Let's get to it:
JASON D. PRASTER FROM SAN ANTONIO, TX: Does the NFL have a specific written policy or formula that is followed when determining the dollar amount of player fines? The reason I ask is because this year, George Pickens was fined $10,230 for a facemask penalty and $10,231 for a personal message on his eye-black. And yet, rookie Beanie Bishop was fined $4,463 for a facemask penalty.
ANSWER: Yes, the NFL has a specific policy/formula for assigning fines to players, and all of it has been negotiated with the NFL Players Association. Some things to keep in mind: The NFL and the NFLPA come together and create a schedule of fines; that schedule of fines is communicated to the players before the start of each season; and no first-time fines can exceed 10 percent of a player's game check. That's why the facemask fines for George Pickens (a third-year player) and Beanie Bishop (a rookie) were different.
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CARLOS ROURA FROM LAKE FOREST, CA: What do you know of Hard Knocks? Have they been filming all season?
ANSWER: Filming begins toward the end of this week for the version of Hard Knocks that will premiere on Dec. 3.
ROHAN PATEL FROM TIPP CITY, OH: Against the Giants, the Steelers were 0-for-4 in the red zone. Then coming off the bye week against the Commanders they were 3-for-4 in the red zone. What did Mike Tomlin do to help the Steelers in the bye week?
ANSWER: I don't believe there was a specific cause and effect from what was done during the bye week to the improvement in red zone efficiency from the game before the bye to the game after the bye. Coach Mike Tomlin is a real believer in the importance of situational football, and one of the critical situations in every game is performance in the red zone, both by the offense and by the defense. If you're looking for a single factor for the improvement, I would be inclined to point out that the game against the Giants was Russell Wilson's second game as the starter, and the game against the Commanders was his third.
MIKE ROBEY FROM TILTONSVILLE, OH: What progress has our No.1 draft choice, Troy Fautanu, been able to accomplish with his damaged knee as his fellow rookies Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick make their presence felt?
ANSWER: There's really not a whole lot a player on injured reserve can do except rehabilitate his injury. As a rookie trying to adapt to the NFL, Troy Fautanu needs on-field repetitions, which both Zach Frazier and Mason McCormick have received in abundance.
BRANDON ROSE FROM JACKSON, NJ: In the response you gave to the question on Nov. 12 about the placement of hashmarks and the impact on field goals, you wrote the league has no interest in making field goals more difficult, or in doing anything that might negatively impact scoring. However, in your Nov. 7 response to a question about K-balls you wrote that the NFL's decision in 1999 to use specific footballs only for kicking plays was done to make distance and accuracy more challenging. If the league's intentions in 1999 were truly to make distance and accuracy more challenging, wouldn't this in fact negatively impact scoring?
ANSWER: I should have done a more thorough job of explaining myself, and so I'll take the opportunity here to correct that. I stand by what I wrote regarding the moving of the hashmarks and why it's not going to happen. The NFL is not interested in doing anything like that to make field goals more difficult or to negatively impact scoring. However, the reason with the implementation of the K-balls was tied to a growing issue of placekickers doing things to the balls to make them "friendlier" to the task at hand. Some of the stories at the time involved kickers taking some footballs and putting them in the industrial dryers teams had to use on laundry, but those tactics only happened for the home team. Hence, it was a competitive disadvantage. So that's when the league came up with the K-ball solution. The NFL doesn't want to inhibit scoring, but it's not going to tolerate shenanigans that aren't fair to both teams regardless of venue.
MONTANA ROB FROM MISSOULA MT: How many questions are you getting regarding what will happen next year, such as plans for the draft, contracts, etc.? I cannot believe the number of pundits and fans who are so worried about what's going to happen next year when we haven't gotten through this year. We could be 7-10, we could be 15-2. We could miss the playoffs. We could win the Super Bowl. Whole lot of things can happen the next eight weeks. How about we focus on them?
ANSWER: I get a lot of what I see as "Magic 8 Ball" questions, and I also admit I agree with you. When I began this job back in 1988, one of the things I learned to hope for during each long season was that the Steelers stay relevant as late into their schedule as possible. During that 1988 season, as an example, the Steelers were 2-10 by Thanksgiving, and Sam Toperoff wrote a book about it titled, "Lost Sundays: A Season in the Life of Pittsburgh and the Steelers." In my opinion, at this stage of the regular season the 2024 Steelers unquestionably are relevant, and I would add are providing a real hope for how the rest of this season might unfold. That's the fun of sports to me. Or maybe I'm just old.
DAN MELCHIOR FROM SAN DIEGO, CA: The Steelers are off to a very solid start and about to play their biggest rival, and today they will face the Baltimore Ravens – also off to a solid start – in a home game that will surely be enjoyable. I will be paying particular attention to the offensive and defensive chess match potential. Can you suggest fans try and enjoy the ride a bit and just live in the present?
ANSWER: As I explained in the previous answer, the living in the present is the most interesting part of following the NFL because things change constantly. Injuries, the ebb and flow of the schedule, the ebb and flow of the schedule based on injuries, who's sitting in the suite with Taylor Swift during Chiefs home games – all of that changes weekly. NFL games annually are the most-watched telecasts and dominate the Nielsen Ratings, and that's because the people who tune in never really know what's going to happen, how the outcome will be determined, and what that outcome will be. I'm going to put you in charge of suggesting "fans try and enjoy the ride a bit and just live in the present." Maybe they'll listen to you.
KEN MAULDIN FROM CLYDE, TX: A fan asked you about letting Justin Fields leave via free agency and signing Russell Wilson to a contract extension, and you mentioned Justin could still show even more value before the season is over. But do you realistically see the Steelers being able to pay both quarterbacks to remain here next season?
ANSWER: I've decided to take the advice of the previous two submissions and avoid "Magic 8 Ball" questions, because as is the case in this instance how could anyone possibly know what the contract/cap issues are going to be based on the innumerable possibilities that could develop between now and the end of the 2024 season.
SHAWN BITTNER FROM JACKSONVILLE, NC: Can you please explain what decides whether a defensive penalty in the red zone is walked of as yards or determined to be half the distance to the goal line? Why isn't an offside penalty called at the 8-yard line not walked off down to the 3-yard line?
ANSWER: The reason that an offside penalty called at the 8-yard line is not enforced to the 3-yard line is because that's the rule and has been for a very long time. Five-yard penalties committed inside the 10-yard line are marked off half the distance to the goal, 10-yard penalties inside the 20-yard line are marked off half the distance to the goal, and 15-yard penalties inside the 30-yard line are marked off half the distance to the goal. Why has that the rule? I'm not old enough to have been around at the time of its implementation to give you an answer.
JONATHAN BASTIAN FROM GREEN BAY, WI: In the Nov. 14 Asked and Answered, you wrote, "Art Modell took his team and fled Cleveland for Baltimore for the 1996 season." That made me wonder: how does "franchise history" work for a team like that?
ANSWER: In promising a new franchise to Cleveland, the Browns records and history were prevented from moving to Baltimore, and Art Modell's franchise started fresh in Baltimore, which means there was no Ravens franchise history until 1996. As a result, 1996 is on record as the first season in Ravens history, and the Browns history stayed in Cleveland with a gap from 1996-98.
The following is taken from profootballhof.com as part of a section dedicated to the history of the Cleveland Browns: "In 1961, Arthur B. Modell purchased the Browns for a then-unheard-of price of $4 million. From the start, he was recognized as one of the NFL's more progressive leaders. But Modell stunned the pro football world in 1995 when he announced that he would transfer his Cleveland franchise to Baltimore to begin play in 1996. Determined to keep the team in Cleveland, Browns fans and Cleveland city officials orchestrated an unprecedented grass-roots campaign to block the move. The NFL quickly responded and, working with city officials, developed a unique solution that not only provided for a new state-of-the-art stadium, but guaranteed the return of pro football to Cleveland by no later than 1999. Additionally, Art Modell agreed to relinquish the Browns' name, colors and team history to the new owner of the suspended franchise."
