Steelers receiver Heyward-Bey looks to make most of chance

[stillers4me]

Darrius Heyward-Bey is a former No. 7 overall draft pick by the Oakland Raiders. He is the third-most prolific wide receiver on Maryland's career receiving yards list and a five-year NFL veteran.

But on Thursday, Heyward-Bey didn't know whether he would have a job through the weekend.

“I hope it means something good,” Heyward-Bey said after a six-reception, 44-yard performance in the Steelers' 10-0 loss to the Carolina Panthers at Heinz Field. “I hope the GM, the personnel staff and the head coach see that, but I leave that in their hands. I tried to do my part.”
When the Steelers announced their final roster cuts Saturday, Heyward-Bey got his good news: He wasn't among them. The 27 year-old was one of six Steelers wideouts to make the final cut.

For Heyward-Bey, just making the roster was a comeback performance. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound wide receiver suffered a concussion in a practice drill against defensive backs July 31, delaying his return to the field.........


Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/6675835-74/bey-heyward-steelers#ixzz3C4lBBxJk

[st33lersguy]

I hope he has a nice season, he has been putting the effort in, and seems like he really deserves a real shot

[GBMelBlount]

First round pick, right?

So what has been his problem? Drops? Health? Maturity?

Fingers crossed that he blossoms this year...

[Bluecoat96]

First round pick, right?

So what has been his problem? Drops? Health? Maturity?

Fingers crossed that he blossoms this year...

I haven't followed him too close over the past several years, but he seems to be a good kid without character concerns. Maybe a stable family environment the the Steelers can offer with be just what the doctor ordered. He's had Irsay and Al Davis for owners.

[Craic]

First round pick, right?

So what has been his problem? Drops? Health? Maturity?

Fingers crossed that he blossoms this year...

Well...

First round Raiders pick. There's a difference. First round pick usually means there's talent above most others on the draft board at any position, but, first round Raiders pick, while Davis was still alive meant there was more speed than anyone else on the draft board.

Here's hoping he can put it together enough to at least be our new Mike Wallace, for a whole lot less money. Stick him out there to take the top off the coverage and open up the underneath.

[Mojouw]

DHB has small problem. He has terrible hands. Other than that is he is a great WR. Good blocker, fast as hell, apparently a good teammate and a hard-worker. He just isn't very good at catching the ball. Think Ike Taylor on offense.

[Edman]

Heyward-Bey was overdrafted. Al Davis looked at his speed and athleticism and said "This is my guy" and didn't pay attention to wether he could play or not. Even when he was picked, people were scratching their heads. Heyward-Bey wasn't even rated that high in his own draft, but ol' Al didn't care.

Heyward-Bey is a 3rd-5th rounder kind of receiver, but because he was drafted by the Raiders, he was doomed from the start.

[steelreserve]

I don't think it was character concerns, just a knack for bad drops at bad times. Plus he had some pretty unfair expectations to live up to based on where senile Al Davis drafted him. I think he was projected as a second-rounder, not top of the first.

Basically, think Limas Sweed if he was drafted in the top 10 overall, and stayed healthy but kept playing the same way. That's why people are down on him, although there's no denying he has talent.

[Steelerette]

It's true the Raiders over-drafted him but let's be honest, he was still a late first or early second value. Seventh was pretty crazy sure, and he wasn't ready to be thrown into the primetime fire like he was.

He has everything you could want out of a receiver with his size - except for the hands. And if you look at it, his final season with the Raiders was a pretty nice season for him, but then they decided to part ways anyway... and then he didn't do himself any favors in the chance he got with Indy.

So while "hands" are the problem, it's hard to pinpoint whether it's a purely hands issue, or a concentration issue. You can't help but love how hard he works and if we're not expecting him to be a starting WR right away, well it could work out nicely for us especially now that he'll have ample time to really learn and understand our system.

I won't sit here and say he's great or anything but I do think he's due a few more props than he gets. Not living up to your draft stock, and not belonging in the league, are two different things entirely.

[BigNastyDefense]

He drops balls, but if it's a concentration issue then that can be fixed.

He was overdrafted, late first round talent at best drafted 7th overall by Crazy Al Davis. Never had a stable environment in Oakland. Had one year in Indy, didn't have an outstanding year at all. But like everyone has said: he's a hard worker, good teammate, good person. He's fast, big-ish, and can block down field.

He's no more than a third/fourth receiver on this team. But I think he's a better fourth receiver than what most teams would have.

He has had concussion issues in his career, sustaining his fifth documented concussion in training camp. If he gets another one this year, I expect him to retire.

[tube517]

DHB may get some playing time this week. Moore and Bryant didn't practice for the 2nd straight day.

http://www.steelersdepot.com/2014/09/steelers-injury-report-bryant-moore-mccain-wallace-sit-thursday/

[Craic]

I don't know, I think if he were really smart, he'd pick up the phone and dial either/both Hines's and Miller's numbers and tell them to come coach him up. You know Hines would do it, even though he's no longer with the team. Matter of fact, I wonder what the over/under is for Hines becoming a receivers coach in the NFL.

[fansince'76]

Here's hoping he can put it together enough to at least be our new Mike Wallace, for a whole lot less money.

And without the piss-poor attitude...

[silver & black]

First round pick, right?

So what has been his problem? Drops? Health? Maturity?

Fingers crossed that he blossoms this year...

He's a body catcher. I hope he has figured it out and does well on your team. He's a very hard worker and he stays out of trouble. I wish him the best of luck.

[ALLD]

Chance of a lifetime to recover a career and become a sports god in one of the most popular sports towns in the USA. And make millions of $ doing it. Just keep your head in the game, eyes on the ball and don't ride around in a car getting high.

[tube517]

And without the piss-poor attitude...

But is he getting paid to jump for the ball?

[Mojouw]

DHB had a chance to revive his career in Indy with a pass happy offense with no clear #1 WR once Reggie Wayne went down with injury. Despite hard work, good character, etc. his inability to consistently catch the ball forced him first to the bench and then off the team. That's where the Steelers took a chance on him.

I like the guy, I really do. I am intrigued by his athletic ability, but I can not imagine he has not spent hours in front of machine catching balls. He still can't do it that well. Like I said, Ike Taylor on offense.

[Steelerette]

DHB had a chance to revive his career in Indy with a pass happy offense with no clear #1 WR once Reggie Wayne went down with injury. Despite hard work, good character, etc. his inability to consistently catch the ball forced him first to the bench and then off the team. That's where the Steelers took a chance on him.

I like the guy, I really do. I am intrigued by his athletic ability, but I can not imagine he has not spent hours in front of machine catching balls. He still can't do it that well. Like I said, Ike Taylor on offense.
I can't really disagree with this.

I think DHB has a lot of value in this league -- as a WR4 or thereabouts. He can get down the field and open in a hurry... even if you only believe he'll catch 25% of what's delivered to him, it still forces defenses to respect that. Just don't mark him down as your primary possession guy or expect him to be WR1 and you're good, I think.

[ALLD]

Use him in the slot, safety valve or end around. Let the legs have more responsibility than the hands. Somehow reduce the risk of dropped balls by shortening the passing distance.

[GBMelBlount]

DHB has small problem. He has terrible hands. Other than that is he is a great WR.

Classic.

[Jaucer]

Here's hoping that he is taking note of AB's work ethic an putting in time in front of the jugs machine within 10yrds.

[GBMelBlount]

Here's hoping that he is taking note of AB's work ethic an putting in time in front of the jugs machine within 10yrds.

Exactly.

If the only thing keeping me from being a great receive was hands I would be spending hours on the jugs machine every day.

[Texasteel]

Here's hoping that he is taking note of AB's work ethic an putting in time in front of the jugs machine within 10yrds.

Work ethics was never one of his problems. Personally, I have thought that he was just a young man that heard his name called way earlier than even he thought it would be, thrown into a pressure spot in a bad situation, and was just overwhelmed by it. He didn't seem to progress in Black and Silver. Will he here? I don't know, but I hope so. We could use another threat in the open field, and, like mentioned, he is good young man.

[steel striker]

Hopefully DHB will catch the ball better than he did for other teams in the past. He seems like a good guy I'm rooting for him.

[Mojouw]

I think we are all missing the point here. Work ethic and time with the jugs won't fix bad hands. Look at two examples from the Steelers - Dwight Stone and Ike Taylor. By all accounts (google it if you wish), both players spent a TON of time working to improve their ability to catch the ball. It never really worked for either. I know that Stone is a well past example, but think back to Ike's career. If he could catch, even a little, how many picks would he have? During his prime, he would have made the Pro Bowl every single year, if he would've hung on to all the balls he got his hands on (that sentence suffers from very poor phrasing).

DHB is the same thing. I just hope that when his case of the "drops" rears its ugly head, we don't all hang him out to dry and wonder why he isn't practicing harder.

[Texasteel]

That is what I was trying to say, probably not very well. If he sticks here or not, it will not be because he hasn't worked hard enough. As for as hanging him out to dry, I for one will not. We all know what we have in him, and so does the Steelers. It's not like we haven't seen him play before. I'm sure all of us hope he can make it here and do a good job for us.

[Count Steeler]

Wonder if they ever tested his eyes. Maybe he is near sighted in one eye and far sighted in the other. Took doctors 40 years to figure that out with my sister in law.

[steelreserve]

Wonder if they ever tested his eyes. Maybe he is near sighted in one eye and far sighted in the other. Took doctors 40 years to figure that out with my sister in law.


Funny thing, that's also why Jason Kidd couldn't shoot 3-pointers to save his life until he got to the NBA. Nobody even bothered to check whether he needed glasses, which turned out to be the problem.

[GBMelBlount]

Wonder if they ever tested his eyes. Maybe he is near sighted in one eye and far sighted in the other. Took doctors 40 years to figure that out with my sister in law.

http://www.unsungfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/feldman04-300x230.jpg

Great point.

I played competitive baseball growing up.

I was wicked fast and could track down anything in the outfield.

After a car accident where my head blasted the front windshield things changed.

While I could still snag regular balls no problem the ones where I had to run like hell everything just "shook" and my brain could not make the full adjustments.

Frustrating as hell.

My point is simply that this IS a GREAT point.