First Call: Cam Heyward says Steelers ‘need to be the dragon’ in New England

Tim Benz
Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019 8:36 a.m. | Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019 8:36 a.m.

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Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward warms up prior to an NFL preseason game against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium on August 25, 2019 in Nashville.

In “First Call” Wednesday, Cam Heyward’s battle cry. Steven Brault shows his skills. And look out for “little Fournette.”

Breathing fire

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman Cameron Heyward may have come up with this year’s team slogan for 2019.

During his weekly interview on 102.5 WDVE, Heyward spoke about going to New England for the season opener to face the defending Super Bowl champions on their banner raising night.

“We don’t need to slay the dragon, we need to be the dragon this year,” Heyward said. He’s a big “Game of Thrones” fan, so you can see where that is coming from.

The dragon wears a Patriots’ No. 12 jersey. And he’s burned the Steelers almost every time.

The Black and Gold have never beaten Tom Brady in Gillette Stadium. But they did at least beat the Patriots last year at Heinz Field.

Unfortunately, the dragon recovered and won the Super Bowl, while the Steelers missed the playoffs.

Look out!

Pittsburgh Pirates’ Steven Brault has always been a very good athlete.

At times this year, he’s been a pretty good pitcher, too. Wednesday night in Philadelphia, he was so-so, giving up three runs and eight hits in five innings. But his defense was on display. Or, maybe we should just call it self-defense.

Oh my! ?#LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/n7t5sa2Yce

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 28, 2019

When Bryce Harper is hitting, I suppose you always have to be ready for something like that.

Brault also looked slick here.

Squid so smooth. #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/3zJ873JKfK

— Pirates (@Pirates) August 27, 2019

Brault didn’t get a hit last night, so his average dropped to .290. But the Pirates won 5-4 over the Phillies anyway and have victories in four of their last five games.

Calling on Clowney?

Jadeveon Clowney may be on the move.

The Houston Texans slapped the franchise tag on the star pass rusher this offseason. And he hasn’t been seen around the facility since.

Now there’s some trade talk. ProFootballTalk.com reports Miami is interested, but Clowney wants to go to either Seattle or Philadelphia.

Yahoo.com says the Texans want Dolphins lineman Laremy Tunsil. But they may settle for some type of deal involving running back Kenyan Drake and/or receiver Kenny Stills instead.

Given the injury to running back Lamar Miller’s knee, getting Drake would make sense for Houston.

Chasing Charlie

The Houston Astros gave Rays pitcher Charlie Morton a moving video tribute Wednesday night.

Thanks for the memories #CFM! pic.twitter.com/IKXMgViOzE

— Houston Astros (@astros) August 27, 2019

Morton — a former Pirate, too — helped Houston win a World Series before going to Tampa Bay. And he seemed very appreciative of the honor.

Tip of the cap right back at ya, Chuck. ? pic.twitter.com/YWntLbbeDm

— Houston Astros (@astros) August 28, 2019

But the Astros hitters weren’t as kind as the jumbotron staff.

4 in the 4th!#TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/wWFGGlyg0h

— Houston Astros (@astros) August 28, 2019

Houston ripped Morton to the tune of six earned runs over four innings. The Astros pounded Tampa 15-1.

Ouch, Charlie!

Yeah, like I could really help myself.

Morton’s ERA when he went to the All-Star Game was 2.32. It’s now 3.11. He was 9-2. He’s now 13-6.

Anyone got an umbrella?

It’s not supposed to happen this way.

Miller Park in Milwaukee has a retractable roof. But the Brewers had a rain delay at their stadium anyway while hosting the Cardinals Tuesday.

A fast-moving storm drenched the field, and there was a rain delay for nine minutes until the roof could close.

There was a rain delay at Miller Park.

Yes. They have a roof. pic.twitter.com/SKLx4E36QL

— Subscribe to Cut4 on YouTube!!!! (@Cut4) August 28, 2019

St. Louis ended up winning 6-3.

Like father, like son

When Jacksonville Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette is right, he’s one of the most bruising running backs in football.

It appears that trait has not skipped a generation.

Baby Fournette runs just like dad ?

(via @_fournette)pic.twitter.com/GJlRzgp768

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 28, 2019

That kid on defense wasn’t wearing a Steelers jersey, was he?

Tim Benz is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Tim at tbenz@triblive.com or via X. All tweets could be reposted. All emails are subject to publication unless specified otherwise.