Heath Miller 'lets his pads do the talking'

Heath Miller, amid his 10-catch performance Sunday against Tampa Bay, became the polar opposite of what he usually is - a lightning rod for the Steelers - both on the field and in the locker room.

Miller caught a touchdown and was thumped in the skull for his efforts. Flags flew, as they often did in the Week 4 loss, with offsetting penalties (one on Tampa Bay for the shot to Miller's head, the other on left tackle Kelvin Beachum for holding, the second holding call this year on Beachum that has negated a touchdown). Miller would catch another touchdown a few plays later, this one without flags, allowing it to remain on the scoreboard.

Miller appeared to be considerably fired up. He was actually yelling. He may have even let Tampa Bay know a little bit about why he was fired up. That was his second on a secondary that couldn't cover him all game. But that's as far as it went.

His teammates appear to appreciate that to an extent.

ESPN reporter Scott Brown got a great quote from another underspoken Steelers offensive player.

"He doesn’t need to (talk trash)," Steelers right guard David DeCastro said. "He lets his pads do his talking."

Steel City Insider publisher Jim Wexell got Ben Roethlisberger's take on Miller's performance.

"He caught basically two touchdowns," Roethlisberger said. "And he got his head knocked off on both of them and made a play. He’s just tough. He’s mentally tough; he’s physically tough. He gives everything he has every single day and that’s in meetings, that’s in practice, that’s in the game. That’s what makes him so special and what makes it an honor to play with a guy like that."

Miller had a pretty tough drop early in the game and, given that catch, he would have eclipsed 100 receiving yards on the game. He was allegedly the target of the infamous run/pass option on the team's third-down attempt late in the game. Had coverage been off him a little bit more, Roethlisberger said he would have gone to Miller.

And why not? He caught all 10 of the other targets Roethlisberger gave him (not counting the touchdown that wasn't to be), and Tampa Bay appeared to forget all about him. It'd be easy to say that's because Miller doesn't talk enough to really ram himself into the memory banks of his opponents. In an offense as powerful as the Steelers, from an individual talent standpoint, Miller will have other big games like he did against Tampa Bay, but the eclectic skills of Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown will be its primary fuel.

Miller can serve as a utility engine, though, humming quietly all the while and doing nothing but earning respect and making plays.