Hood, Heyward, Timmons, Woodley, and Young Money

[BigRob]

A very nice beginning to the new younger stars. If Woodley continues to pick it up the rest of the season, I will be extremely happy.

Now we just need to work on the O-line, Defensive Backs, and T-Ends.

[DukieBoy]

Re: Hood, Heyward, Timmons, Woodley, and Young Money

The future looks bright with our young DB's, I think (hope). The question is, how would the irreplaceable Troy Polamalu eventually be replaced.

[flippy]

Re: Hood, Heyward, Timmons, Woodley, and Young Money

I'm most exited about Heyward. The sooner we get him more snaps the better.

The Oline, DBs, and TEs will be fine. Max is what we needed on the line. I'm really excited about Brown and Allen in the secondary and Lewis has been a pleasant surprise. When Saunders learns to block, we're gonna have a very special TE.

The biggest concern I have is the defensive front 7 and how we generate a consistent pass rush. That's the real weakness that I see on this team and that going to be the key to our success come playoff time. We get 0 pressure rushing 3-4 guys and Lebeau doesn't seem to want to send more often.

[Shawn]

Re: Hood, Heyward, Timmons, Woodley, and Young Money

Heyward got serious PT as a freshman at OSU (which isn't usually an easy thing to get) and played very well. He got my attention right from the get go. He is a special talent.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Hood, Heyward, Timmons, Woodley, and Young Money

The future looks bright with our young DB's, I think (hope). The question is, how would the irreplaceable Troy Polamalu eventually be replaced.

I never thought we'd ever have another Greg Lloyd or a Carnell Lake (just like I'm sure the generation before me never thought we'd have another Jack Lambert or Donnie Shell)...then James Harrison and Troy Polamalu came along.

[flippy]

Re: Hood, Heyward, Timmons, Woodley, and Young Money

I never thought we'd have another Bubby and we landed ourselves Kordell. Things have a way of working themselves out.

[Sugar]

Re: Hood, Heyward, Timmons, Woodley, and Young Money

The future looks bright with our young DB's, I think (hope). The question is, how would the irreplaceable Troy Polamalu eventually be replaced.

I never thought we'd ever have another Greg Lloyd or a Carnell Lake (just like I'm sure the generation before me never thought we'd have another Jack Lambert or Donnie Shell)...then James Harrison and Troy Polamalu came along.

Yeah, there were a lot of people who were skeptical that a backup who had been cut so many times could replace Joey Porter too.

[hawaiiansteel]

Re: Hood, Heyward, Timmons, Woodley, and Young Money

On the Steelers: Heyward provides glimpse of future

Injuries create spot for him to display his skills, feistiness

Saturday, October 15, 2011
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



In two significant moments in the fourth quarter Sunday against the Tennessee Titans, rookie defensive end Cam Heyward ended up in the same place as he did on several feisty days in training camp at Saint Vincent College -- in the backfield.

And, just like those days in Latrobe, the Titans didn't like it, either.

Heyward, the Steelers' No. 1 draft choice, had his first NFL sack and forced fumble on a third-down play in the 38-17 victory at Heinz Field.

Three plays later, quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was penalized for intentional grounding when he was about to be sacked again by Heyward..

The Steelers (3-2) are seeing more of Heyward, who is getting more playing time because of injuries on their defensive line to end Aaron Smith and nose tackle Casey Hampton -- neither of whom will play for the second game in a row Sunday when the Jacksonville Jaguars (1-4) play at Heinz Field.

And they like what they are seeing.

"He's making good progress," said defensive coordinator D!ck LeBeau. "He's always had real good pass-rush ability and he showed up in the game Sunday with good pass rushes. He's learning the package very well. We're very hopeful he'll develop along the lines of Ziggy [Hood] and contribute as the season goes along."

The Steelers saw a lot of that in training camp when Heyward often angered his own offensive linemen with his relentless pass-rush ability. On back-to-back days, he got into fights with a couple veteran tackles because he never stopped trying to collapse the pocket.

"You saw why those guys were upset," said Lawrence Timmons, who will start at outside linebacker for the second game in a row for injured James Harrison (orbital facture). "They ended up in their own backfield."

That's the way Heyward plays, and the Steelers saw another example of that against the Titans when he just pushed his way into their backfield to sack Hasselbeck.

The plays were big hits in the film room for defensive linemen during the week. And Heyward, for one, would like to see more of them.

"They're saying they're great plays, but I have to be consistent," Heyward said. "It can't just be one game. Now, I have to go from here and prove it's not just a blip on a screen. I have to prove I can do this week in and week out."

The Steelers think he can.

Heyward is being brought along at least at the same pace as Hood when he was the team's No. 1 draft choice in 2009 -- and likely more so.

LeBeau always has made it a point to get at least a few snaps each game for players he knows eventually will be contributors, if not starters, on the defense.

He did it with Troy Polamalu when he was a rookie in '03; Timmons and Hood, too.

Heyward, of course, is no exception.

"We want them to be a part of the defense and get them in the game," LeBeau said. "Cam's got a great work ethic. I think the future is going to be onward and upward for him."

For now, Heyward is glad the coaches are noticing

"I just think I got to make the most out of my plays and make sure they see that I'm working," Heyward said.

They do.

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