CAM Heywood split the responsibility

Mike Mitchell and the longest Will Allen with bad Angle in Steelers 20-16 loss to the Giant in metropolitan stadium on Saturday night. And coach mike tomlin pointed out that the secondary let Giant run guard Rashad Jennings, what should be a good harvest jammed into a 73 yard touchdown. However, Cameron Heywood pile due to its own fault caused by the big play Steelers defense last season.

Heyward do not maintain his gap, Jennings, through a huge hole after the guards, broke into the open areas and no more than cornerbacks Cortez Allen and William gay end area.  “I’m fully responsible,” Heyward told Steelers TV after the preseason opener. “I didn’t get it done.” Tomlin didn’t quite see it the same way as the Steelers’ defensive end. “We’ve got to get it on the ground in the secondary. They’ve got to be 8, 10, 12-yard runs, not 78-yard runs,” the eighth-year coach said. "This is clearly a gap - integrity is the core problem, but I'm more concerned about is that when these things happen, we try to reduce explosion."
Heyward, however, refused to give himself even the slightest pass for Jennings’ touchdown.  Or dismiss it as knocking off the rust in a meaningless game.  “We can’t say it’s only preseason,” said Heyward, one of the Steelers’ defensive leaders. "We’re treating every game like we want to win. I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I messed up for this team. It won’t happen again.”

Johnny not on Pittsburgh Steelers' radar

Pittsburgh Steelers As polarizing a figure as Johnny Manziel is, he can probably get Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers fans to agree on one thing. Pittsburgh Steelers The majority of fans on both sides would love to see him start Sept. Pittsburgh Steelers 7 when the Browns visit Heinz Field for the regular-season opener between the bitter rivals.The Steelers season-ticket holders would pay double to see the quarterback who reached celebrity status before throwing his first NFL pass receive a baptism/comeuppance from Dick LeBeau’s defense. Browns fans might be just as eager to see Manziel in Pittsburgh, though obviously for a different reason. The Browns have gone through quarterbacks at an alarming rate since the NFL returned to Cleveland in 1999. They desperately need someone to stop the cycle, and Browns fans might want to see if Manziel can conjure up the magic that made him a legend at Texas A&M right from the start even if the circumstances for his NFL debut in Pittsburgh could be a recipe for disaster. Manziel, speaking to Browns reporters at the NFL Rookie Symposium, said his goal is to start this season. But the former Heisman Trophy winner conceded that he is still well behind Brian Hoyer, who will enter training camp as the No. 1 quarterback. I asked a handful of Steelers defensive starters before the end of offseason practices whether they would like to see Manziel under center for the season opener, and I didn’t get much more than a collective shrug of the shoulders. Pittsburgh Steelers “It don’t matter,” veteran cornerback Ike Taylor said. Pittsburgh Steelers “We’re trying to win ballgames. It doesn’t matter who is at quarterback.” Mike Mitchell agreed. “To be honest I just want someone that’s going to throw me a pick,” Pittsburgh Steelers the Steelers free safety said. “I don’t really care who it is. Pittsburgh Steelers I want the quarterback that’s the most confident, the most prepared, so when I take it from him, no excuses. That’s what I want every week.” Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive end Cameron Heyward played his college ball at Ohio State, so he can understand, Pittsburgh Steelers even if only to some degree, the scrutiny Manziel is already under in the Buckeye state. “It’s tough. Everybody’s looking for him to mess up,” Pittsburgh Steelers Heyward said. “He’s a great player. I wish him the best.” Pittsburgh Steelers So, would Heyward like to get the first crack at Johnny Football, so to speak? Pittsburgh Steelers “Whoever’s in there I’m going to have fun either way,” Heyward said with a smile, Pittsburgh Steelers.

Polamalu and Mitchell look to forge bond

Pittsburgh Steelers One item was clearly out of place in the Pittsburgh Steelers' locker room on the final day of minicamp. But Mike Mitchell said there was nothing to read into the Carolina Panthers helmet hanging in his locker on Thursday. "Pittsburgh Steelers It means I haven't found a house yet to put it in my basement," Mitchell said. The Panthers mailed Mitchell a helmet that many of his former teammates had signed, and there is some significance to the keepsake from the season he spent in Carolina. "That group that we had there last year I think the biggest thing that made us so successful is we were genuinely friends off the field and really cared about each other," Mitchell said. The Steelers' defensive players have generally been a tight group and that bodes well for the transition Mitchell is making on the field and away from it. Mitchell becomes just the third free safety to play regularly with Troy Polamalu, joining Chris Hope and Ryan Clark, and the two started to get to know one another during minicamp. "He's a super nice guy," Mitchell said. "It's humbling for me to see that because for him to be one of the best safeties to play the game he's a super humble guy. The way he treats people and goes about his business I admire that a lot. It's not even a football thing it's a personal thing I've noticed." Pittsburgh Steelers  Much has been made about the rapport Polamalu and Clark developed and how much it helped the two on the field. There is no reason to think that Polamalu and Mitchell won't build a similar friendship. Polamalu is a super nice guy when he is not chasing down running backs as if they stole something from him or soaring over the line of scrimmage and landing in the laps of startled quarterbacks. The eight-time Pro Bowler is one of the biggest pranksters in the Steelers' locker room, something that also endears him to teammates. Mitchell, meanwhile, is an engaging guy who wants to be great and relishes the opportunity to play with a safety of Polamalu's caliber. He is, in fact, a lot like Clark though with the volume turned down. "What made Chris Hope and I very successful on the back end is that we were great friends. The same thing with Ryan," Polamalu said, Pittsburgh Steelers "With any other team, it's just plug-and-play. But the strength of this organization has always been in the camaraderie and the relationships of the players off the field, Pittsburgh Steelers and then we stand up for one another on the field. So we have to develop those relationships." It will be a process with Polamalu and Mitchell and one that really starts when the Steelers report to training camp on July 25th. But Mitchell is confident that he and Polamalu will get to know one another well enough for them to thrive together on the field. "It's just us hammering out reps together," Pittsburgh Steelers Mitchell said. "I think you need a little adversity too because you can't really tell who a person is or how they're going to respond until you get into tough situations. Pittsburgh Steelers It could be a game until we really are on the same page now but it's a process of growing together so we can get to a point where I just know how thinks," Pittsburgh Steelers.

Pittsburgh Steelers team pratice

The offense and defense traded big plays Wednesday in the Pittsburgh Steelers' second minicamp practice of the week. Ben Roethlisberger threw long touchdown passes to Antonio Brown and Markus Wheaton during a two-plus hour practice, but the Steelers' defensive backs also had their moments on a hot and humid day that it made it feel like training camp. Starting cornerbacks Ike Taylor and Cortez Allen each intercepted Roethlisberger. Allen had a pair of picks while inside linebacker Sean Spence returned an intercepted Landry Jones pass for a touchdown. Practice concluded with rookie wide receiver Martavis Bryant showcasing his speed by blowing past the Steelers' defensive backs and hauling in a long touchdown pass from Jones. That play, free safety Mike Mitchell said, ultimately allowed the offense to get the better of the defense, though it was close. "They ended with a high note," Mitchell said. "It would have been nice to knock that ball down but we're battling. I think we've been playing really good in the secondary as a unit. We're all kind of learning each other's strengths and what each other likes to do. We're getting better." Also of note from Wednesday: Justin Brown continues to get work with the first-team offense, and the 2013 sixth-round pick stood out during a 7-on-9 pass drill. Brown caught a long pass from Roethlisberger and then capped the drive with a short touchdown reception. Roethlisberger is optimistic Dri Archer will help the offense but he isn't sure how the Steelers will deploy the fleet-footed rookie. Archer, Roethlisberger said, has been splitting time between playing running back and wide receiver. The third-round draft pick has also been among the players who have fielded punts during offseason practices. Pittsburgh Steelers The Steelers are hoping to get more out of Archer than they did Chris Rainey, a fifth-round pick in 2012 who lasted just one season in Pittsburgh. "Is he a better runner than Rainey?" Roethlisberger said. "We won't really know until we get some pads on and get on the field." Outside linebacker Jason Worilds, who practiced on a limited basis of a lingering calf injury, is a good example of how much younger the Steelers have gotten on defense in recent years. Worilds turned just 26 in March, but he is one of the more experienced players on the Steelers' defense. "I'm one of the elders in the room now," Worilds said. Pittsburgh Steelers "It's an interesting role to be in. Pittsburgh Steelers I'm just helping some of the younger guys, making sure they know how to go about being a professional and taking care of themselves." Pittsburgh Steelers