Let's get to it:
LARRY LASH FROM TARENTUM, PA: How do you feel about Chris Boswell not making the Pro Bowl? Is fan voting the only voting process that goes into determining who makes the Pro Bowl, or do coaches, players, and other NFL officials have a hand in the process?
ANSWER: The players who make the Pro Bowl are selected by a combined vote of fans, players, and coaches, with each group counting one-third of the total. In the case of placekickers, there is only one voted to the AFC team and one voted to the NFC team, and I'm certain that is a factor in Chris Boswell not getting selected, because Baltimore's Justin Tucker is in the AFC, and he has been voted to 6 Pro Bowls and first-team All-Pro 5 times. The numbers would indicate Boswell is having a better season, because he has converted 28-of-30 (93.3) percent of his field goal attempts, while Tucker has converted 31-of-36 (86.1 percent). But what so often happens is that reputation is definitely a factor in Pro Bowl voting, and Tucker is the higher-profile kicker, and his team is the top seed in the AFC with a 13-3 record. It's not right, but that's the way Pro Bowl voting goes. Boswell was voted to the Pro Bowl after the 2017 season.
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STEVE HOUSEHOLDER FROM WESTERNPORT, MD: What is Chuks Okorafor's contract status?
ANSWER: Chuks Okorafor is signed through the 2024 season, and in 2024 he is scheduled to earn $4.75 million in salary plus a $4 million roster bonus, with the bonus to be paid on the fifth day of the new league year, which begins on March 13, 2024. That means he will count $11.83 million on the team's salary cap in 2024.
JOE ASHER FROM TAMPA, FL: The Steelers were "flexed" to play on Saturday, Jan. 6 instead of Sunday, Jan. 7 during the final week of the regular season. Do you think this was because the Steelers game involves fewer tiebreaking factors?
ANSWER: No games are flexed during Week 18 of the regular season, because when the schedule is announced in May, there are no dates or times listed for any of the games on Week 18. The NFL then waits until the Week 17 schedule is completed before making decisions on which teams will play on which days and at what times. What the NFL wants is to have as few games as possible on Week 18 where a team's playoff chances are dashed before that team plays its game.
MIKE ZEKIR FROM MARIANNA, PA: Since the departure of Matt Canada, how well do you think the new offensive coordinator/play-calling duo are doing? It's not the norm in the NFL but it seems to be working for now.
ANSWER: Eddie Faulkner is the interim offensive coordinator/running backs coach, and Mike Sullivan is the quarterbacks coach and is handling the play-calling. Under this system the Steelers have scored 30-plus points twice, and those are the only times they accomplished that in 2023. That's an indication that the system has had some success, but I don't know that Coach Mike Tomlin will be using the same two-pronged approach beyond this season.
DOUG COOPER FROM DUNCANNON, PA: It has been fun watching Mason Rudolph these past two weeks and a real NFL level offense. So, what happens when Mason inevitably loses a game, especially if it is because he has a particularly bad outing?
ANSWER: The people who have been singing his praises will drop him like a bad habit.
RANDY DUVALL FROM HAMPTON, VA: Do NFL teams have any say on the officiating crews assigned to their games, especially if certain crews are perceived to have a bad history or reputation?
ANSWER: Absolutely not.
DENNIS SLEEGER FROM YORK, PA: When does a player not get his game paycheck? Does our defensive back get paid even though he was suspended by the NFL? Does an inactive player get a normal paycheck?
ANSWER: Damontae Kazee is the player who was suspended by the NFL for the rest of the season, and that suspension was levied as one without pay. Outside of that situation, every player on the 53-man roster and the injured reserve list gets paid according to the terms of his contract. It has nothing to do with whether an individual plays in a particular game.
SCOTT RANDALL FROM CONWAY, SC: After this season ends can the Steelers release Mitch Trubisky without that being a huge cap hit?
ANSWER: According to Spotrac.com, the Steelers would be assessed a $4.6 million dead cap charge if they traded or released Mitch Trubisky during the upcoming offseason. I'll leave it up to you to decide whether that constitutes a "huge cap hit."
STEFAN PISOCKI FROM WILMINGTON, DE: I was watching a recent Cam Heyward podcast. His guest was long-snapper Christian Kuntz. The conversation got around to Cam's role on the field goal/extra point team, and I remember seeing Cam out there for such situations. Why? I suppose Cam played some offensive line in high school, but I would think there are plenty of offensive linemen chomping at the bit to get some playing time. Is every starter expected to volunteer to play special teams, or is it a holdover from when starting players were not yet starting?
ANSWER: Over the previous four games, Cam Heyward played 5 snaps on special teams vs. New England, 7 vs. Indianapolis, 7 vs. Cincinnati, and 8 vs. Seattle. And I know that most of his special teams snaps are on either the field goal team or field goal block team, neither of which requires a lot of running. Heyward has blocked some kicks in his career, which shows he has a talent for that, and field goal/field goal block units directly impact the scoreboard. It's not as if he is assigned to run down under kickoffs, and I'm sure that if it was a burden on him he could ask to be replaced and the request would be granted.
MICHAEL PAOLINI FROM SCHWENKSVILLE, PA: Can a team punt for an onside kick? Let me explain. It's a tie game with less than one minute to play. A safety just occurred and the team needs to kick off to the team that is now up by 2 points. Can the team punt for an onside try?
ANSWER: On a free kick after a safety, a team can choose to punt or kick off from its 20-yard line, but if that team elects to use its punter, you should understand that the fair-catch rule still applies, which could make it difficult to execute an onside kick successfully.
KEITH OVERSTREET FROM HENRICO, VA: That photo accompanying the Jan. 2 Asked and Answered made my day. If I was talented enough to play for the Steelers, I can't imagine a better honor than having Mr. Cam Heyward giving me a game ball. That smile on Mason's face shows how much that means. So my question is, who's that clapping in the background?
ANSWER: That man is assistant offensive line coach Isaac Williams.
DICK VOCHEK FROM PORTAGE, PA: Last Sunday morning before the Week 17 games, I saw New England's record qualified the Patriots for the third overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, and Washington's record qualified the Commanders for the fourth overall pick. Both teams lost. But at the end of the day, the Commanders had jumped over the Patriots and had the second overall pick. I have seen you publish the tiebreakers for making the playoffs. What are the tiebreakers for draft order?
ANSWER: This is from NFL.com:
The order of selection is determined by the reverse order of finish in the previous season. Barring any trades between clubs, each round starts with the team that finished with the worst record and ends with the Super Bowl champions. Teams that didn't qualify for the playoffs are assigned draft slots 1-20. The order is determined by the standings at the end of the regular season: The club with the worst record will pick first, and the one with the best record will pick 20th. Teams that did qualify for the playoffs are assigned draft slots 21-32. The order is determined by the results of the previous year's postseason play:
The four teams eliminated in the wild card round pick in slots 21-24 in the reverse order of their final regular season records. The four teams eliminated in the divisional round pick in slots 25-28 in the reverse order of their final regular season records. The two teams that lost in the conference championships pick in the 29th and 30th spots in the reverse order of their final regular season records. The team that lost the Super Bowl has the 31st pick in the draft. The Super Bowl champion has the 32nd and final spot in each round.
In situations where teams finished the previous season with identical records, the determination of draft position is decided by strength of schedule — the aggregate winning percentage of a team's opponents. The team that played the schedule with the lowest winning percentage will be awarded the higher pick.
If the teams have the same strength of schedule, division or conference tiebreakers are applied. If the divisional or conference tiebreakers are not applicable, or ties still exist between teams of different conferences, ties will be broken with the following tie-breaking method:
• Head-to-head, if applicable
• Best won-lost-tied percentage in common games (minimum of four)
• Strength of victory in all games
• Best combined ranking among all teams in points scored and points allowed in all games
• Best net points in all games
• Best net touchdowns in all games
• Coin toss
