree. Arians came in with lots of empty promises on using the TE and it is one of the areas where he was a major failure. You have one of the Top 10 TEs in the league and he is an afterthought in your offense...just dumb!

[papillon]

At the end of the day, Heath's emergence or disappearance is a direct result of Ben. Ben loves the deep ball and the past two years with Wallace and then last year with Wallace and Brown emerging Ben isn't looking for a consistent 7 yard gain from his TE. When Ben's deep options aren't viable he looks to his security blanket Miller. Miller is consistently open and has sure hands, but Ben isn't a "take what they give" type quarterback.

I don't expect Heath to catch 75-80 balls this year as soon as Wallace gets on the same page as Ben, Brown and Sanders then Heath will "disappear" until he's needed. Heath's final number this year will be 50-55 catches for whatever amount of yards it ends up being. What I'm hoping increases are the number of TDs Heath scores, he's such an excellent end zone target.

Pappy

[Captain Lemming]

He caught 76 passes for 789 yards - both career highs - in 2009

Followed by

I agree. Arians came in with lots of empty promises on using the TE and it is one of the areas where he was a major failure. You have one of the Top 10 TEs in the league and he is an afterthought in your offense...just dumb!

Arians was OC in 2009.
Frankly THAT season his playcalling featured more running, balance, Heath the beast, a career high QB rating and TOUCHDOWNS by Ben, despite the balanced playcalling and was the highest scoring team in Bens career.
Under BC before or after Arians "year one" our offense was never as potent as 2009.
Had Arians continued THAT course, he would still be here.

[hawaiiansteel]

Steelers Miller Sits Out Of Practice Again

Sep 20th, 2012 by kariSteelers



During the Jets game, Heath suffered some damage to his rib cartilage, but as we know finished the game and helped the Steelers add one to the win column. But today, Thursday, was the second day he sat out of practice. Yikes. Not good. With no indication of whether or not he will play Sunday against the Raiders, I think we have to consider for a moment the impact that is going to have. Let me rephrase that, the rather large and impactful impact that is going to have.

Heath only had three catches against the Jets, but two were key third down grabs, on long third downs, as the running game was at best, ineffective. His third completion was a touchdown. His second in two games after scoring the first of the Steelers season against Denver.

When Todd Haley took the job earlier this year, he talked about the importance of having Miller more involved in the offense, getting the ball more. That’s a good thing, Ben has that *connection* with Heath, that’s evident. Miller is not one of those fancy pants tight ends that seems to be en-vogue, he’s not flashy like the Gronk or putting up ridiculous numbers like Graham, but he is consistent and he is dependable.

So the question of him playing on Sunday is potentially a serious one, with key players out on the defense (Harrison and Troy are already ruled out) and an offense that is only averaging a pathetic 2.6 yards per carry or something crappy like that. (I make no mention of the effects of our offensive line. That is like beating a dead horse and I happen to like animals.)

As a result, Ben is unfortunately having to play a little, ok a lot, of superman on third down. Miller is one of his go to guys. He’s like a warm fuzzy blanket. I like Ben to be warm and fuzzy and comfortable. A comfortable Ben is a good Ben. A non-interception throwing Ben.

Miller, the tough guy he is, the team player he is, will likely suit up on Sunday and catch his 2-3 passes, listen to the barrage of HEATH echoing through the stadium, do his duty on blocking and call it a day. He’ll be looking ahead to the week four bye along with what seems like a growing bunch of guys on the sideline in sweats instead of pads. At least Ben is in one piece. Someone knock on some wood.

Oh and yes, I googled ” Healing Torn Rib Cartilage” and now wish I didnt.

Torn rib cartilage, also called costochondral separation, can be one of the most difficult injuries to heal, because it cannot simply be placed in a cast. Ribs must move in order for your lungs to properly function, which inhibits healing. Symptoms of a torn rib cartilage include pain when you breathe, cough or sneeze, laugh and even move.

[URL]http://nicepickcowher.com/2012/09/20/steelers-miller-sits-out-of-practice-again/[/URL]

[flippy]

Not sure of the exact correlation, but it seems like the more a team uses their TE in the passing game, the more their running game opens up. And from there, the more effective the play action.

[Captain Lemming]

Not sure of the exact correlation, but it seems like the more a team uses their TE in the passing game, the more their running game opens up. And from there, the more effective the play action.

Just like NE....wait....um.....nevermind.

[Oviedo]

We are spoiled with Miller. He has been a "rock." However, he is getting older and we need to consider a top of the line replacement in the next year or so. maybe that is Saunders but he has to show a whole lot more before I'm willing to believe that. Several good TEs in this upcoming draft.