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Asked and Answered

Asked and Answered: June 6

Let's get to it:

SAMUEL SANTILLO FROM CARSON CITY, NV:
When do single game tickets go on sale for both home and away Steelers games?

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ANSWER: First off, the Steelers do not sell tickets for their games on the road. If you're interested in attending one of those games, I suggest you try to obtain tickets through the home team.**

As for tickets to individual games at Heinz Field, a limited number of individual game tickets for the Steelers' 2017 home games will be available through Ticketmaster beginning at 10 a.m., EDT, on Friday, June 9. Fans may buy up to eight tickets total per household, in any combination, for any of the eight regular season games. There is no ticket limit for either of the team's preseason home games.

The Steelers are continuing their variable pricing plan for the 2017 season, which consists of four tiers: Premier: Green Bay (Week 12) and New England (Week 15); Black: Minnesota (Week 2), and Baltimore (Week 14); Gold: Jacksonville (Week 5), Cincinnati (Week 7), Tennessee (Week 11), and Cleveland (Week 17); and Preseason: Atlanta (Week 2) and Indianapolis (Week 3).

Tickets will be made available on www.ticketmaster.com or by calling Ticketmaster's toll free sales line: 1-800-745-3000. Tickets will not be sold at the Heinz Field Box Office. Good luck.

ALAN KING FROM DETROIT, MI:
For years I have questioned why teams draft wide receivers in the 1st round. Very few Super Bowl winners historically have drafted wide receivers high (Jerry Rice is an exception, but the 49ers were already a Super Bowl winner before him). Why so much love for wide receivers with so little in return?

ANSWER: Since you're participating in this forum, I going to assume you're a Steelers fan. Lynn Swann? Santonio Holmes? So little in return? Both of them were Super Bowl MVPs. Are you going to try to argue that Dallas didn't get enough in return for Michael Irvin? Each of those three guys made significant contributions to Super Bowl championships, and I'm sure I could come up with more examples if I had any interest in doing more research on a faulty assumption on your part.

MASON CASERTA FROM ROSEVILLE, CA:
Now that quarterback Josh Dobbs has been drafted on the fourth round, the Steelers current backup quarterback Landry Jones has some competition. I hope that Josh will win the job because what I've seen from Landry so far has been extremely inconsistent. What is your take on the backup quarterbacks and the battle for the No. 2 spot?

ANSWER: There is no battle. Landry Jones will be the backup quarterback, and Josh Dobbs will be No. 3. Maybe that's not what you want to hear, but it's the truth.

KEN LILLIE FROM MARS HILL, NC:
I work at Mars Hill University, which is where Johnny Maxey went to college. Do you think Johnny will make the roster again this season?

ANSWER: Johnny Maxey has a very good chance at a spot on the 53-man roster, and the promise he showed last year as a rookie is one of the reasons the Steelers didn't spend any of their eight draft picks on defensive linemen. The Steelers typically keep six defensive linemen on the initial 53-man roster, and the leading candidates at this point are: Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave, L.T. Walton, Tyson Alualu, and Maxey. You should understand that Maxey is going to have to arrive at training camp and win a roster spot, but the Steelers like what they think they have in him.

MATTHEW POWNALL FROM FORT MYERS, FL:
I always hear a lot of talk about the wide receiver battle, but it sounds like Eli Rogers doesn't get mentioned enough. He ended up being quite reliable towards the end of last season. How do you feel about his contributions?

ANSWER: I cannot speak to how many mentions are enough, but at this time of the year it's all speculation anyway. At this time of year, the players aren't wearing pads and there is no hitting, and so receivers are able to run free over the middle without fear. That changes dramatically once the pads go on at training camp, and then there are the preseason games. Eli Rogers was reliable last season, but that alone isn't going to earn him a roster spot this season. He will have to make the team, just as he did in 2016. I'm not implying that he cannot or will not, but his reality is that he's one of those guys who will have to show up at camp this summer and win a job.

The Steelers took a day of OTAs to team build.

ANGUS DUNCAN FROM SHETLAND, SCOTLAND:
Why sign Kameron Canaday after just drafting long-snapper Colin Holba? I understand Greg Warren was released, and so is this for both of the other guys to compete for same job?

ANSWER: Part of it is about competition, and part of it is just in case. As in, just in case the guy you plan on keeping gets injured, then you already have an option available in-house. Rosters are at 90 players right now, and the salary cap isn't an issue, so keeping two long-snappers isn't a burden. I can guarantee you that if the Steelers need the roster spot for some other reason, they won't have two long-snappers for very long.

JOHN RICHMOND FROM CHARLOTTE, NC:
I'm going to be at the last preseason game here in Charlotte. Will they more likely be playing the starters to fine tune for the opening game of the season or resting them to avoid injury?

ANSWER: If I were to hazard a guess at this point, I would predict that all of these players, and maybe more, will not play a snap in the preseason finale against Carolina: Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, Le'Veon Bell, Maurkice Pouncey, Cam Heyward, Ryan Shazier, Mike Mitchell, David DeCastro, Stephon Tuitt, and William Gay. And there will be a bunch of others who will see VERY LIMITED playing time. Now that rosters will be kept at 90 players until the preseason is over, coaches will have plenty of guys to throw into the preseason finale to eat up the snaps to keep all of the front-line guys fresh/healthy for the start of the regular season.

ALFRED BARNHAM FROM SMALLFIELD, UK:
Would Fast Willie Parker be considered fast when compared with today's NFL running backs, and how would he match up with them?

ANSWER: According to statisticsbrain.com, the average time in the 40-yard dash for NFL running backs is 4.59. Willie Parker is reported to have run a 4.23, but that was before electronic timing was in use. Even if Parker's electronic time would've been slower than 4.23, it wouldn't have been that much slower. So let me put it this way: Parker deserved his nickname of Fast Willie back then, and he would still deserve it now.

JUSTIN HENNEBERRY FROM HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA:
Le'Veon Bell is RB1, James Conner is RB2, so how is the battle for RB3 shaping up? I'm sure special teams is the biggest factor, so would Knile Davis have the upper hand because of his return ability?

ANSWER: Let me correct you: using your terminology, Le'Veon Bell is RB1, and everybody else is in the mix for everything from roster spots, to roles on the team, to the waiver wire. James Conner hasn't clinched anything, and he will be asked to contribute on special teams as well. Maybe not as a return guy, but then certainly in coverage. Until the pads go on and there is real hitting and tackling injected into practice sessions, the running game cannot be evaluated, nor can the players involved in it.

ALONZO PICKETT FROM HAGERSTOWN, MD:
Will the Steelers bring back DeAngelo Williams? Yes or no?

ANSWER: I will answer this question for the last time, people. No, DeAngelo Williams isn't coming back. The Steelers gave his No. 34 to Knile Davis.

ED MEADOWS FROM RICHMOND, VA:
I have noticed over the last few years that Steelers players are very well spoken in interviews. I will mention Ben Roethlisberger, Ramon Foster, Cam Heyward, and T.J. Watt, among other, fitting into this category. Is this a case of natural maturation, or are players getting coached, either by team-paid consultants, or by coaches they hire.

ANSWER: Guys who played their college football at big-time programs are exposed to the media on a regular basis there, and so they can arrive at the NFL level with some experience/savvy in that area. Also, there is some maturation that comes with experience and just having people grow into their mid-to-late 20s. There are no coaches involved in this part of a player's job, and the Steelers don't hire media consultants to prep players for doing interviews. That's handled by the team's Communications Department: Burt Lauten, Dominick Rinelli, and Ryan Scarpino.

KEVIN PURCELL FROM REPUBLIC, MO:
Are there any June salary cap casualties coming up this year? I ask because of salary cap issues in the past.

ANSWER: No. Not this year.


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