Let's get to it:
ALDO GALVAN FROM TORREON, COAH, MEXICO: Why do the players leave the field at a different place from where they come out for the pregame introductions behind the end zone?
ANSWER: Convenience. The pregame introductions are part of the GameDay entertainment experience at Acrisure Stadium, with the lights and the smoke and the music, and so using that tunnel is more conducive to the effect the team is trying to create for the fans and the networks. There is also an exit from the field behind the Steelers bench, and that leads to a more direct route to the locker room. That's why you'll see players and coaches exit that way following the game.
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MARC SIMON FROM NAPLES, FL: This may be a naïve question, but why does the NFL have a trade deadline? And how is it chosen?
ANSWER: It's based on competitive fairness. Without having a trading deadline, there would be nothing stopping a team from playing virtually the entire regular season and then making trades right on the cusp of the playoffs that could have a big influence on the outcome of those playoffs. Taking it to the extreme, there could be a flurry of moves right before the start of the postseason every year, and it would serve to cheapen the championships that are won. The trading deadline is set during the NFL Owners Meetings, and the procedure involves a proposal on establishing the date and then a vote of membership whether to enact that proposal. As a side note, the proposal to move the trading deadline back to where it currently is was made by the Steelers and subsequently approved by a vote of ownership.
VALERIE IVKOVICH FROM LIVINGSTON, NJ: How is the schedule made for our team and how far in advance is it made?
ANSWER: According to the 2024 Official National Football Record & Fact Book, the bulk of each team's schedule has been determined from 2025-2030 in terms of opponents but not dates and times of the games. The formula used is a rotational system that involves having teams in a division play teams in other divisions within their conference as well as a rotational system of divisions playing divisions in the other conference. Also, each team's schedule includes two games each season against teams in its own conference based on the final standings from the previous season. That's to ensure that the best teams are always playing the best teams, and the weaker teams face each other. The following is a breakdown of the Steelers schedules for 2025-30; not included are the home-and-home series against division opponents and the games to be determined by the previous season's standings, obviously because those standings have not yet been determined:
• 2025: HOME: Buffalo, Green Bay, Minnesota, Miami; AWAY: Chicago, Detroit, New England; N.Y. Jets
• 2026: HOME: Atlanta, Carolina, Houston Indianapolis; AWAY: Jacksonville, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Tennessee
• 2027: HOME: Denver, Las Vegas, LA Rams, Seattle; AWAY: Arizona, Kansas City, LA Chargers, San Francisco
•2028: HOME: New England, N.Y. Jets, Philadelphia, Washington; AWAY: Buffalo, Dallas, Miami, N.Y. Giants
• 2029: HOME: Chicago, Detroit, Jacksonville, Tennessee; AWAY: Green Bay, Houston, Indianapolis, Minnesota
• 2030: HOME: Kansas City, LA Chargers, New Orleans, Tampa Bay; AWAY: Atlanta, Carolina, Denver, Las Vegas
BOB APJOK FROM KNOXVILLE, TN: I see offensive linemen moving a lot after going to the line of scrimmage. Hands pointing, heads moving around and even raising up and down. Then all of a sudden a flag comes in because someone twitched or leaned backwards. I am confused as to what really constitutes an illegal procedure penalty?
ANSWER: Some of the movement you describe is permitted to allow teams to operate on a silent count in order to inject an amount of fairness for a visiting team forced to operate in a hostile environment. Or in the case of a Steelers game on the road, to allow the home team to operate on a silent count because of all the Steelers fans in attendance. After that, it often comes down to a judgment of the on-field officials as to whether the offense committed a false start or whether the opposing team made some kind of movement that induced that false start. The bottom line is that I'm often as confused as you are.
PATRICK BRIGHT FROM RAMA CAIDA, MENDOZA, ARGENTINA: I noticed the right tackle for Kansas City (Jawaan Taylor) getting huge starts backwards before the snap of the ball without any penalty being called. Why is this sanctioned by the league? It seems blatant.
ANSWER: It is blatant, and it often is not called. And to me it seems as though it's often not called regularly against the Kansas City Chiefs.
ROD KEEFER FROM EDMOND, OK: With Mike Williams and Preston Smith joining the Steelers before their previous teams' bye weeks, will they be eligible to play in 18 regular season games this season?
ANSWER: Yes.
CHARLES WAGNER FROM LANCASTER, PA: How do broadcast networks decide which Sunday afternoon NFL games are protected in their schedule that prevent flexing of those games to prime time, currently Sunday night, but soon also Monday night and Thursday night?
ANSWER: It all has to do with networks looking to keep the games they believe will generate the most interest and the highest ratings to themselves. The "protecting games" feature is negotiated into the contracts the networks have with the NFL, and those are big-money contracts. And when it comes to protecting a game from being flexed, a particular network would get to do it to one game on a particular weekend. It's not a blanket situation.
MARK RICE FROM LAS VEGAS, NV: When an NFL team travels to road games, does the team foot the entire bill for the duration of the stay (excluding personal purchases)? Also do the players get a certain amount of free home and away tickets for family and friends?
ANSWER: All travel expenses are paid by the team, and all players receive a per diem based on the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. That per diem can be spent or kept by the individual. Also, the CBA mandates a specific allotment of tickets for each home game for every player. Tickets for games on the road are not included in that provision.
PATRICK WEESE FROM CINCINNATI, OH: In your experience with the Steelers do you see wide receiver's tendencies to be divas higher now than in the past? It seems so common now, and I don't remember Louis Lipps, John Stallworth, or Hines Ward (for example) needing so much attention.
ANSWER: This is a generational issue, not one that's unique to the Steelers. Players in the 1970s and 1980s were different than players today, both in their personal and professional lives. Across the board. And those differences reflect the differences in society during those respective eras as well.
MILTON MANION SR. FROM LOUISVILLE, KY: Can (or) will Dylan Cook take the place of Broderick Jones on the offensive line?
ANSWER: He will not. Nor should he.
KEN MAULDIN FROM CLYDE, TX: Do teams get to talk to the players before they trade for them? Is that allowed?
ANSWER: Only in cases where the player's original team has allowed that player to seek a trade. Otherwise, that would be tampering, which is punishable by the NFL if proven.
