Time for Steelers’ Heyward to step up

Quote :

By Ralph N. Paulk

Cam Heyward figures he'll soon have to face one inescapable, if not inevitable, reality.

At some point this season, he must prove to the Steelers that they invested wisely two years ago when they selected him in the first round of the NFL Draft.

He, too, finds himself in the unenviable position of being labeled a bust if he doesn't improve on the rather pedestrian numbers he put up the past two seasons.

So far, the third-year defensive end has progressed slowly. The Steelers, it seems, are waiting patiently to see if Heyward still has value and the potential that ultimately will influence where he lands on the depth chart.

The Ohio State product begins his third season amid a cloud of uncertainty.

He isn't likely to supplant Ziggy Hood or Brett Keisel in the starting lineup, but he can dictate how much playing time he'll get — or how his future will be shaped.

“I'm confident he's going to prove he's ready to contribute in a big way this season,” linebacker Lawrence Timmons said. “We're going to need a lot of our young players to perform for us to get back to the playoffs.”

He knows what he has to do when training camp begins July 26 at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.

It's time to prove he can be a force in the trenches, particularly with nose tackle Casey Hampton gone and an aging Keisel playing fewer downs for a defense that was ranked No. 1 in the NFL last season.

Two-and-a-half sacks over two years didn't cut it. And 26 solo tackles in 31 games falls far short of what was expected from the 31st overall pick in 2011.

Read more: http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/4245653-74/heyward-season-keisel#ixzz2ZM6uO9Vw

Meh, I think it's much too early to start saying "this has to be the year" for Heyward. I don't think anyone expected him to supplant Keisel right away, and he's played well enough when he's gotten an opportunity. He needs more opportunities ... you don't get experience sitting on the bench. This article should have been directed at Ziggy Hood. It's time for HIM to step up.

Wallace108 wrote:

Meh, I think it's much too early to start saying "this has to be the year" for Heyward. I don't think anyone expected him to supplant Keisel right away, and he's played well enough when he's gotten an opportunity. He needs more opportunities ... you don't get experience sitting on the bench. This article should have been directed at Ziggy Hood. It's time for HIM to step up.

This.