Cameron Heyward

[flippy]

How good do you guys think Cameron can be? Anyone think Heyward might be better than Aaron Smith?

If we look at his last 3 games where he's really come on, he's got 17 tackles and 2 sacks. Those are great numbers for a 3-4 DE. If you project those out for a full season, that's 90 tackles and 10 sacks. Those numbers would destroy any production from a 3-4 DE ever.

Aaron's best seasons were 70 tackles and 5.5 sacks or 43 tackles and 8 sacks.

The only other guy I'd put in Smitty's class would be Richard Seymour who also played some 3-4 DE. His best numbers were 57 tackles and 8 sacks.

If Heyward keeps it up, he's on pace to be the best ever at the position. And he's just getting started. Granted if he keeps it up, teams are going to have to game plan around him.

If Cam keeps his pace going for the rest of this year, he's gonna get to 61 tackles and 7 sacks. Those would be monster numbers and he wasn't even a starter for the full season.

[RussBII]

How good do you guys think Cameron can be? Anyone think Heyward might be better than Aaron Smith?

If we look at his last 3 games where he's really come on, he's got 17 tackles and 2 sacks. Those are great numbers for a 3-4 DE. If you project those out for a full season, that's 90 tackles and 10 sacks. Those numbers would destroy any production from a 3-4 DE ever.

Aaron's best seasons were 70 tackles and 5.5 sacks or 43 tackles and 8 sacks.

The only other guy I'd put in Smitty's class would be Richard Seymour who also played some 3-4 DE. His best numbers were 57 tackles and 8 sacks.

If Heyward keeps it up, he's on pace to be the best ever at the position. And he's just getting started. Granted if he keeps it up, teams are going to have to game plan around him.

If Cam keeps his pace going for the rest of this year, he's gonna get to 61 tackles and 7 sacks. Those would be monster numbers and he wasn't even a starter for the full season.

Imagine how good he'll be when we have bookend rushers again (will that happen?) or a legit NT? I think the sky's the limit for him, he seems like the right kinda kid, with the right motor and the right size.

[Oviedo]

Imagine how good he could be if he didn't spend so much time "occupying blockers" and could just go after the QB and make plays in tha backfield.

[steelblood]

How good do you guys think Cameron can be? Anyone think Heyward might be better than Aaron Smith?

If we look at his last 3 games where he's really come on, he's got 17 tackles and 2 sacks. Those are great numbers for a 3-4 DE. If you project those out for a full season, that's 90 tackles and 10 sacks. Those numbers would destroy any production from a 3-4 DE ever.

Aaron's best seasons were 70 tackles and 5.5 sacks or 43 tackles and 8 sacks.

The only other guy I'd put in Smitty's class would be Richard Seymour who also played some 3-4 DE. His best numbers were 57 tackles and 8 sacks.

.

JJ Watt is pretty good

[phillyesq]

Imagine how good he could be if he didn't spend so much time "occupying blockers" and could just go after the QB and make plays in tha backfield.

Imagine how much worse the run defense would be if Vince Williams and Lawrence Timmons were never clean and always had to fight off guards.

[flippy]

JJ Watt is pretty good

I always forget he's a 3-4 DE because I never see many Houston games and his stats are off the charts for that position.

[BradshawsHairdresser]

Glad he's finally getting the chance to shine. May he have many years of stellar play ahead of him (for the Steelers, I hope).

[Shawn]

Lets remember something about Aaron Smith. He might have been the most underrated Steeler player...ever. I know Belichick stated, if he could have one Steeler player he would grab Aaron Smith. He might be one of the best if not the best 3-4 DE to ever play the game. Stats are not a good way to measure a 3-4 DE.


With that said, I think Heyward is a different kind of player. I also think he will be streakier than Smith. He was a very streaky player in college...never really playing poorly...but having freakish games out of the blue. He owned Arkansas...never seen an OSU DLman dominate like that. The sky is the limit for him. He is quicker and more explosive than Smith. I believe Smith was savvy, and smart...knew technique and leverage...played within himself.

So to answer the question do I believe Heyward can be one of the best 3-4 DLmen ever? Yeah, he has that kind of ability. Guess only time will tell.

[Slapstick]

I like Heyward. A lot.

But, best 3-4 DL ever?

Ever heard of Bruce Smith?

[Oviedo]

Imagine how much worse the run defense would be if Vince Williams and Lawrence Timmons were never clean and always had to fight off guards.

Wouldn't be the case if there were four defensive linemen would it?

[Shawn]

I like Heyward. A lot.

But, best 3-4 DL ever?

Ever heard of Bruce Smith?

I said "one of".

[DBR96A]

I said "one of".

Bruce Smith was a 4-3 DE, no?

[Shawn]

Bruce Smith was a 4-3 DE, no?

Bruce Smith: I played my whole career in a 3-4. My whole career with the Bills, 13 years. We did, at some point in time when Wade came in, experiment with a 4-3, but just did not have it, whether it was the personnel or our not being able to get a grasp on it, we didn’t stick with it.

[flippy]

Heyward continues looking like one of our best defenders. He's becoming a tackling machine at DE. Getting pressure. Getting his hands on the ball.

6 more tackles and 2 knocked down passes. He's slowly becoming a beast.

Surprisingly, Ziggy wasn't that bad on the other side. He was productive. Maybe Ziggy's a better fit for Keisel's spot?

[steelz09]

Heyward is probably the best young talent on this team right now. I think JJ will show a HUGE improvement next year as well.