Heath having breakout season....

[SteelHead]

Steeler Nation knows what kind of player we have in Heath Miller. Fantastic hands , better than average blocker , good route runner , a beast to tackle and a team first guy. Basically , a COMPLETE tight end. Not a "hefty wideout". However Heath seems to fly well below the radar when it comes to mentioning the great TE's in the league. The stats show this might change in 2009. The stats also show that the Steelers have finally realized this guy needs the ball in his hands more often....


So far he has 24 catches , half the total of his best season in 2008. He's on pace for a blistering 96 receptions !!! The interesting stat to accompany those numbers is his YPC.
Up until this year he has averaged 11.5 ypc , fast forward to 2009 and his ypc has dropped significantly to 7.5 yds. On the surface that may appear as a negative. To me that signals not only the awakening of our beloved OC , to "get him the damn ball" but also the ever improving ability of Ben to take the safer option if others down field aren't open. This leads to sustaining offense and keeping our D fresh.

I'll take that all day....

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Heath having breakout season....

A few of us hanging out on the rotunda during the game were talking about Miller possibly being the best TE in the league. We were saying that he was the most complete all-around TE in the league, even if he does not have the stats of some other guys. Well, after the game, when he had his second 8 catch game of the season, it looks like he may have some pretty impressive stats at the quarter pole as well.

24 catches for 181 yards and 2 TD's is tied for 2nd among TE's in both catches and TD's, and is top 10 among TE's in yardage. If he keeps up the same pace for the other three-quarters of the season, that stat line projects out to 96 catches for 724 yards and 8 TD's.

[JTP53609]

Re: Heath having breakout season....

i have always thougth we struck gold when we got him with the 30th pick in the 05 draft,.....i think he is the best TE in football.....

on a side note, look at this pic of him, he looks like merril hodge..
[url="http://postgazette.com/pg/09279/1003284-314.stm"]http://postgazette.com/pg/09279/1003284-314.stm[/url]

[MeetJoeGreene]

Re: Heath having breakout season....

I am glad that we signed him to an extension before he started raking up all of these impressive stats.

[JTP53609]

Re: Heath having breakout season....

I am glad that we signed him to an extension before he started raking up all of these impressive stats.

i dont think he is the typ that would of held out though, but your right im glad we signed him when we did..

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Heath having breakout season....

i have always thougth we struck gold when we got him with the 30th pick in the 05 draft,.....i think he is the best TE in football.....

on a side note, look at this pic of him, he looks like merril hodge..
[url="http://postgazette.com/pg/09279/1003284-314.stm"]http://postgazette.com/pg/09279/1003284-314.stm[/url]

He is kind of a chameleon. Sometimes he may look like Tunch Ilkin.



Other times, he may look like a bigger version of Sports Guy Bill Simmons.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Heath having breakout season....

I love Heath!

Great pics of Ike Taylor and Heath there, MJG. And the others too, Ruth!

I think maybe one reason that he's under the radar nationally is that his YAC (yards after catch, is that a real stat?) isn't as "splashy" as some of the other TEs in the league, like Gates, etc. To my eye, Heath is good for a guaranteed 5-7 YAC, but will almost never get much more than that before he is tackled. He almost NEVER gets taken down right away, it's like he's just too BIG to tackle! And really, I can't remember him ever fumbling.

So, that's OK by me. He knows how to get open, and maybe (don't flame me if I'm way wrong on this) he may be as big a threat on 3rd and goal from the 3 yard line as anyone else on the team.

GO HEATH!!!!

[skyhawk]

Re: Heath having breakout season....

I love Heath!

Great pics of Ike Taylor and Heath there, MJG. And the others too, Ruth!

I think maybe one reason that he's under the radar nationally is that his YAC (yards after catch, is that a real stat?) isn't as "splashy" as some of the other TEs in the league, like Gates, etc. To my eye, Heath is good for a guaranteed 5-7 YAC, but will almost never get much more than that before he is tackled. He almost NEVER gets taken down right away, it's like he's just too BIG to tackle! And really, I can't remember him ever fumbling.

So, that's OK by me. He knows how to get open, and maybe (don't flame me if I'm way wrong on this) he may be as big a threat on 3rd and goal from the 3 yard line as anyone else on the team.

GO HEATH!!!!

I agree.

But LOL, you have short term memory loss. I think he fumbled in the last game against the Chargers?

[Ghost]

Re: Heath having breakout season....

Heath fumbled and Carey Davis picked it up in the endzone but the ball can only be advanced by the player (heath this time) who fumbled. That's why it got placed at the spot of the fumble.

Collinsworth was very complimentary of Miller and said a lot of folks in Steeler nation think he's the best TE in the game. Love to see him get to the probowl this year and get some recognition for all the work he does.

[AngryAsian]

Re: Heath having breakout season....

Heath fumbled and Carey Davis picked it up in the endzone but the ball can only be advanced by the player (heath this time) who fumbled. That's why it got placed at the spot of the fumble.

Collinsworth was very complimentary of Miller and said a lot of folks in Steeler nation think he's the best TE in the game. Love to see him get to the probowl this year and get some recognition for all the work he does.

The FO definitely did their homework prior to drafting him. All these years throughout many post game interviews, he never squawks about not getting the ball more. He just does his job within the scheme he's given and produces. Whether catching or blocking the guy is a complete professional and most definitely a "Steeler Guy."

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Re: Heath having breakout season....

I love Heath!

Great pics of Ike Taylor and Heath there, MJG. And the others too, Ruth!

I think maybe one reason that he's under the radar nationally is that his YAC (yards after catch, is that a real stat?) isn't as "splashy" as some of the other TEs in the league, like Gates, etc. To my eye, Heath is good for a guaranteed 5-7 YAC, but will almost never get much more than that before he is tackled. He almost NEVER gets taken down right away, it's like he's just too BIG to tackle! And really, I can't remember him ever fumbling.

So, that's OK by me. He knows how to get open, and maybe (don't flame me if I'm way wrong on this) he may be as big a threat on 3rd and goal from the 3 yard line as anyone else on the team.

GO HEATH!!!!

I agree.

But LOL, you have short term memory loss. I think he fumbled in the last game against the Chargers?

I try not to let the facts get in the way of my well-considered opinions!