Let's get to it:
DEAN HARRIS FROM DOWNINGTOWN, PA: I saw that Cam Heyward is once again our Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee. They've passed him by too many times and he is most deserving of this award. Can you tell me the criteria they use to choose the winner of the award and maybe why he hasn't won it yet?
ANSWER: This is directly from NFL.com/ManOfTheYear: "The Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award recognizes an NFL player for his excellence on and off the field. The award was established in 1970. It was renamed in 1999 after the late Hall of Fame Chicago Bears running back, Walter Payton. Each team nominates one player who has had a significant positive impact on his community. Representing the best of the NFL's commitment to philanthropy and community impact, 32 players are selected as their team's Man of the Year and become eligible to win the national award. The winner of the award each year receives a $250,000 donation to the charity of his choice. All 32 nominees receive up to a $55,000 donation to their charity of choice. All donations are courtesy of the NFL Foundation and Nationwide. The winner of this year's Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award will be announced live at NFL Honors on Thursday, Feb. 8 at 9 p.m. Eastern on CBS." I have no idea why Cam Heyward hasn't won the award, because it's my opinion he already should have won it. Check out the video below:
DANA FARBACHER FROM WEST JEFFERSON, OH: During games, television will show sideline shots of the players and coaches using electronic devices to view the opponent's formations or prior plays. I've also seen some of the coaches taking notes during the games. Do they keep track of player repetitions or packages, or are they keeping notes on things they see the other team doing?
ANSWER: What you're seeing at any specific time during those sideline shots could be any or all of that.
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KEITH WIMER FROM BOARDMAN, OH: In the standings/playoff seedings I see the 7-5 Steelers are currently the fifth seed in the AFC, while the 7-5 Houston Texans, who beat the Steelers, are seeded seventh. Could you please explain again the reason why?
ANSWER: Actually, there are currently four teams with 7-5 records – Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Houston – and as you can see in the tiebreaking procedure listed below, the first step is to break the tie if there are two teams from the same division. The Steelers get the nod over the Browns based on division record, and Indianapolis gets the nod over Houston based on division record. So the tiebreaker in that situation actually comes down to Steelers vs. Colts. Since both have the same conference record, the determining factor has to be either record in common games, or strength of victory, or strength of schedule, or one of those other tiebreakers on the list below. If you care to figure that out, be my guest, but since the playoffs don't start for another month, the reason one team is ranked ahead of another right now is irrelevant. But the Steelers-Colts game coming up at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 16, in Indianapolis might have a lot to say about those seedings.
THREE OR MORE CLUBS
(Note: If two clubs remain tied after a third club or other clubs are eliminated, the tiebreaker reverts to step 1 of the applicable two-club format.)
Apply the division tiebreaker to eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2. The original seeding within a division upon application of the division tiebreaker remains the same for all subsequent applications of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two wild card participants.
• Head-to-head sweep (applicable only if one club has defeated each of the others or if one club has lost to each of the others)
• Best won-lost-tied percentage in games played within the conference
• Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games, minimum of four
• Strength of victory
• Strength of schedule
• Best combined ranking among conference teams in points scored and points allowed
• Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed
• Best net points in conference games
• Best net points in all games
• Best net touchdowns in all games
• Coin toss
DENNIS THOMPSON FROM TITUSVILLE, FL: Who would have played quarterback if Mitch Trubisky also got hurt in last Sundays game?
ANSWER: Mason Rudolph was in uniform as the designated emergency quarterback, and so he would have gone into the game.
NICK MITCHELL FROM GLEN-LYON, PA: I would rather see Mason Rudolph get the start instead of Mitch Trubisky. Do you feel that's possible?
ANSWER: At this point, not unless Mitch Trubisky is injured.
ADAM GREEN FROM VIRGINIA BEACH, VA: On at least two occasions during Sunday's embarrassing loss to the Cardinals, low snaps caused a sack of Kenny Pickett and then the fumble that was charged to Mitch Trubisky. This seems to have been an issue several times this season. Is it a Mason Cole issue or coaching issue? Or am I the only one noticing this disturbing issue?
ANSWER: Mason Cole is in his sixth NFL season, and he has appeared in 89 career regular season games with 68 of those starts. All NFL teams use the shotgun formation, and so executing the snap is a mandatory part of being an NFL center. Players have to execute the fundamentals of their job. I cannot imagine how this could be a coaching issue.
BILL SNYDER FROM PITTSBURGH, PA: Coaches are now wearing a tan/burlap colored pullover on the sidelines with the team name stenciled on it. They used to wear their team colors on their garments. When television shows a quick shot of the coaches on the sideline it is not readily apparent which team's coaches the camera is focused on unless they hold the shot long enough to read the stenciling. Why the switch? By the way, are you related to the owners of the Labriola Italian Market grocery stores?
ANSWER: Every year in November, the NFL unveils its Salute to Service program, part of which includes merchandise that is sold to the public. This year's design of the Salute to Service gear is what you recently have been seeing worn on the sideline during games. In order to keep things fresh and entice fans to buy that season's version of the Salute to Service gear, the NFL switches things up every year, and that tan-colored design was the choice for 2023. And the owners of the several Labriola Italian Market stores in the Pittsburgh area are owned and operated by my cousins.
MIKE CLAPPER FROM BEDFORD, PA: Besides Baltimore, everyone in the AFC North is now playing with a backup quarterback. Regardless of current records, which team do you think has the best backup – Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, or Cleveland?
ANSWER: Cincinnati's Jake Browning had a really good game in the Bengals' win over Jacksonville on Monday night; Mitch Trubisky is a former second overall pick in a draft who has been voted to a Pro Bowl and twice quarterbacked the Chicago Bears into the postseason; and Joe Flacco has a Super Bowl MVP Award on his resume. I don't know how you personally define "best backup," but I would lean toward Trubisky, because I believe that Flacco is too old (38 to turn 39 on Jan. 16) and that Super Bowl came at the end of the 2012 season; and it's too early to come to any conclusions about Jake Browning just yet.
LESLIE LONG JR. FROM REDDING, CA: I see a lot of holds on T.J. Watt that are not called. Why is that?
ANSWER: Regular readers of this space know by now that I view NFL officiating as inconsistent and arbitrary, but to your specific question I believe some teams/coaches subscribe to the theory that if you hold a dynamic pass-rusher like T.J. Watt on every play, the on-field officials eventually will tire of flagging the infraction. A cynical view on my part, certainly, but that's my opinion.
LEON KULINSKI FROM OIL CITY, PA: I haven't given up on Kenny Pickett, but because he has not taken a significant step forward this year I'm also not sold on him being the long-term answer at quarterback. I also know that there is plenty of blame to go around from coaching to the offensive line to wide receivers not getting separation. That being said, do you think the Steelers will bring in another veteran next year and/or draft another quarterback?
ANSWER: To some degree, I believe your back-and-forth on the issue is shared by the Steelers, and that the final portion of this season will have some bearing on a decision moving forward. At this stage of the process, I'm not going to guess what that conclusion might be.
DAVID HAYES FROM HARTSELLE, AL: Before the Steelers hire an offensive coordinator this offseason, will the potential coordinator be able to discuss what personnel must be changed before accepting the position? How much autonomy do the coordinators have with personnel?
ANSWER: I cannot envision a candidate for the offensive coordinator job on any NFL team being given a major say-so in personnel. General Manager Omar Khan, Vice President of Player Personnel Dan Rooney Jr., and Assistant General Manager Andy Weidl are at the top of the team's Football Operations Department, Coach Mike Tomlin is the significant voice in personnel matters from the coaching staff, and Art Rooney II is the Team President. As an example, if I was being interviewed for the offensive coordinator position, and during the process I presented a list of players I didn't like or didn't want to work with, I would expect to be shown the door and told not to let it hit me in the butt on the way out.
KIM OWENS FROM FREDERICK, MD: With Mason Rudolph being moved to second-string with Kenny Pickett injured, Trace McSorley may be the No. 3 quarterback tonight. If so, does he have to be on the active roster? If not, is his pay still as a practice squad player unless he actually has to play?
ANSWER: To be designated the emergency quarterback for a particular game, a player must be on the 53-man roster for that game. All players on the 53-man roster for a game receive a game check whether they play in the game or not.
