Let's get to it:
CHUCK MILLER FROM GREEN ISLAND, NY: I've got a lunch bet on this question. My friend says that the Steelers are one of the few teams that have NEVER had a cheerleading team, but I would have sworn that there was a cheer team for the Steelers in the 1960s. Who's right?
ANSWER: Your friend is buying you lunch.
The Steelerettes were the cheerleaders for the Pittsburgh Steelers during the 1960s. The Steelerettes lasted from 1961-69, and all members of the squad were full-time students at Robert Morris Junior College (now Robert Morris University) in Pittsburgh. An administrator at the college, William Day, coordinated the tryouts and the selection process. Tryouts involved coordination, personality, gymnastics, and appearance; the finalists then took a basic football quiz to prove that they would know when to cheer; and eligibility for the squad required a 2.0 GPA at Robert Morris. For one season (1962), an all-male group called the Ingots joined the sideline entertainment. The Ingots fired a cannon filled with 12-gauge blanks when the Steelers scored a touchdown. The Ingots disbanded after that one season.
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SAM MIKHAIL FROM BETHESDA, MD: Mason Rudolph's performance against the Bengals was just what the Steelers needed. I know it was just one game, but it was very impressive to watch. What is his current contract situation?
ANSWER: Mason Rudolph signed a 1-year contract worth $1.08 million on May 17. He will be eligible to become an unrestricted free agent at 4 p.m. on March 13 at the start of the 2024 league year.
RODGER SUNDO FROM ASPINWALL, PA: Can we win the AFC North at 5-1 and still miss the playoffs?
ANSWER: If the Steelers would defeat the Ravens on the final weekend of the regular season, they would finish with a 5-1 record against division opponents, but it's a team's overall record that is used to determine the standings. I'm not sure I completely understand your question, but if you're asking whether the Steelers can finish with a 5-1 record against AFC North opponents and not make the playoffs, the answer is yes. But having a 5-1 record against division opponents does not make the Steelers the winners of the AFC North.
LEO GARREAU FROM WAUKEE, IA: What is the rule, if there is one, when a running back stiff-arms a defender and grabs the facemask? There seems to be a lot of fingers clutched around the facemask with no call.
ANSWER: It is not a legal stiff-arm for the ballcarrier to grab onto the facemask of a defensive player, and I have seen the penalty called, particularly when the offensive player twists the defensive player's facemask to make it easy for the on-field official to see.
TIMOTHY RICHARD FROM SULPHUR, LA: Another question about an onside kick. If the receiving team's player signals a "fair catch" but steps aside to keep from "muffing the ball," would that be treated as a live ball upon hitting the turf even though he doesn't touch the ball?
ANSWER: Yes, it is a live ball. As long as the ball has traveled the required 10 yards on a kickoff, it would be a live ball once it hit the ground.
CRAIG DAGOSTINO FROM KIRKCALDY, FIFE, SCOTLAND: In an onside kick scenario, can the kicking team bounce the ball from the tee into the air to force the receiving team to have to jump for the ball and thus taking the fair catch out of the equation?
ANSWER: What you describe actually is the most attempted technique used by teams that are trying to recover an onside kick. It does not have a high percentage of success.
RYAN BRANCO FROM N.ATTLEBORO, MA: I love Joey Porter Jr.'s competitive nature and believe he is going to be a great player for us for years to come. The penalties are a bit concerning to some. Do you believe this is something that can be "coached" out of him? Or is being "handsy" just a part of who he is?
ANSWER: Coach Mike Tomlin regularly has local officials work the on-field practices during the week, and they are charged with throwing penalty flags and then explaining to the offending player why the flag was thrown. So the process already has begun, and it's ongoing. My personal opinion is that NFL officials are more strict with rookies throughout the league, and pass interference/defensive holding/illegal contact always attract scrutiny. The way I see this issue evolving over the next few seasons is that Joey Porter Jr. will learn to play cleaner, while at the same time he'll start getting the benefit of the doubt on some calls as he matures as a player in the league.
TERRY PECK FROM SPRINGFIELD, OH: What happens If a team lines up for a field goal on a third down, and due to time expiring has a bad snap. The kicking team recovers. Since it is now fourth down, can they try again?
ANSWER: Yes, provided your reference to "time expiring" doesn't refer to the game clock but rather to the play clock. Because if the half or the fourth quarter or overtime ends before the kicking team recovers the ball, then there cannot be a second attempt. But if there still is time on the game clock, the kicking team can attempt a field goal on fourth down, and the new line of scrimmage will be spot of the recovery.
ROBERT YEAGISM FROM CANYON COUNTRY, CA: Given how the NFL strives for parity in the league via various mechanisms, is it ever possible for all of the teams to end up 9-7 after the regular season ends?
ANSWER: Since there has to be both a winner and a loser in every game, simple arithmetic should have told you that 32 teams cannot finish 9-7 apiece, because 9-times-32 is 288 and 7-times-32 is 224. The total number of wins and losses have to be the same, so 32 teams all finishing 9-7 has nothing to do with football or parity. It's mathematically impossible.
RICH HETRICK FROM CHICAGO, IL: Watching the replay of the Immaculate Reception and seeing the fans rush the field I wondered if this happened regularly during that period of football history and when was the last time it happened given today's higher security protocols?
ANSWER: I was not in attendance for the Immaculate Reception, and besides that specific game, I have never personally seen, or seen on film or on video, where fans in the stands rushed the field as happened at Three Rivers Stadium that day. I cannot guarantee that it hadn't happened somewhere in some other snippet of time in NFL history, but I never have seen it.
RON TAYLOR FROM WEST POINT, IN: If Mason Rudolph does start against the Seahawks do you expect the Seahawks to be better prepared for him to throw the ball downfield than the Bengals? How does their pass defense compare with that of the Bengals?
ANSWER: It's reasonable to expect the game vs. the Seahawks to be different than the game vs. the Bengals because the Seattle coaching staff has game video of this particular Steelers offense being quarterbacked by Mason Rudolph for reference, which is something the Bengals did not have. Add to that the fact Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati is a divisional matchup that happens at least twice every season, there is a knowledge and understanding – or at least a perceived knowledge and understanding – of the opponent that an AFC vs. NFC game does not have. The Seahawks will need to be prepared to deal with the Steelers offense trying to get the ball downfield via the passing attack the way it did vs. the Bengals, and the Steelers will need to be prepared with a response if the Seahawks succeed.
