Let's get to it:
SHAWN BITTNER FROM JACKSONVILLE, NC: With James Daniels on IR and not under contract after this year, what options do the Steelers have with him? If they release him does that potentially add cap space? Do they have to agree to some sort of injury settlement to do this? Obviously assuming they that they do not see a future trying to re-sign him beyond this year.
ANSWER: Players put on the injured reserve list, which just happened with James Daniels, have to be paid their salary, which counts on the salary cap, so there is no advantage to releasing players on injured reserve. And in terms of the Steelers' long-range plan to deal with Daniels being in the final year of his contract in 2024, that plan was executed in the fourth round of the most recent draft when they selected Mason McCormick. That's the kind of move Coach Mike Tomlin referenced in his Tuesday news conference when he said in response to a question about injuries along the offensive line: "You handle that with quality depth, and thankfully, that's something that we have. We've invested a lot the last several offseasons in terms of acquiring young, talented people. They're capable, and they're going to get an opportunity to show that. Guys like Spence [Anderson] and Mason McCormick have done a real nice job, and we expect that to continue."
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EDWARD WATSON FROM GRAHAM, NC: What is the all-time record between the Dallas Cowboys and the Pittsburgh Steelers? Regular season, Super Bowls, and preseason. All-time head-to-head.
ANSWER: The Steelers are 14-16 vs. Dallas during the regular season; 2-1 in Super Bowls, and 6-7 during the preseason. If my arithmetic is correct, that's 22-24 overall.
SAM MIKHAIL FROM BETHESDA, MD: Offensive line depth is a concern, particularly at guard. Does the NFL allow trades once the season starts? If yes, then what is the deadline? Also, what is the process to obtain an offensive lineman from another team's practice squad?
ANSWER: The NFL trading deadline is at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Signing a player off another team's practice squad requires nothing more than coming to a contract agreement with the player and his representative. If there is an agreement and a contract is signed, the team signing that player must keep him on its 53-man roster for three regular season games. Not necessarily on the game day roster, but the 53-man roster.
DAVE DENNIS FROM ETNA, PA: In the early 1970s when the Steelers were building their team, it seemed they started with a stout defense and a good running game. Do you see similarities on the current team? It took a while for Terry Bradshaw and the receivers to mesh. What do you think?
ANSWER: One of the major differences between building a team's roster in the 1970s vs. doing that today is that there was no free agency during the 1970s. And so teams never had to consider the possibility that it would only have the rights to a drafted player for 4 years, 5 if the player was a first-round pick and the team exercised his fifth-year option. So while the Steelers were waiting for Bradshaw and wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth to develop and for the passing game to mesh, they might have lost players such as Mel Blount and Jack Ham and Jon Kolb and Sam Davis and Moon Mullins and L.C. Greenwood, and God forbid, Joe Greene via free agency. That might have left the Steelers in a much different situation in terms of team building while waiting for the development of the passing attack. What worked then isn't applicable to today's NFL.
ERIC YOUNG FROM ROWLETT, TX: Not a question, but an acknowledgement. You wrote that Mel Blount and Rod Woodson were both "better than the over-hyped Deion Sanders." Thank-you. I've been arguing this with friends for years, and I finally see someone with your level of credibility agree.
ANSWER: I also often got into debates about whether Rod Woodson or Deion Sanders was the better player during the era when both of them were active players. One of my favorite stories – and I used this in an argument or two – actually involved Sanders as a Major League Baseball player. It involved pitcher Curt Schilling, and he either hit Sanders with a pitch or came in high-and-tight and knocked him down. After that game, Schilling was asked whether he was concerned that Sanders, an NFL player, would charge the mound? "What's he gonna do," said Schilling, "arm-tackle me?"
JOE TOSCANO FROM ALLISON PARK, PA: Chuck Noll was named Steelers coach on Jan. 27, 1969, and the NFL draft that year was a day later. Did he have a lot of input into the draft that year?
ANSWER: When it came to the NFL Draft, Chuck Noll had more than input. He had control.
ROBERT KLEIN FROM WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ: Do you know what the logic is behind the new rule of banning surprise onside kicks? It can't be about safety, can it?
ANSWER: It is in fact about player safety. The way onside kicks used to be executed, sometimes the kicking team would send a wave of players into the area where the placekicker was putting the ball, and their assignment was to clear out players on the receiving team with blocks/collisions so the next wave of players from the kicking team into the area would have a clear shot at recovering the ball. The league determined that was a dangerous play, and so we are where we are with onside kicks.
DAVID POSEY FROM CEDAR HILL, TX: I was watching the replay of the Chargers game and I noticed on at least 2 occasions I saw Mason McCormick (No. 66) getting the attention of the referee and then rubbing both hands down the front of his jersey. Do you know what the reason is for him doing this?
ANSWER: That is the procedure for a player who's reporting to line up as eligible. Mason McCormick, as a guard, has to do that every time he lined up as eligible vs. the Chargers.
KRIS FOUTCH FROM BLUFFTON, SC: Since leaving the Ravens, what is our won/loss record against Joe Flacco?
ANSWER: Since Joe Flacco left the Ravens after the 2018 season, he has played for the Broncos, Jets, Browns, and the Colts. The only time the Steelers have faced Flacco since his time with the Ravens ended was last Sunday in Indianapolis. And while the Steelers lost that game, 27-24, and even though he completed 16-of-26 (61.5 percent) for 168 yards, with 2 touchdowns, no interceptions, and a rating of 105.9, Flacco doesn't get credit for the win, according to the way the NFL compiles such statistics. In the NFL, it's the starting quarterback who is credited with the win or the loss in any game, and Anthony Richardson started the game.
WILLIAM SONNIK FROM TRAFFORD, PA: With the Steelers often in "next man up" mode who is the backup long-snapper?
ANSWER: If the Steelers should need a long-snapper for a number of weeks due to an injury to Christian Kuntz, they would go out and sign somebody. If they needed an in-game emergency long-snapper, they have someone in mind to fill the role, but his identity is not publicized so as to try to keep the whole thing under the radar. This way, the emergency long-snapper isn't faced with a lot of questions about it.
PAUL HEINBAUGH FROM SARASOTA, FL: The rash of injuries these days seem to be astronomical compared to the 1970s when Pittsburgh was winning 4 Super Bowls. Do you see any reason why these injury numbers seem to be so much higher?
ANSWER: My guess would be that the players are bigger and stronger and faster, which leads to more high-speed collisions. Add in the fact the playing surfaces are better in terms of the traction provided, and the shoes are better for sure footing, and that creates stress on the joints during the higher number of high-speed collisions. As Vince Lombardi often said, "Football isn't a contact sport. It's a collision sport." And while there have been improvements to diet and training and equipment and playing surfaces, bones still break and ligaments still tear. It's not a video game.
