Let's get to it:
LARRY LASH FROM TARENTUM, PA: I can vaguely remember Merril Hoge's playing days. Can you please shed some light on his stats and contributions as a Steelers running back? And correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't injuries derail his career?
ANSWER: Merril Hoge came to the Steelers as a 10th-round pick in the 1987 NFL Draft (261st overall) from Idaho State. Over 7 seasons in Pittsburgh, he played in 109 games., with 79 being starts. He rushed for 3,115 yards on 819 carries (3.8 average) and scored 21 touchdowns. He caught 241 passes for 2,054 yards (8.5 average) and 13 more touchdowns. Hoge was a fullback in a split-back offense during Chuck Noll's tenure, but when Bill Cowher was hired in 1992 his role changed to that of a blocking fullback. In 1992 when Barry Foster set a franchise record with 1,690 yards rushing, Hoge had only 41 carries on the season, and even when Foster was injured and limited to 9 starts in 1993 because of injury Hoge still carried only 51 times. He left as an unrestricted free agent following the 1993 season and signed with the Chicago Bears, and it was at that stage of his career when he sustained the concussions that sent him into retirement after the 1994 season.
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MICHAEL ROHRER FROM SUNBURY, OH: With the Steelers decimated by injuries at inside linebacker, I saw a couple of weeks back where Myles Jack came out of retirement and signed with the Steelers. Do you know his current status, or why he hasn't been brought into action?
ANSWER: Myles Jack spent the 2022 season with the Steelers, during which he stated 13 games, but he was released early in the 2023 offseason when the team began remaking the depth chart at inside linebacker by signing Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts. He was out of football until training camp when he signed with the Eagles, but after spending just two weeks there he announced his retirement from football. So when he signed with the Steelers on Nov. 20 he was coming off the couch from a football perspective. Even though Jack is 29 years old, getting his body back in shape for the demands placed on an NFL inside linebacker takes more than a couple of minutes. Jack now has had a couple of weeks of practice, and Elandon Roberts' injury in the game against the Cardinals might serve to speed up the process of getting him onto the field.
JOE LAMOLINARE FROM DALLAS, GA: Early in the first quarter of the game against the Cardinals, it appeared that Kyler Murray was tackled by T.J. Watt for a 2-yard loss. Why was he not given credit for a sack?
ANSWER: Because in real time the on-site stats crew judged that Kyler Murray was a running back in that situation, and so the tackle was not credited as a sack.
MIKE RICHARDS FROM MIDDLETOWN, PA: Why are we so shy when it comes to working the tight end in the middle of the field? In the Cincinnati game, Pat Freiermuth killed it with 9 catches for 120 yards. Go on to the next week and guess what? We forgot where the middle of the field is and how successful it was.
ANSWER: Pat Freiermuth's big game vs. the Bengals had more to do with Cincinnati's defense and where it was vulnerable than it was an interest in attacking the middle of the field with the tight end. Against the Cardinals, the plan was to attack the Arizona outside pass defense, and that's why George Pickens (5) and Diontae Johnson (5) were targeted 10 times while tight ends Freiermuth (5) and Connor Heyward (2) were targeted 7 times. Anyway, the real issue last Sunday was the offense was so poor on third downs until late in the game – 1-for-6 at halftime and 2-for-9 after three quarters – that there just weren't enough offensive plays to go around.
KEITH MILLER FROM CANTON, NC: My old person memory is that my father took me to a game in Pitt Stadium called the "O.J. Simpson Bowl." Pittsburgh played Philadelphia and the loser would get to draft O.J. first overall. Well, we blew it and won the game, 6-3, and then Philly blew it and won a game later on. How accurate is this memory?
ANSWER: On Oct. 27, 1968, the 0-6 Steelers faced the 0-6 Eagles, and the game was dubbed The O.J. Bowl, because why else would anyone care about a matchup of winless teams in late October. The game lived down to expectations, too. The Eagles took a 3-0 lead in the second quarter when punter-placekicker Sam Baker kicked a 38-yard field goal, but the Steelers "stormed back" in the fourth quarter and won the game, 6-3, on field goals of 34 and 15 yards (the goalposts were on the goal line back then) by Booth Lusteg. There were 5 missed field goals in the game and 11 punts, and the Steelers finished the season 2-11-1, while the Eagles got to 0-11 before a 2-game winning streak brought them home at 2-12. The 1969 draft order had Buffalo picking first (O.J. Simpson), Atlanta picking second (OT George Kunz), Philadelphia picking third (HB Leroy Keyes), and the Steelers picking fourth and "settling" for the greatest player in franchise history (DT Joe Greene).
DAVE DUNN FROM SWARTHMORE, PA: I don't think there is an official stat, but how many low/bad snaps have the Steelers experienced this season? It appears that almost every shotgun snap has been low or off target causing a disruption of the play that's called.
ANSWER: There isn't a statistic on low/bad snaps, partially because unless it's a fumble judging low/bad snaps is subjective. But I am willing to say there have been too many of those for the Steelers, and it's not as though Mason Cole is the first center who has had that issue. Maurkice Pouncey was erratic at times with Ben Roethlisberger in the shotgun and it was fortunate for the Steelers that their starting quarterback had such exceptional hand-eye coordination to snag those snaps.
JOHN HUGHES FROM LAKE CITY, FL: There is a good chance that when T.J. Watt's career is over, he will be on his way to Canton. Would Watt be the first player in Steelers history to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame without ever being on a team that won a playoff game? I'm sure Watt would be the first to do that.
ANSWER: You may be sure, but you're surely incorrect. Maybe you're too young, but the Steelers franchise went 40 years in the NFL without winning a playoff game, and in only 1 of those 40 seasons did they even qualify for a playoff game – that was in 1947 when the Steelers and Eagles had a playoff for first place in the Eastern Conference and a spot in the NFL Championship Game – and they lost, 21-0. There are 7 Steelers players enshrined in the Hall of Fame who never even appeared in a playoff game for the franchise – (listed alphabetically) Jack Butler, Bill Dudley, John Henry Johnson, Walt Kiesling, Bobby Layne, whose playoff exposure came with Detroit, John McNally, and Ernie Stautner. By the way, Stautner was the first player in franchise history to have his jersey retired, and is one of only three players (Joe Greene and Franco Harris were the others) to receive that honor.
JOSEPH LOUSHINE FROM RIO RANCHO, NM: Zach Gentry played quarterback for the Eldorado Eagles when he was in high school. At 6-foot-8 and 260 pounds, why didn't the Steelers keep him on the practice squad and try to convert him back to quarterback?
ANSWER: Zach Gentry left high school in 2014, and during his freshman year as a Michigan quarterback in 2015 Coach Jim Harbaugh convinced him to move to tight end after he told him to could get to the NFL as a tight end. If Gentry had shown any legitimate promise as a quarterback, Michigan never would've moved him to tight end in the first place. And your suggestion is that after 8 years away from the quarterback position, the Steelers should've signed him to the practice squad so as to try to develop him as a quarterback to play the position at the highest level of the sport. Since the home of the Eldorado Eagles is Albuquerque, New Mexico, and your currently list your residence in Rio Rancho, maybe you were classmates? Go, Eagles.
BOB MAICHROWICZ FROM MEMPHIS, TN: The Steelers line up in field goal formation apparently to attempt a 60-yard field goal, but instead the ball is snapped directly to Chris Boswell, who punts. Would this punt be legal, or would it be considered a missed field goal?
ANSWER: That would be a punt, and the other team would have an opportunity to return that punt.
