The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
TRACY THOMPSON WEST MIDDLESEX, PA: We always hear the terms, 10, 11, and 12 personal on offense. Can you please explain these terms. Thank you for your efforts and time writing Asked and Answered.
ANSWER: Those numbers refer to how many running backs and tight ends are in the formation for the offense. If it's 10-personnel, that means there is 1 RB and 0 TEs in the formation; 11-personnel would be 1 RB and 1 TE; 12-personnel would be 1 RB and 2 TEs. With the way Jaylen Warren is playing his position and the way Pat Freiermuth and Darnell Washington are handling their positions, I am expecting to see the Steelers utilizing a lot of 12-personnel moving forward.
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CHRISTOPHER WINKLER FROM FRANKLIN, PA: There is no question the injury to Rico Dowdle has forced Jaylen Warren into a featured back role, with spectacular if not unexpected results. He is clearly their most dynamic offensive weapon and has shown this field-flipping, game-changing ability ever since he came into the league. What do you think was behind the hesitation to do this before now? Was it concerns about his durability if subjected to a heavier work-load?
ANSWER: I'm sure there was some worrying about durability, especially when he first came into the NFL as an undrafted rookie in 2022. Going into training camp in 2022 was the first time the Steelers were back at Saint Vincent College after a couple of summers at Acrisure Stadium as a result of the COVID protocols. Najee Harris had been a No. 1 pick in the 2021 Draft, and as a rookie he started 17 games, had 381 touches (carries and catches) for 1,667 yards and 10 touchdowns. In what world – certainly not the NFL – does an undrafted rookie from Oklahoma State who's 5-foot-8, 204 pounds come into the NFL and grab the majority of the playing time or even half of the playing time from a 6-1, 242-pound former No. 1 pick who is coming off a season where he was a productive workhorse through an entire NFL regular season. I have made this point in a previous Asked and Answered that Najee Harris does not deserve to be considered a bust. Never missing a game and posting 4 straight 1,000-yard seasons at the start of an NFL career is not insignificant. But that was then, and Jaylen Warren used that time to get stronger and wiser in the ways of being a professional, and he grew and developed into what he is today, as he was described by Coach Mike McCarthy on Oct. 12, "Jaylen is our featured player right now. I mean, let's make sure we all recognize that. He's hot. He's playing great football for us. So, it's important for us, as an offense, coaches and players alike, to continue to put him in position to make plays. So that won't change." I believe Jaylen Warren is in the perfect spot in his NFL career to take advantage of playing behind this offensive line and within McCarthy's offensive system. Rather than bemoan the past, I choose to enjoy the present.
KEITH CLARK FROM BROOKLYN, NY: With the depleted receivers depth chart entering Week 5, and now with 2 more receivers out with injuries, did the Steelers consider trading for Marvin Harrison Jr. prior to the Colts game?
ANSWER: Marvin Harrison Jr. is a curious case. Heading into the 2024 NFL Draft, he was generally considered to be a top talent, a high first-round pick, and an immediate day 1 starter in the NFL. And he was drafted based on that projection, because the Arizona Cardinals used the No. 4 overall selection on him. But the player didn't match the hype. While Harrison didn't run the 40-yard dash at the Combine or during his Pro Day at Ohio State, GPS tracking him during his college career had him in the 4.39-4.64 range in the 40. During his first 2 seasons with the Cardinals, Harrison appeared in 29 games, with 26 starts, and he was targeted 189 times, caught 103 passes for 1,493 yards (14.5 average) and 12 touchdowns. Decent numbers, but not top-WR-in-a-draft numbers. I didn't hear anything about the Steelers having interest, and during the whole pre-trade buzz period, the Steelers never were mentioned as one of Harrison's likely destinations. My personal opinion is there was a special interest in reuniting Harrison with his college QB at Ohio State – C.J. Stroud, currently the starter for the Houston Texans – and that's why the deal got done the way it did.
KEITH MILLER FROM CANTON, NC: It strikes me as strange that the only talk about scouting opponents is the week of the game. Are there other longer term preparations?
ANSWER: What would strike me as strange would be a team talking about scouting an opponent that's 2-3 weeks away on the schedule, because that would send a message to the locker room that there is some looking ahead going on, which is a mortal sin in the NFL. And the way the league changes every couple-to-three weeks every season, the way teams can be changed based on injuries or how their star players are performing at a particular time, doing too much advance work could end up all being for naught once the game is the next one up.
ROD KEEFER FROM EDMOND, OK: Has the date and time for the Week 16 game vs. Carolina been determined? A Google search came back with Sunday, Dec. 27, at 1 p.m., but neither the Steelers' nor the Panthers' websites corroborate that timing. If not, when will it be decided and announced?
ANSWER: According to NFL.com, all of the Week 16 regular season schedule has been determined with the exception of 4 games: Tampa Bay at Atlanta; Cincinnati at Indianapolis; Washington at Minnesota; and Carolina at Pittsburgh. About those 4 games, the NFL says, "In Week 16, two of the four designated matchups will be played on Saturday at 4:30 PM ET and 8:00 PM ET on NFL Network, with the remainder to be played either on Thursday night (8:15 PM ET), Sunday afternoon (1:00 PM ET and 4:25 PM ET), Sunday night (8:20 PM ET), or Monday night (8:15 PM ET). Specific dates and start times for the designated Week 16 matchups will be determined and announced at a later date during the season, no later than immediately after Week 14."
DAVID RICHES FROM CROSSVILLE, TN: Appreciated your answer regarding the CBA and the active roster for game days. Hoping you could explain why the team might have more than the mandatory 5 inactives and what appear to be healthy scratches (i.e., Eli Heidenreich the last 2 games, Gabriel Rubio the first 4, and Kevin Jobity Jr. all season)?
ANSWER: As one example, the Steelers kept 7 defensive linemen on their opening 53-man roster, and because of the scheme the team employs, there is no need to have more than 5 in uniform for the game. If there are no injuries to defensive linemen at the time, that would mean 2 of the 7 would be healthy scratches. In the same period, the team could be short on WRs because of injury, so it would have to do some practice squad activations at that position to have enough for a particular game. There is a lot of flexibility necessary to put together a game day roster for a particular game, and the rules provide teams with a path to do that.
RANDY ELLIS FROM POWHATAN, VA: This may be an NFL rules question. When is forward progress considered to be stopped? I've seen RBs and WRs get their forward progress stopped and the ball is marked right there without them ever being ruled "down." On the Colt's TD where the TE ran the ball into the pile, he was stopped and actually pushed backwards a yard and then surged ahead again and awarded the TD. Seems his progress was stopped when he was pushed backwards? Can you enlighten me?
ANSWER: I cannot enlighten you, because I don't know when forward progress is judged to be stopped anymore. And I'm completely serious. Tush-pushes used to be illegal because that was considered helping the runner move forward and it would be penalized. Not anymore. The on-field officials seem to be making their own decisions about forward progress, and if there is any consistency at all in judging forward progress it is that the offense always seems to get the benefit of the doubt.
CLIFF WILLIS FROM MEADVILLE, PA: At the end of the Colts game it was startling to see that neither T.J. Watt nor Nick Herbig posted any defensive stats. Do you think opposing teams are playing away from them, or is there another reason?
ANSWER: I'm sure there was some game-planning by the Colts designed to neutralize the effectiveness of the Steelers' edge rushers, but keeping both T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig totally off the stat sheet shouldn't be something that was made possible simply by a game plan.
TED MARX FROM BROOKVILLE, PA: For many of the recent Steelers seasons it seems like we start strong and then implode. I always thought it was Mike Tomlin failing to motivate the players, but now I'm wondering if it's the schedule having the more difficult games in the final six or so weeks. Curious about your thoughts on this, and if it's just a random scheduling quirk.
ANSWER: My thoughts on this are that you're looking to blame someone or something every time the Steelers lose. It's the coach's fault for not motivating the players, or it's because the schedule is stacked with tougher games down the stretch. By the way, Chuck Noll once addressed the issue of it being the coach's responsibility to motivate players this way: "We choose people on their ability to motivate themselves. That's a high priority. A game like last week (vs. a winless opponent) tells who wants to play badly. If it's not important to the players, we get other people." I just don't believe there is a single reason why a team goes on a losing streak at a particular time of the season.
VINCE LoBONO FROM BILOXI, MS: It is our understanding that the Dallas Cowboys have not offered Joey Porter Jr. the contract extension he has been coveting. If at the end, Porter and the Cowboys can't reach an agreement, is it true that the Cowboys could be getting compensated by the league gifting them a draft pick after this season? I am hearing that pick could be a third-round pick for 2027.
ANSWER: If Joey Porter Jr. plays out his existing contract and then leaves as an unrestricted free agent, the Cowboys could be in line for a compensatory draft pick in 2027 based on the NFL's formula concerning UFAs lost vs. UFAs signed to determine such things. The highest compensatory picks the NFL awards are third-round picks. So that is a possibility, but it's based on the existing rules. It's not a gift.
ROB BELL FROM FOWEY, CORNWALL, UK: Not a question, so I don't really expect to see it used. I just thought I'd say "Hi" from the Fowey Pittsburgh Steelers Supporters Club (me) and say I've been a Steelers fan now for over 50 years, and I live in Cornwall. By happy coincidence Cornwall County's sporting colours are also Black-and-Gold. Anyway, "Go Steelers!"
ANSWER: I cannot remember every getting a previous submission to Asked and Answered from your little corner of the world. Welcome to the family.
