Let's get to it:
WILL MCINTOSH FROM BELLEVIEW, FL: I love both players the Steelers acquired at the trading deadline – Preston Smith and Mike Williams. A great pick-up of Smith, who is an under the radar very good player. But with Williams, I believe we got a real gem. I've been a Williams fan throughout his career and hope he stays around a few years. Do you know the contract situation for either player?
ANSWER: Mike Williams can become an unrestricted free agent in March 2025, and the Steelers will pay him a reported $627,500 for the rest of the 2024 regular season. Preston Smith's current contract doesn't expire until after the 2026 season, but those final two seasons contain non-guaranteed money – $13.4 million in 2025 and $14.1 million in 2026. As for the rest of the 2024 season, he is owed $2 million. All of those numbers are according to Spotrac.com.
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BROC ROWE FROM PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY MD: I see that this may be one of our toughest post-bye schedules in a while. Do you think that the game against the Ravens on Nov. 17 at Acrisure Stadium will be switched into a primetime slot? I plan on going and would love to see the bright lights for this high level of a game.
ANSWER: In the days since you submitted this question, the NFL decided to flex the Bengals at Chargers game into the Sunday night time slot, which means Ravens at Steelers will remain a 1 p.m. kickoff. My personal opinion all along had been that it would have been competitively unfair for the NFL to make the Steelers play the Ravens on a Sunday night and then have to turn around and play at Cleveland on the following Thursday.
LYNN RYDER FROM NORTH EAST, PA: With talk of the Week 11 Ravens-Steelers game being flexed, do the Steelers have any veto power over moving this to a night game seeing as our previous three home games have been night games?
ANSWER: I explained in the previous answer why I personally believed it would have been unfair to move Ravens-Steelers to Sunday night with the Steelers having to play the following Thursday in Cleveland for an extra short turnaround, but teams have no veto power over the flexing of schedules. The broadcast networks have some limited veto power, and teams might voice an opinion to the league, but that's the extent of it. The NFL decides.
RA PEGHER FROM STATE COLLEGE, PA: When Ben Roethlisberger retired, the consensus seemed to be that his level of play wouldn't be easily replicated any time soon. This was proven by the play of Mason Rudolph, Mitch Trubisky, and Kenny Pickett. Do you think that the play of Russell Wilson matches that of Ben's in his final seasons, such that it looks as if Ben never retired?
ANSWER: I am a Russell Wilson fan, and I believe his insertion into the starting lineup can give the Steelers the kind of offense that can support a playoff spot and a run once they get into the playoffs. But I'm nowhere near ready to proclaim Wilson as a guy playing at the same level as Ben Roethlisberger even at the end of his career. Not after two games.
JOE ASHER FROM TAMPA, FL: When I was in the military, we had a guy on staff who "fought" as the enemy in all of our war plans. By presenting the likely enemy battle plans, our Commander could more accurately decide how he wanted to fight. Is that the scout team coach? Is there a different one for opposing offenses and defenses? Who does this job for the Steelers?
ANSWER: There is not a designated scout team coach. The game plan is devised and catered to the week's specific opponent by Coach Mike Tomlin and the three coordinators with input from the position coaches. Everything is done through the lens of the Steelers particular strengths and weaknesses, as opposed to a strict examination of the opponent. In the NFL, your particular opponent is doing the same thing, and then once the game begins and the respective teams' plans are revealed each team will try and adjust accordingly.
JAY SCOTT FROM DAVENPORT, IA: Still trying to find out what the story is on our highly drafted linebacker Logan Lee from the University of Iowa. He was an All-American. He has been on injured reserve ever since the season started. How bad is he hurt, and are we ever going to see him join the team?
ANSWER: Drafted in the sixth round (178th overall), Logan Lee was working as a defensive lineman throughout the offseason program, training camp, and the preseason. In the preseason opener vs. Houston, he played 29 snaps on defense (he was in on 1 tackle) and 6 on special teams; In the second preseason game vs. Buffalo, he played 16 snaps on defense (he was in on 1 tackle) and 5 on special teams. During the time before the Steelers broke camp to return to Pittsburgh to prepare for the preseason finale in Detroit, Lee injured a calf muscle. He was placed on the injured reserve list, and in my view Lee wouldn't be considered a priority as being designated-to-return from IR, because a team has only 8 such moves over the course of a season and he clearly showed himself to be a developmental project on the defensive line.
GILLY AGUIAR FROM NEW SMYRNA BEACH, FL: Is there a timetable for Cole Holcomb to return, or is he done for the year?
ANSWER: Cole Holcomb continues to rehabilitate the knee injury he sustained last November in a game vs. the Titans. I believe any optimism that he would return at any point in 2024 should be tempered by the reality that as of now he has done no football activity for over a calendar year.
PAT FLYNN FROM OAKDALE, PA: Joe Greene interviewed for the head coaching position after Chuck Noll retired after the 1991 season. Do you know why the Steelers selected Bill Cowher over Joe Greene?
ANSWER: I cannot provide any specific reasons why Dan Rooney chose Bill Cowher from a group of finalists that included Greene, Dave Wannstedt, and Kevin Gilbride, but here is what he wrote about that process in his book: "Dan Rooney: My 75 Years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the NFL":
"High on the list was Joe Greene, who we had hired as the defensive line coach in 1987. Joe had retired as a player in 1981after 13 history-making seasons. He was a terrific coach, and I felt strongly we should give him a legitimate shot at the top job."
History shows the Steelers settled on Cowher and from watching Rooney run the team, the reason behind the decision was he believed Cowher was the man for the job at the time. Revealing any specific details/conclusions from the interview process was not the way Dan Rooney conducted his business. Ever. But I also believe how much Dan Rooney cherished Joe Greene was exhibited when he asked Greene to present him for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the summer of 2000.
ALEX NESTURRICK FROM ODESSA, FL: In the Asked and Answered on Oct. 31, there was a question concerning K-balls. Given the improvement of placekickers and their ability to kick farther than ever, do you think it is time to just have one standard football?
ANSWER: Actually, the NFL's decision in 1999 to use a specific set of footballs (K-balls) only for kicking plays was done to make distance and accuracy more challenging. Going back to the prior procedure – one set of footballs for the whole game – would have the opposite impact of the one I believe you're suggesting.
RON WILLIAMS FROM ASTORIA, OR: When Kevin Colbert was the General Manager, it seemed like there was not as much happening at the practice facility with free agents and tryouts during the regular season like there is now with Omar Khan as the General Manager. Would you say this is a change in philosophy, or more of circumstances that have happened to the team with injuries.
ANSWER: According to the NFL, since 1995 the top 5 seasons in terms of number of trades at the deadline all came after 2018. While Colbert officially retired in May 2022, his final season with the Steelers at a trade deadline was 2021. Those numbers show that trade activity across the NFL has increased significantly most recently, and so a "lack of activity" was not a Colbert issue. As for the weekly workouts of players, those occurred during Colbert's time as well, but they were not so extensively reported. Sure, people heard about the in-season tryouts when the Steelers had an immediate need for a placekicker – in 2002 with Jeff Reed, in 2010 with Shuan Suisham, in 2015 with Chris Boswell – but outside of those kinds of things, the weekly tryouts happened under the radar. Nobody cared. And nobody was trying to establish a social media presence by reporting them all, either.
ADOLPHUS WEEMS FROM HILTON HEAD ISLAND, SC: With just a few weeks until Hard Knocks gets started inside the AFC North, any advice on how to watch the episodes without having to buy HBO?
ANSWER: The AFC North edition of Hard Knock will be available on HBO or to stream on Max. There are no current plans to make it available for free.
TIMOTHY RICHARD FROM SULPHUR, LA: Besides James Harrison's pick-6 and Willie Parker's 75 yard touchdown run, what other notable Super Bowl records are still owned by the Steelers? I used the term "notable" to narrow down the list a little.
ANSWER: Here is a list of what I believe you mean by "notable" Super Bowl records:
• Dwight White and Reggie Harrison are in a 7-way tie for most safeties in a game with 1.
• Franco Harris has the record for the most career rushing attempts with 101.
• Franco Harris has the record for the most career rushing yards with 354.
• Terry Bradshaw has the record for average gain per pass play in a career with 11.1 yards.
• Terry Bradshaw has the record for average gain per pass play in a game with 14.71 (Super Bowl XIV).
• John Stallworth has the record for average gain per reception in a career with 24.4 yards.
• John Stallworth has the record for average gain per reception in a game (minimum of 3 catches) with 40.33 yards (Super Bowl XIV).
And as you mentioned in your question, James Harrison's 100-yard interception return in Super Bowl XLIII, and Wille Parker's 75-yard touchdown run in Super Bowl XL remain records.
