Cam Heyward

[dislocatedday]

I can't say I specifically watched him on every play on D, but when I did, I noticed him manhandling guys on the line and hustling around the field. He stood out to me tonight, at least when I made a point to watch him. I did not even realize Ziggy had gotten hurt until after the game, and I wondered why Heyward seemed to be playing more than usual. Did I just happen to watch his "good" plays and miss his "bad" ones tonight, or was he solid throughout the evening?

[Seven]

He has been playing great all season. I've said on numerous occassions on this board that he gives the defense a spark. He's gonna be a great one.

[Devilsdancefloor]

He was solid through the night

[Shoes]

Can he play QB?..... :chuckle:

[steelerdude15]

I noticed something during last nights game. When Cam was in, he was able to put more pressure on Flacco and was able to penetrate/disrupt the Ravens o-line more than Hood has done all year. I would like to see Cam start if he can do more.

[st33lersguy]

And yet he stuck rotting the bench behind useless Ziggy Hood because Momlin and the coaching doesn't have the guts to bench an under-performing player

[Dwinsgames]

Cam played very well as did the rest of the Def unit ... his amount of pressures reminded me of Aaron Smiths rookie ( or 2nd ) year ( he has like 11 sacks at 3-4 DE )

I stand corrected 8 sacks in his second season ( at my age exact number escape me a dozen years later LOL ) point still stands

[Psycho Ward 86]

^he's never had more than 8 sacks a season

[X-Terminator]

And yet he stuck rotting the bench behind useless Ziggy Hood because Momlin and the coaching doesn't have the guts to bench an under-performing player

You've said this about a million times already. We get it. And the cute little pet name for Tomlin got old after the first 50 times you've said it.

[Austin87]

Heyward and McLendon has been getting surprisingly little playing time, I remember a few years back we had a rotation system for our d-line players, which kept them fresh throughout the game. Wonder what happened?

[zulater]

You've said this about a million times already. We get it. And the cute little pet name for Tomlin got old after the first 50 times you've said it.


Yeah, kinda like that "Botch" thing. :wink02:

- - - Updated - - -

Make the Switch

With Ziggy Hood a continual disappointment as a starter for the Steelers along their defensive line, he left this game injured after just a dozen snaps, opening the door for Cameron Heyward to show what he could do. Hood had actually made a couple of plays in the run game before he went out, but they both came from being blocked to the ground around the point of attack and simply clogging up the intended running lane. It was certainly an interesting tactic, and given his play in the past, might be his best bet to make an impact.

Heyward showed after he came in that it simply is not the scheme that is holding Hood back, because in the same position and role he made far more of a presence of himself. Heyward made five tackles, which is more than half of the total that Hood has for the entire season and the story is the same when it comes to pass-rushing, with a hit and two hurries exactly half of the total pressure Hood has at this point in the year. Pittsburgh has just been given the tape that justifies a switch at the position, let’s see if they notice.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/11/20/refo-ravens-steelers-week-11/

[X-Terminator]

Yeah, kinda like that "Botch" thing. :wink02:



http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff38/ejirson/2vkgqck.gif

[bayz101]

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff38/ejirson/2vkgqck.gif

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lpbfgmujg91qfc1wv.gif

[Pristas]

To the OP, yes, I noticed the same thing. Heyward's name stuck out to me on several plays. I logged it somewhere in the back of my mind under "he looks good tonight". I had forgotten about his play until you just mentioned it here. I really liked the way he was driving guys back into Flacco. When he did that, it gave Woodley more room to either go left or right, and it made Flacco think twice. I'd like to see him nab that starting spot and I'd like Hood to look at technique more than his vertical jump.

[tube517]

http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff38/ejirson/2vkgqck.gif

:rofl2:

[dislocatedday]

........... Heyward made five tackles, which is more than half of the total that Hood has for the entire season and the story is the same when it comes to pass-rushing, with a hit and two hurries exactly half of the total pressure Hood has at this point in the year. Pittsburgh has just been given the tape that justifies a switch at the position, let’s see if they notice.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2012/11/20/refo-ravens-steelers-week-11/

Wow, I had no idea Ziggy had made that little of an impact.

The other thing that really sticks out is this. The week before KC ran exclusively to the right side (Ziggy's side) and picked up good chunks of yardage in the run game. It looked like the Ravens tried that same approach and repeatedly got stuffed. The only real difference being Cam Heyward was lined up on that side this week.

[zulater]

Defensive end Ziggy Hood (sprained back) will be limited Wednesday. Right tackle Marcus Gilbert (ankle) is ready to start doing individual workouts after missing five games. Running back Isaac Redman (concussion) hasn’t been ruled out of the Browns game.

http://triblive.com/sports/2994100-85/steelers-clark-ravens-game-towel-games-reed-woodley-running-safety

I would imagine Cam will get most of the snaps this week against the Browns. If he can play like he did against the Ravens he might just Wally Pipp, Ziggy out of the starters job.

[86WARD]

http://triblive.com/sports/2994100-85/steelers-clark-ravens-game-towel-games-reed-woodley-running-safety

I would imagine Cam will get most of the snaps this week against the Browns. If he can play like he did against the Ravens he might just Wally Pipp, Ziggy out of the starters job.

That would not terribly disappoint me...

[GBMelBlount]

Heyward and McLendon has been getting surprisingly little playing time, I remember a few years back we had a rotation system for our d-line players, which kept them fresh throughout the game. Wonder what happened?

Great thread on Heyward and it is exciting to see how our defense has completely turned it around by mid season after completely disappearing in the 4th quarter the first 1/4 of the year.

Hats off to Lebeau and the rest of the coaches and squad.

----------

Now I am also curious about the defensive rotation.

How well IS Hampton playing this year?

I ask this because with his age and recent injury and how solid McClendon has looked, I cannot understand how we could not possibly benefit by more of a rotation in this case either.

[steeldawg]

Heyward did a real nice job collapsing the pocket, he was really showing some good power out there.

[oneforthetoe]

Heyward seems to have earned more playing time. I am going to hold off on getting too excited because I remember a couple of years ago people saying the same thing about Ziggy. In that vein, I haven't given up on Ziggy.

He was part of the number one rushing d last year. This could be the case of a guy changing his physical body too much, which has affected his game in some undetermined way. He put on a lot of weight and muscle in the off-season. Maybe he has got a 1/2 step slower? Maybe his flexibility has suffered so much that he is taking bad angles? Maybe it is just a mental thing, whereby now he thinks he can overpower everybody? I don't know, but Ziggy was better last year.

Hopefully, Ziggy gets things worked out. Cam continues to improve. And, we have out D ends of the next 6 years already in place.