Let's get to it:
DAMIANE SCOTT SR. FROM PITTSBURGH, PA: Bill Cowher has over 150 during his time as the head coach of the Steelers. Who has the most wins as the starting quarterback for Cowher – Kordell Stewart, Neil O'Donnell, or Ben Roethlisberger?
ANSWER: Bill Cowher's record as the Steelers coach is 161-99-1 including playoffs. And including playoffs, Kordell Stewart had a 48-31 record as a starting quarterback; Neil O'Donnell was 40-20; and in his three seasons under Cowher, Ben Roethlisberger was 34-12.
KURT CARMEL FROM BALTIMORE, MD: How many punts did Ben Roethlisberger attempt during his career?
ANSWER: Ben Roethlisberger punted 6 times for 188 yards (31.3 average), with 3 inside-the-20-yard-line, and 2 touchbacks. He also had one punt blocked.
- Download and listen to the Ask & Answered Podcast here: Apple Podcast | Spotify
RONNIE CAP FROM YANKTON, SD: Sorry for the prior rant rave. You shouldn't have to read stuff like that. But I would still really like it if you could give me/us the number to call in for the postgame show with Charlie Batch and his co-host Rob King. A huge fan of them both.
ANSWER: To talk to Charlie Batch and Rob King after Steelers games, call 412-333-9383, or you can email questions to Batch at www.charliebatch.com during or after the game.
MARK JAKABCSIN FROM JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL: Hoping you can help settle a disagreement between brothers. While watching the Steelers on Thursday Night Football, we had a discussion about the organizational structure of the Steelers. Does Coach Mike Tomlin report to General Manager Omar Khan? Or are they both on the same level reporting to Steelers President Art Rooney II?
ANSWER: Under the Steelers' structure, the general manager is not responsible for unilaterally hiring and/or firing the coach. The coach and the general manager collaborate on many things, and the ultimate authority is always President Art Rooney II.
JIM PRUSACK FROM GRANTSVILLE, WV: How many games did Terry Bradshaw play before he became the permanent starter? Also, do you think that the new quarterbacks are put into the game too early?
ANSWER: Terry Bradshaw was the first overall pick in the 1970 NFL Draft, and he started 8 games as a rookie. But as late as the 1974 regular season, Bradshaw was benched/removed from games for performance by Coach Chuck Noll. The 1974 season ended with the Steelers winning Super Bowl IX, and from that point until the end of his Steelers career Bradshaw's only missed starts were because of injury. As for teams getting rookie quarterbacks on the field quicker than it used to be, I see it as a function of the era of free agency tied to a salary cap. A team that spent a No. 1 pick on a quarterback during the 1970s-1980s knew it could keep him on the roster long enough to be able to bring him along slowly and deliberately. Now a team using a first-round pick on a quarterback has him for three-plus years before having to make a decision on whether to exercise the fifth-year option on his rookie contract, which costs a significant amount of money and salary cap space. Decisions have to be made much sooner on young quarterbacks now – either through the fifth-year option or the player becoming an unrestricted free agent – and so teams try to gather the information more quickly to make those decisions.
KENNETH MARSHALL FROM TULSA, OK: How come the NFL won't put a team in Hawaii or Alaska, but they want to put teams in Europe?
ANSWER: There aren't any teams in Oklahoma, either. The NFL's interest in Europe comes from an interest in making football – the American version, anyway – a global attraction, and what I suspect would have to be created is an entire European Division, because I cannot see the possibility of having a team in London, or Mexico City in a division with teams based in the United States. There would be too much travel and the distances and differences in time zones would be too unmanageable. Just my opinion.
LARRY STAINES FROM RED LION, PA: The Steelers have been flagged for illegal formation a number of times this year. Is this from the coaches drawing it up wrong, or the players lining up wrong?
ANSWER: I don't know if you watched NFL football on Sunday – specifically Buffalo at Kansas City – but the Chiefs ended up losing what could've been a game-winning touchdown on a play where wide receiver Kadarius Toney lined up offside/in the neutral zone. The issue with a vast majority of these kinds of penalties has to do with the player not making sure he either is lined up on the line of scrimmage – as has been the case with offensive tackle Chuks Okorafor when he's on the field as an eligible receiver/extra blocker – or with receivers lining up in the neutral zone. It's 100 percent on the players, whether they're Steelers or Chiefs.
KLINT SIMMEL FROM HOLT, MI: Just wondering if you had any insight into whether the Steelers showed any interest in signing Shaq Leonard, when the Colts released him? With our need at inside linebacker and his young age, I thought maybe he could help us down the stretch. I know he has since signed with the Eagles.
ANSWER: During his first four NFL seasons, Shaq Leonard was voted to 4 Pro Bowls and first-team All-Pro three times, but then the injuries hit. Specifically a back injury that required surgery on two different occasions. Since 2020, Leonard's list of injuries includes a broken ankle, multiple concussions, a broken nose, and two back surgeries. He played just three games in 2022 because of his back injuries. This is what Leonard said in an interview with Stacey Dales of NFL Network: "Not being able to do a calf raise, just feeling pain every morning when you wake up, can't bend, can't lift, can't twist, so you have them thoughts," Leonard said. "But you just have to make sure you continue to fight through all the bad things that you're going through, and truly just focus on the wins, the small wins, the small gains every day, and that's what's getting me through it … It's been hard, very emotional, a lot of stress, going through a lot of pain and unknown, and just a lot of mixed emotions, not knowing if I'd ever be back, if I would ever run the same, play the same, if I would feel no pain. And luckily, I just kind of kept my head down and just followed the plan and trusted the process, and put all the faith in the big man upstairs, and luckily I'm here just enjoying and embracing every moment." A 28-year-old, three-time All-Pro inside linebacker is an accurate description of Leonard, but so is a 28-year-old inside linebacker who twice has needed surgery on his back. I imagine the injury history is what cooled whatever interest the Steelers might have had in him.
