Let's get to it:
PATRICK BARR FROM PHILADELPHIA, PA:
With the Steelers in need of a clear No. 2 wide receiver, would Coach Mike Tomlin consider using Le'Veon Bell at that position and having Le'Veon Bell (if healthy) as the feature back?
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ANSWER: The DeAngelo Williams, if healthy, part looks like it could be a problem right now, but I'll just deal with Le'Veon Bell as an NFL wide receiver. Bell is a difference-making receiver for a running back, but that's different from being a difference-making wide receiver. Bell rarely runs routes against some of the top cornerbacks in the NFL, which is what he'd be facing as a wide receiver. And wide receiver is a position that requires a specific set of skills that have to be honed and techniques that have to be learned, which is a process that can take years. It wouldn't be fair to expect him to make that switch without time to hone his craft as a receiver, and there's no time for that in the middle of a season.**
ANDREW SANDERS FROM MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA:
While this question isn't Steelers related, I was wondering if you had an opinion on the play just before halftime in the Seahawks-Bills game? Does that not set a precedent for players to run offside and take out a kicker's knee before any field goal attempt? He was injured due to a foul and a cheap-shot, yet had to go off for a play?
ANSWER: I agree 1,000 percent that Dan Carpenter was injured via a foul on Richard Sherman and that the officials working that game blew it big-time.
MAURO RODRIGUEZ FROM CHIHUAHUA, MEXICO:
I believe that in the past two games (against the Ravens and Patriots), we can attribute penalties as being one of the biggest factors in why we lost. How many times were the Steelers flagged in the first six games and how many times in the past two?
ANSWER: In the last two games – against New England and Baltimore – the Steelers were penalized 23 times, an average of 11.5 per game. In the first six games, they were penalized 32 times, an average of 5.3 per game.
ED SWARTZ FROM NORWICH, OH:
The NFL didn't start keeping sack stats until 1982, but has anyone ever gone back and counted how many sacks those players from those 1970s defense recorded? How many sacks does Joe Greene have, or L.C. Greenwood or Dwight White or Jack Lambert have, for that matter?
ANSWER: The Steelers combed through old game films at some point and came up with sack totals. Of the players from the 1970s you list, Joe Greene finished with 66 sacks, L.C. Greenwood finished with 73.5, Dwight White had 46, and Jack Lambert had 23.5.
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ROBERT RAUCH FROM JOPLIN, MO:
Big fan, I have question about my favorite segment that you do: Agree to Disagree. You and Mike Prisuta used to do four or more questions, and now you only do two. Why the change? And can you change back? The banter between you two and the knowledge the pair of you have is amazing and fun to watch.
ANSWER: Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad to hear you enjoy Agree to Disagree. But a few years ago, we were told the segment had to be no longer than three minutes, and so to hit that time we cut it from four statements to two. It's not going back to four, because apparently the attention span of millennials won't allow for it.
STEVE HENSON FROM YORK, PA:
On the blocked punt in the Ravens game, can you explain why No. 28 ran to the right side with no one there and left the Ravens player to come unblocked to the punter?
ANSWER: I cannot. Both Mike Tomlin and Danny Smith termed it a miscommunication, but for my eyes, Sean Davis missed his assignment.
CLAYTON EGBERT FROM SALT LAKE CITY, UT:
How many Steelers players protest during the national anthem?
ANSWER: None.
PETER DEWAR FROM MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA:
I just don't understand why they would have Antonio Brown returning punts. He is very fast but not the fastest, and surely a star like him should be saved for his receiving abilities on offense?
ANSWER: The Steelers need to get the ball into the hands of their playmakers, and Antonio Brown is one of those playmakers. Instead of saving him, they need to use him to win games.
BEN MURPHY FROM CORK, IRELAND:
When is the last time the Steelers had a kickoff returned for a touchdown?
ANSWER: Based on the wording of your question, I'm not sure if you're asking about the last time the Steelers returned a kickoff for a touchdown, or the last time the Steelers allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown, so I'll answer it both ways. The last time the Steelers returned a kickoff for a touchdown was when Antonio Brown went 98 yards against the Titans in Tennessee on Sept. 19, 2010. The last time the Steelers allowed a kickoff return for a touchdown was when Jacoby Jones went 108 yards for the Ravens in Baltimore on Nov. 2, 2014.
ANDY SPADE FROM LITITZ, PA:
Yet again, in the game against the Ravens, Landry Jones was responsible for the Steelers' offensive woes. His ineffectiveness in clipboard holding and butt-smacking encouragement was an anchor to the team's morale, and it is baffling why the Steelers (and you) continue to defend him. If they're not going to pick up some middling has-been/never-was for us fans to fantasize into the next Jeff Hostettler, can't they at least give Ryan Shazier a shot under center?
ANSWER: If you're going to be this clever/creative, I'm going to petition the judge to add your name to the list so that when I'm paroled you can take over Asked and Answered.
JOE PARHAM FROM PHILADELPHIA, PA:
Ben Roethlisberger will recover from one of his few bad starts. How come Steelers fans world-wide want to bench him during a rough game in which he came back from surgery and replace him with a guy who I think is one of the better backups in the league but is a player they seem to dislike? Perplexing.
ANSWER: Welcome to my world. Three times a week.
