11-14-2019, 06:24 AM
PITTSBURGH, Pa. Carson Fulmer White Sox Jersey . - Cam Heyward can rattle the list off in seconds.The names of the 10 defensive linemen taken ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers end in the first round of 2011 NFL draft come to mind so quickly its as if Heyward is pointing out faces in a family picture.Marcell Dareus. J.J. Watt. Robert Quinn. Ryan Kerrigan. On and on it goes. Some are well known. Some are not. All of them, however, are remembered by the player who is constantly searching for that little extra motivation. In the end, he knows those little slights might make all the difference.Talent isnt always going to win, Heyward said. Youve got to have heart. Youve got to be smart. Youve got to be ready.Something the fourth-year veteran is embracing, in both victory and defeat.As the mentors who took Heyward under their wing a€” Aaron Smith, Chris Hoke, Casey Hampton chief among them a€” have vanished to retirement, Heyward has made it a point to become the spokesman for a team still searching for an identity a month into the season. Its what leaders do.When the Steelers (2-2) allowed lowly Tampa Bay to rip off 10 fourth-quarter points in a 27-24 victory last Sunday, Heyward dutifully stood at his locker and took responsibility for the mistakes. Some of them a€” like the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty he received for arguing with an official a€” were his fault. Others, like the other 12 flags the Steelers drew, were not.While his teammates dressed quietly in stunned silence, Heyward spoke evenly, trying to set a tone for the road ahead starting Sunday at Jacksonville (0-4).Dont count us out yet, he said. It happens. They made the plays at the end. Youve got to give them credit. Weve got to grow from this. Hopefully this will never happen again.Heyward understands hes at the point in his career where his production needs to start meeting his potential. The son of longtime NFL running back Craig Heyward shares his fathers relentlessness and love for the game. And at 6-foot-5 and 290-pounds, hes a presence at the line of scrimmage. Hes not as fast as Watt or as massive ad Dareus, but Heyward makes up for any physical shortcomings by using the massive head a€” another thing he inherited from his dad a€” stuffed inside his helmet.The proof of Heywards evolution is obvious beyond the fact he already has two sacks, a pace that would put him well ahead of the five he registered last year. Defensive line coach John Mitchell gives his players a written quiz each week. The test breaks down everything from formations to tendencies. Each player gets a grade. Most weeks Heyward is among those with the top marks.Its not a coincidence.A lot of guys have very good book sense but no football sense and vice versa, Mitchell said. Cam is a guy thats smart. He knows whats going on on the field.A snapshot from Pittsburghs season-opening win over Cleveland provided proof.Tied at 27 late in the fourth quarter, the Browns had the ball with a chance to win it. It never happened, not after the drive began with Heyward enveloping Cleveland quarterback Brian Hoyer for a sack. The Browns punted three plays later, giving Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger just enough time to win it.The sack was the byproduct of several things: great coverage by linebacker Ryan Shazier on Hoyers primary target; even better coverage by the rest of the secondary as Hoyer looked for options; and Heywards ability to recognize the play call. He ducked to the inside at the snap then bowled over an offensive lineman before wrapping his massive arms around Hoyers No. 6 jersey.He can look at tape and dissect the things that are going to go on around him, Mitchell said. On that play at the end of the Cleveland game, its a formation he had seen and talked about. Dick (LeBeau) had them in a great defence and he was able to make the play.Yet Heyward refuses to single himself out. The Steelers have won when he hasnt played well. They have lost when he has. Whatever his stat line looks like at the end of the fourth quarter, hes still more concerned about the number on the scoreboard.Its a lesson he learned from his father, who spent most of his 11-year career paving the way for smaller, faster backs. Its sometimes anonymous work, but work that must be done. Craig Heyward provided his son with a model that Cam has tried to follow during a career that is starting to take flight.The Steelers have already picked up his option for next season with the intent of making him a cornerstone through the end of the decade and beyond. Thats just fine with him.I would love to be here, he said. I know they like to keep their players ... to do that Ive got to take care of business on the field and take care of my business off the field.NOTES: OG Ramon Foster (ankle) practiced Wednesday and said he definitely would play this week. Foster missed the past two games after being injured at Baltimore in Week 2. . WR Martavis Bryant (illness), OLB James Harrison (illness) and ILB Ryan Shazier (knee) did not practice.___AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Lucas Giolito Jersey . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. Austin became the latest No. 12 seed to pull off an upset, tying the game on Desmond Haymons did-that-just-happen four-point play with 3. Ken Griffey Jr. White Sox Jersey . It will mark the 22nd time the tournament has been held in this country and fourth in Atlanta Canada but will make its first appearance ever in played Nova Scotia. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/3744e-bo-j...e-sox.html . "Hes over there," the first baseman said. "You dont need to talk to anybody else." Indeed, Peralta did it all as the majors top team won again.MIAMI -- The Miami Marlins proved they can win the close ones, too. After scoring 18 runs in their last two wins, the Marlins found that winning a tight game can be just as enjoyable. Giancarlo Stanton and Casey McGehee hit consecutive run-scoring singles off David Carpenter during a two-run rally in the seventh inning that led the Marlins to a 5-4 win over the Atlanta Braves on Thursday night and a three-game sweep of the NL East leader. "Honestly, I like wins, I dont care how we get them," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "9-0 is fun, but a game like tonight, 5-4, where youre putting guys in some situations they havent been in and see how they respond, thats fun too." Miami has won six straight home games for the first time at Marlins Park, which opened in 2012. It is the longest home winning streak for the team since the Marlins won eight in a row from June 20 to July 1, 2009. With the Marlins trailing 4-3, pinch-hitter Reed Johnson singled off Ian Thomas (1-1) leading off the seventh and took second on Christian Yelichs single. Derek Dietrich lined out, and Carpenter relieved and gave up the back-to-back hits. "Weve done a really good job in putting ourselves in situations to have a chance late in games," McGehee said. "Fortunately, tonight we were able to get some hits that were big." Mike Dunn (3-3) pitched a hitless seventh, and Steve Cishek got four outs for his sixth save in seven chances to complete the Marlins first series sweep of Atlanta since 2009. Cishek relieved with two on and two outs in the eighth, walked Andrelton Simmons, then struck out pinch-hitter Ramiro Pena and pitched a perfect ninth. The Marlins bullpen allowed one hit in three shutout innings. Cishek admitted being a bit nervous between the eighth and ninth innings. "I was pacing around the dugout," he said. "I wanted the offence to get more runs, of course, but I was just trying to stay focused and stay sharp mentally and make sure I was ready to get back out there and get the job done.. Joe Crede Jersey. ." The Marlins swept Atlanta at home for the first time since June 13-15, 2006. "Its huge for us," Redmond said. "These guys keep battling and keep pushing forward and moving on and really picking each other up playing with a lot of energy out there." Garrett Jones had a home run for the Marlins. Evan Gattis and B.J. Upton homered for the Braves. Marlins starter Henderson Alvarez allowed four runs and eight hits in six innings, giving up multiple homers in a game for the first time since Sept. 24, 2012. Atlanta starter Ervin Santana gave up three runs and five hits in six innings. The last time the Braves lost three straight was Sept. 15-17, 2013. "The way they scored in the seventh inning, they got a couple balls to drop and they got some ground balls that got through the infield off of Carpenter," Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "We had some opportunities. Now we take a flight home and stop this losing streak." Miami led 2-0 in the third when Justin Heyward, batting with one on, grounded softly to Jones at first, who tossed to Alvarez covering the base. Heyward was initially called out by first base umpire Jim Reynolds, but the call was reversed by the review umpire in New York when a replay showed Alvarez missed the bag and the tag. Upton followed with a three-run homer. Adeiny Hechavarria hit an RBI grounder in the fourth, but Gattis homer put Atlanta back ahead in the sixth. NOTES: Upton has hit safely in 15 of the last 18 games in which he has had an at-bat. ... Braves RHP Gavin Floyd is expected to be activated by Sunday and initially pitch out of the bullpen. . McGehee got his 300th RBI in the first inning. ... The Marlins finished April with an 11-4 home record, a 2.40 home ERA and a .307 home batting average. They ranked first in the majors in home wins. ... The Marlins nine-game homestand continues Friday with the opener of a weekend set against the Los Angeles Dodgers. ... Atlanta returns home Friday to play a weekend series against San Francisco. ' ' '