I normally like to start these posts off by wishing all of you a Happy Friday, but with veteran Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller retiring earlier in the day, it’s been a very depressing afternoon and early evening. With that said, the show must go on, so we will somewhat dedicate this Friday night’s five questions to Miller and the tight end position.
However, before we get to the five questions, a quick story. I remember Miller’s first career game like it was yesterday as I watched it in the sportsbook of The Mirage Casino in Las Vegas. The Steelers opened that 2005 regular season at home on 9/11 against the Tennessee Titans and in addition to it being Miller’s first career game, it also marked the first career start of former Steelers running back Willie Parker, who wound up rushing for 161 yards in a 34-7 Pittsburgh win.
Miller’s first catch in that game was a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with 2:52 left in the first quarter and I remember being so excited at the time at the prospects of him possibly being a very good tight end. Little did I know, however, that he would go on to catch 591 more regular season passes and score 44 more regular season touchdowns. I think I have that game somewhere on a hard-drive in my archives and if I do, I look forward to watching it again this weekend. Man, what a career that man had. It was a pleasure to watch him play all of these years.
Ok, on with the five questions and I hope you all will take time to respond to them in the comments below.
1 – On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being extremely shocked, how surprised were you today by Miller announcing his retirement after 11 seasons in the league with the Steelers?
2- When you look back at Miller’s long career with the Steelers, which play or plays immediately jump into your mind?
3 – How comfortable are you with young tight end Jesse James potentially taking over the top tight end spot in 2016?
4Â – True or false: The Steelers are guaranteed to draft a tight end in the first three rounds of the 2016 NFL Draft.
5Â – From what you know about Arkansas tight end Hunter Henry so far, do you consider him a first-round prospect?
