August 15, 2005

Steelers tight end Heath Miller speaks softly, when he speaks at all. His conversations often consist of, "Hi" and "Thank you."

Or ...

"Sorry," Miller said the other day, after a two-word answer to a question. "I guess I don't have much to say."

On a team that features big talkers like Joey Porter, Larry Foote, Jerome Bettis and Antwaan Randle El, Miller is the Steelers' resident Quiet Man.

He is the epitome of the strong, silent type.

"I try to get him going a little bit," wideout Randle El said, "but he won't say much. He keeps it to himself."

Cornerback Ike Taylor is hush-hush about the big tight end. "I haven't heard much from him -- really, really quiet guy," Taylor said. "We respect that, though. He does his thing, he takes care of business. He makes his noise on the field."

At the end of the day, that is all the Steelers can ask of their top draft pick, who's displayed silky soft hands and a penchant for absorbing knowledge during the first two weeks of training camp.

At 8 p.m. today, a national television audience (ESPN) gets its first glimpse of Miller when the Steelers play host to the Philadelphia Eagles in an exhibition game at Heinz Field. Miller will serve as a backup to incumbent Jerame Tuman, who will play for approximately a quarter before giving way to the rookie.

For a guy who shies away from the spotlight, Miller sees the irony of playing his first NFL game with the lights shining down on him.

The first requirement for a Steelers tight end is bearing down and blocking, given the fact they ran the ball 61 percent of the time last season. This is the area of Miller's game that needs the most work, because catching passes is second nature to him.

Thus far, offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt is pleased with the highly motivated Miller's progress.

"He came here with a good idea of how to block," said Whisenhunt, whose top receiving tight end last season, Tuman, caught just nine passes. "It's actually been surprising how well he's done with that aspect of the game."

Whisenhunt occasionally deploys Miller like an H-back, flexing him out at wide receiver or lining him up in the backfield. The coordinator does the same thing with the other Steelers tight ends, but Miller feels exceptionally comfortable in this hybrid role because he was used that way at the University of Virginia, where he caught 144 passes for 1,703 yards with 20 touchdowns in just three seasons.

And although it's early, the Steelers just might be sitting on an explosive weapon in the 6-foot-5, 256-pound Miller, who ripped down a fade pattern for a touchdown over linebacker James Harrison four days ago and pulled in a twisting one-hander behind his body Saturday afternoon. He consistently beats defenders to the ball and has caught everything in sight the past two weeks.

A random survey of Steelers players determined that nobody's seen Miller drop a pass. "Not yet," veteran cornerback Willie Williams said. "He's like glue."

"Catches everything that comes his way, has soft hands and great balance," said linebacker Clark Haggans. "He goes and gets the ball."

"I haven't seen him drop one," linebacker Larry Foote said. "Not one."

Miller, who won the Mackey Award as college football's top tight end last season, often draws comparisons to Baltimore's versatile tight end Todd Heap, who averaged 62.5 catches in '02 and '03 before an injury-riddled '04. Heap lines up at a variety of spots, often drawing mismatches with linebackers and smaller safeties.

Miller can present the same type of challenges for defenders.

"When they spread him out, you better have your eyes open," Foote said. "We've already seen him make some great catches around here. He just doesn't drop the ball, and he finds ways to make plays."

Quietly, of course.

"I guess I'm a little guarded," Miller said. "But the more I get to know people, the more fun I can have. I'm just thankful I'm on a team like this, because every time I turn around, somebody is there to help me out and talk to me. That speaks a lot about the guys on this team."

Even if Miller rarely speaks at all.