All Things TE Heath Miller - A Comprehensive Look Back And Forward

   I noticed a distinct lack of name recognition on Jim Kleinsasser (I believe he got a who the hell?). I’m actually a Kleinsasser fan. If you read my post on potential free agent grabs, I have him on the short list.
   The only reason his cap hit was so large is because he was on the last year of a fairly long deal, paying him the most on the last year.
   He is a really good blocker, has pretty good hands and can play TE or FB, think Sean McHugh with much better blocking ability. I think he would bring some much needed blocking, and good hands at FB, at a fairly cheap price.

It seems like every year we complain about Heath not getting enough touches, but at whose expense should he get passes over? Ward, Holmes, Washington? I don’t think so. So remember that there are only so many footballs to go around.
As far as re-signing him? Like every player the Steelers want to keep, they’ll make him a reasonable offer to try and keep him, but they won’t break the bank for a TE. And yes, Spaeth did a decent job of filling in for Heath, especially in the SD game. But there is no doubt that there is a drop off to Spaeth from Miller.

plain and simple, heath miller is a football player’s football player. he’s all the things many of you have mentioned above: tough, dependable, versatile. how many of us were shocked when he dropped that second and goal pass from ben in the 3rd quarter of the super bowl? we were shocked because it’s shocking to see the man make a negative play. as hines slows down, miller’s value to the offense will only increase. he and ben appear to have a strong bond and that’s important too.

most important, however, is this: heath miller is a steeler. he does things the steeler way. if the steelers truly value the type of players and people they profess to (and i think the track record says they do), they’ll resign him. he’s a heart-and-soul guy. when i think of the bedrocks of this 2005-2008 run that has produced rings five and six, i think foremost of big ben, of troy p, of hines and of the linebackers. heath miller is the other guy i add to that group. this is a core player whose contributions to this team have been essential and who is entering his prime. you have to re-up heath!

there’s a good chance nate is gone in free agency and hines has maybe two good years left. if you let miller go you lose 3/4 of your receiving group in two years. yes, they have to get him the ball more, and no they shouldn’t overpay for him. but i can’t see him making outrageous salary demands (when santonio is up in two years you’ll certainly see some!). plus, we throw the ball so much less than other teams that the stat about him seeing 40% less balls than other top TE’s is a bit misleading. he’s integral to what we want to do on offense, and as the core group changes around him (WR’s and O-line) the stability he provides will be huge…

We’ll probably lose Hines in the next 2-3 years so Big Ben needs ATLEAST one security blanket. Santonio is simply not a reliable catcher, neither is Nate, and lets not even talk about Sweed.

We need someone to move the chains on 3rd and short,.. and with an offense currently filled with questions, Heath Miller is the only sure thing among the younger players. A bird in the hand.

I disagree with your point about Heath’s number of catches not warranting a big contract,…its no the quantity of catches but the quality. Per catch, I don’t think there is a TE that brings more value. All his catches seem to be crucial third down/chain moving catches. Spaeth seems to have good hands but he didn’t really move the chains.

i guess the thing i hope the steelers don’t miss is this: there are certain types of guys you simply need on your football team no matter what the stats say. if you’re the steelers, you need guys like heath miller. he might not be as essential in san diego or indy because of how they play, but he’s essential here. i’m positive we’ll regret it if we let him walk…

…and you can’t teach height or quickness.

Blitz is right that Heath doesn’t get enough touches…and that’s a factor in what you pay a guy (and why we let Randle El go), but his blocking is far better than Spaeth, and his game is superior in every other way.

One key in what you pay a guy is his value over/under replacement player. And the drop-off from Miller to Spaeth is considerable. Taking into account the problems with the OL, the Steelers can’t risk getting even weaker up front.

Blitz I totally understand where you are coming from in your basic argument, which is that in our offense Heath’s talents are under-utilized and therefore should not be overpaid relative to his contribution.

But I think we have to separate the player from the offense in this case, at least to some degree. We suffer enough on the playing field with Arians as OC, I don’t think we should be making important personnel decisions about our most talented players (especially the most reliable receiver) based on an offense that is inefficient. There is no way Arians should outlast Heath as a member of the Steeler organization.

Heath has 6-8 more years as a productive player and it could be argued his best years are still ahead of him. Even if he just maintains his current level of productivity over a long period of time, it would be money well spent to make him one of the top five paid tight ends in the league. He’s not as explosive as some TEs and he’s far from the best blocking TE, but the overall package I think puts him in the top five. There is a considerable drop-off to Spaeth, who will become a better blocker than he is right now with more experience, but will never come close to matching Heath not only in terms of productivity, but in forcing opposing defenses to respect the threat he represents. If we’re going to run an effective balanced offense (which is great in theory), then all components must be threats.

After Harrison, I think re-signing Heath is the second most important player among the 2010 free agent group to extend now. I agree with extending Hines also right now, but all the rest can wait until next off-season.

Imo, he is a must re-sign. Not even a question for me. As far as his blocking, all I know is I’ve heard/read Cowher, Tomlin and others call him the best blocking TE in the league. Add in his vastly under rated receiving ability, unselfishness, toughness, team first attitude and you have one of the best all around TE’s in the game. Again, a must re-sign for me.

Spaeth. To me, not even close being worth a 3rd round pick. Too tall, too slow, average hands, nothing special about him at all.

Hampton. I love him. Hope we can re-sign him to a moderate contract next year. He would not be worth a mega contract at this point in hs career.

Yes you have to be fluid in approach. But the reason TE is a strong position now is because Heath is here; if we don’t have him, it’s a weak position. You always have to try to protect your assets and Heath is definitely an asset, with plenty of good years ahead of him. It also makes more sense to extend him now before he becomes a free agent. Next year it will be much more difficult and probably TOO expensive to keep him. Actually, if I’m his agent, I would advise against getting an extension for that very reason. If Heath likes being in Pittsburgh then now is the time to get a deal worked out.

Our front office has always done a great job of identifying its core nucleus of talent and signing them to extensions.

Imo, Heath is one of their core nucleus of players that you win SB’s with.

I agree “it’s important not to get hung up on a particular player”. But it’s also equally important to identify who your best players are and work diligently to keep them.

We will find out in the coming months who the front office prioritizes.

Spaeth may be a contingency plan, but he only brings half of the game Miller does. Spaeth has solid hands, but he lacks the run after catch ability as well as the blocking ability that Miller brings to the table. Letting Miller go would be an enormous mistake and I think the Steelers know that. They would be more willing to pay a top TE salary than say a top end WR salary, so I don’t think it will happen…but I couldn’t disagree with you more. Losing Miller would leave a gaping hole in the Steelers Offense, a hole we can’t afford to lose any time soon.

Guys,

No need to fret, worry or fear because UNDERDOG …. er DATRUTH is here!!!!! Heath will get his paper at training camp, and here’s why:

5 – He is an all-pro player in skill, does things the Steeler Way, still has a lot of upside, and is coming off of his first contract with the team.

4 – The Rooneys and Kevin Colbert love the kid and realize his true value. Believe me, he will get a second contract with this team before Hines, Big Snack and Kiesel get a third.

3 – You don’t pay $100M for a franchise QB and not give him a security blanket on the field (not to mention his roommate during training camp as well).

2 – Heath is just as effective in the running game as he is the passing game and this team is serious about fixing that OL this offseason. The best way to protect Big Ben is not overpaying for Jordan Gross at LT. It’s putting enough quality big uglies out there so Ben can spend more time handing off than dropping back. Both Tomlin and Colbert know this (More on this and other free agent and draft tidbits to come).

1 – Heath opitimizes what a true Steeler is and how the Rooneys do business. He’s fearless, tough, talented, a model worker, player and citizen and isn’t called BIG MONEY for nothing. The Steelers don’t draft them in the first round, let them become stars and then let them leave after completing their first contract (Now asking for the third conract when you are 30 years old and missing time because of injuries is a whole different story).

- This is the order the Steelers need to take care of before free agency hits this month (DaTruth is assuming Deebo will get his money similar to the way the Steelers did with Ben this past year, get it out the way early and concentrate on the other players):

1 – BMac
2 – Starks
3 – Fox
4 – Essex
5 – Washington (Nate is last because he’s not going to take 3rd WR money, which is what he is. He’s had a lot of opportunities during the past 2 years to show that he could be more and he simply didn’t produce on that level).

DaTruth will bow out with this draft tidbit to the uninitiated: K. Colbert could not have fallen into a better draft to accomplish his two main priorities for this draft: Rebuilding and Restocking the Offensive and Defensive lines. Nine draft picks to get it right.

Who wants more?

I’d appreciate it. Thanks.

Steev1705, what up!

I’m not sure about Tony Hills. Unless a player shows me that they can, then I kind of assume that they can’t. I’m more higher on Capizzi than Hills because I’ve seen Capizzi play. He has amazing feet to be someone so big and he only needed to stay healthy and work on his strength to make this team. He’s had two years to work on his strength and now has another offseason with the Steelers coaches to work on his game. And if he makes the team, the Steelers have him for another 3 years before they have to make a decision on paying him. That could end up being another great value get. With the changes coming, I think he could be a good swing tackle for this club.

As far as Hills, I just don’t know. He didn’t look good at all going against Deebo in training camp, whereas Capizzi stopped Deebo, Kiesel and Kirschke during one-on-ones back in training camp before he got hurt. I think we are all hoping Hills will come through and show us something. Thanks for your feedback on the article.