From Teresa Varley, Steelers.com:
Cam Heyward never takes a play off.
“What I see every day is the work, the ethic, running after every play, the high motor, a guy if you played against would drive you crazy because he never. I am glad he is on our team. You see growth every day from him. Both vocally and action wise.” – Ben Roethlisberger
Cam Heyward isn’t afraid to make a hard hit, wrap someone up and bring them down. He does it at the line of scrimmage, he does it in an opponent’s backfield, and on occasion, like last week against the Cincinnati Bengals, he does it 30 yards downfield.
That is what we preach around here,” said Heyward. “It doesn’t matter who is out here, we all have to run to the ball and be accountable. If one guy misses a tackle, another guy has to be there.”
That is an attitude and mindset that starts in practice, something they work on every day to make sure on game day there is no slacking.
“We preach it,” said Heyward. “We want to get turnovers in practice, run to the ball and be disruptive. To do that in a game you have to do it in practice first.”
And it starts with Heyward. He sets the standard for the defense, is the prime example for young guys to watch and learn from.
The defense might get back one of those young guys that watches what Heyward does this week with Stephon Tuitt back practicing and hoping to play on Sunday. Tuitt has missed the last two games with a knee injury, but was optimistic he would be back.
“I feel like right now we have enough arrows up,” said Tuitt. “You never want to be hurt. You want to go out there every Sunday with your guys that you do all training camp with. When you aren’t able to do that you get down. But you have to stay positive. It’s a long season. When you look at me I am fortunate that I had my injury and am able to come back.”
And, from Ed Bouchette:
Cam Heyward has been the team’s best defensive player and ranked No. 3 among 3-4 defensive ends in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. Tuitt is No. 14.
“Cam’s playing really well,” safety Will Allen said. “He’s playing at a high level. He’s earned a lot of respect from everybody on the team. I love having him in front of me because he gets tipped balls, he gets pressure on the quarterback and that allows the secondary to make plays.”
We would like to wish Cam and Allie an early congratulations on the upcoming birth of their son.
