Cam Heyward: 'Maybe We Needed This'
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – Steelers defensive end Cam Heyward joined "The Fan Morning Show" on Thursday with his team's Sunday Night Football matchup against the Panthers only three days away.
Heyward said that execution will be crucial for the Steelers' defense if it is to bounce back after a lackluster six-quarter stretch against the Browns and the Ravens.
"We can't just be ten guys doing their job and one guy messing up," Heyward said. "We've got to have everybody in their gaps, and just be sound and have good technique. It doesn't have to be anything crazy or anything that we haven't done before. Just everybody doing their job- something as simple as that, where somebody gets out of place, it just puts the whole defense at risk. And then, when we have breakdowns, you've got to have more than one guy run to the ball, where we can have gang tackles, especially with Cam Newton. He's bound to try to skate up the field, and we've got to have multiple bodies and get him on the ground."
Heyward feels that it's important to keep your focus on getting better and moving forward, no matter how good or bad things are going.
"My main thing is, I can't get too high, can't get too low, but can't be satisfied either way," Heyward said. "It's a long season, and I know we haven't played well these past two games, but maybe it's just a wake up call. Maybe we needed this to help us get better. I would rather it happen now than to get in the playoffs and just be shell-shocked. I think this team definitely has the capability of being a really good team, but we have to put it all out there on Sundays."
When asked about the recent domestic violence charges against former teammate Jonathan Dwyer, Heyward said he doesn't try to get too hung up on all the negative things going on in the NFL right now.
"Just an unfortunate situation," Heyward said. "With everything that's going on, I just try to focus on the positives of what guys are doing in this league, as in community outreach."
Heyward admitted that it hasn't been easy to do that.
"It's been tougher than usual," Heyward said.
The interview can be heard here:
(Photo Credit: Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
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