NAPA, Calif. cheap jerseys from china . -- When the Oakland Raiders set out this offseason to upgrade their defense, general manager Reggie McKenzie systematically targeted every apparent need except for one.McKenzie rebuilt his secondary, added a pass rusher in Bruce Irvin and fortified the defensive line by using a second-round pick on Jihad Ward but was content to stand pat at middle linebacker to give second-year player Ben Heeney a chance to win the job.It definitely lets you know they have confidence in you, Heeney said. It makes you feel good but that doesnt mean anything. Its just what you do on the field every day.Heeney had been groomed to be Oaklands middle linebacker after being drafted in the fifth round out of Kansas in 2015. He had played more on the outside in college but the Raiders liked him in the middle, where he backed up veteran Curtis Lofton for most of last season.Heeney played about one-quarter of the defensive snaps last season but got more time as the year went on and he gained the confidence of his coaches.Now as the starter this year, Heeney has been given the green-dot helmet, which will allow him to get the plays directly into his headset from coordinator Ken Norton Jr.Hes smart, hes fast, and hes relentless, Norton said. He has a nose for the ball, very instinctive. Ben is going to be a very good football player. He cares a lot, hes always getting better. You cant get him out of the film room, asking all the right questions, and we have a lot of confidence in him.Heeney had been the defensive signal caller in college so the role is not new for him and he says it involves little more than hearing the play from Norton and relaying it to his teammates.Having teammates like All Pro Khalil Mack, Irvin, Dan Williams, Sean Smith and Reggie Nelson gives Heeney the confidence that he can perform this season.We have playmakers all over the field, he said. Its definitely fun to be able to give the plays to those guys and see what they can do with it.The Raiders felt little need to upgrade at middle linebacker after letting Lofton go, believing Heeney could fill that role this season.While he is not the prototypical thumper in the middle who can stuff the run, the 226-pound Heeney brings much more speed and agility to the field than Lofton and will be last apt to get exploited in coverage or in space.Ben Heeney is a dog, Irvin said. Hes not the biggest guy, but he plays bigger than what he is. The guy leaves it out there for me. Its just practice, so I can only image what he does for me in a game. Hes a team guy. Thats the biggest thing, having a bunch of team guys who are willing to leave it out there for each other. I can already tell Ben is one of those guys.Heeney finished his rookie season with 27 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks but expects big improvements with more playing time and the comfort level that comes from a year in the NFL and the familiarity with the defensive system.You definitely want the game to slow down as far as seeing your reads, he said. But I like to play fast. I always like to play fast, go get the ball and make plays. Theres a lot of times where I was overaggressive last year. Thats something that hurt me in college. Thats one of the knocks I had.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL cheap jerseys .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. wholesale jerseys . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. http://www.cheapauthenticjerseysnflchina.net/ . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. MIAMI -- Affixed to the back of Hassan Whitesides locker in the Miami Heat dressing room is a small photo, one he put there to serve as a constant source of motivation.Its of Ivan Drago -- the villainous boxer character from Rocky IV.I put it there to remind myself of how hard I have to train every day, Whiteside said.The Heat center is a huge fan of the Rocky movies, and right now even his big numbers havent been enough for Miami to win fights. Miami (2-8) has dropped six straight and owned the NBAs third-worst record entering Wednesday, even though Whiteside is averaging 18.2 points and a league-best 15.9 rebounds per game.Its early, but to put Whitesides start in some perspective consider that in the last 35 years only three players -- Kevin Love in 2010-11, Kevin Willis in 1991-92 and Moses Malone in 1982-83 -- averaged at least 18 points and 15 rebounds over an entire season. Thats the current pace for Whiteside, who put up 19 points and a career-high-tying 25 rebounds in Tuesdays 93-90 loss to Atlanta.Whiteside, obviously, is a load, Hawks forward Paul Millsap said.The Heat are Whitesides team now, something no one would have seen coming even a year ago when Miami still had Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to rely upon. So far, hes lived up to the expectations that accompanies signing a $98 million contract like the one he got for the next four years this past summer.His big-man colleagues around the league are taking notice.Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins, who helped the U.S. win Olympic gold this summer at the Rio Games, was once a teammate of Whitesides. They would play 1-on-1 regularly after practice. Asked how those games went, Cousins acknowledged that Whiteside often won.At one point I thought Hassan was a better player than me, Cousins said. His talent was always there. Everything hes doing now I thought he was capable of doing then. ... Hes proved a lot of people wrong. Hes overcome a lot of adversity and obstacles -- and look at him now. Im extremely happy for him. I know hes beeen though hell and back to get where he is so he deserves everything thats coming his way. cheap nfl jerseys. Whiteside is the only player in the NBA this season to grab at least 10 rebounds in each of his teams games. Hes second in blocks per game and his efficiency rating is seventh-best so far in the league behind only James Harden, Russell Westbrook, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Chris Paul.Any questions about what a huge salary bump would do to Whitesides hunger on the court have apparently been answered.It really means something to him right now, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. Hes feeling the responsibility of inspiring and helping a team win. Its a big responsibility. And you have to put yourself out there as a competitor and show everybody how much it means to you. And when you do that you make yourself vulnerable, especially when you dont get the result that you want. But Hassan is putting himself out there.Hes even starting to show leadership off the court.The Heat locker room was a quiet and somber place Tuesday night, as would be expected after a sixth consecutive loss -- and yet another close one, which has been the case in most of their defeats so far this season.Whiteside didnt offer excuses. All he insisted was that the Heat, who have lost to San Antonio twice as well as Toronto, Charlotte, Oklahoma City, Utah, Chicago and Atlanta this season -- all of them have winning records so far -- still have plenty of time to figure things out.In other words, hes still got a lot of fight left.Thats what Ive been doing all my life, Whiteside said. You are going to have down days. You are going to have down weeks. That doesnt mean you give up or listen to outside people. They are not in here. They are not on the court. We are not listening to that. 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