Let's get to it:
ERIK FELDMAN FROM LAKE WORTH BEACH, FL: As a lifelong Steeler fan (I'm 57), I cannot remember the special teams unit being so successful. Special Teams Coordinator Danny Smith really has his units fired up and playing well. How long has he been with the Steelers, and who do we email to advocate for a raise for him?
ANSWER: Danny Smith first was hired into the NFL as an assistant coach in 1995 after 17 seasons as a college coach, and he worked in Philadelphia, Detroit, Buffalo, and Washington before being hired by Coach Mike Tomlin in 2013. As a franchise, the Steelers have a checkered past when it comes to special teams.
• Chuck Noll was the last NFL head coach to hire an assistant specifically for special teams, and the Steelers never had a long-snapper on the roster until 1992 because Noll didn't believe in using a roster spot for that role.
• Also, a solid case can be made that the 1972 Steelers lost the AFC Championship Game vs. undefeated Miami in Three Rivers Stadium because of a fake punt by the Dolphins.
• The only points scored by the Vikings in Super Bowl IX came on a blocked punt.
•In Super Bowl X, there were missed field goals, a 53-yard return of the opening kickoff on a reverse, and enough issues with the punt team that Noll elected to go for a fourth-and-9 from the Cowboys' 41-yard line with 1:28 left and a 4-point lead rather than attempt another punt.
•During the 1988 regular season, the Steelers had 6 punts blocked.
•In 1993, the Steelers lost to the Browns in Cleveland, 28-23, in a game where Eric Metcalf returned a punt 91 yards for a touchdown in the first half and then returned another one 75 yards for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter when they kicked the ball to him again. Then in the 1993 Wild Card Round, the Steelers lost to the Chiefs in overtime largely on the basis of a blocked punt just before the two-minute warning in the fourth quarter.
•In the 2001 AFC Championship Game, the Steelers lost to New England, 24-17, at Heinz Field when the Patriots returned a punt for a touchdown in the first half, and then returned a blocked field goal for a touchdown in the second half.
There also have been some special teams successes in franchise history, but while the Steelers are remembered for defense and running the football on offense, they do not have the same kind of rich history when it comes to special teams.
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ROB HAYE FROM LEBANON, OH: Is there any Danny Smith gear available for purchase? My wife loves him.
ANSWER: The only suggestion I have for you is to buy her a bucket of bubble gum. His "brand" is Dubble Bubble.
PAT HUTCHISON FROM VERO BEACH, FL: This special teams group simply makes play after play. Special teams has provided massive momentum swings in seemingly every game. Where does this unit rank compared to the best Steelers special teams you've seen, and is it hyperbolic to question if they are an all-time great unit?
ANSWER: In an above answer, I detailed some of the history of special teams, and it's not a great one. But in my opinion this 2024 group is unique in that it has impacted games in a variety of ways. Blocking kicks in the NFL is rare, and the Steelers have blocked both a punt and a field goal attempt, which cannot be accomplished with the same personnel and the same techniques. And then not only is this group accomplished at blocking kicks, it also has scored a touchdown on a 73-yard punt return. Again, returning punts/kicks is a whole other assignment than covering them. And I haven't even mentioned the placekicker who has converted 95.8 percent of his field goal attempts, and a punter who was identified and signed after a serious knee injury to the one they added during the offseason via free agency. I would not even attempt to identify the team(s) that had the top special teams groups in NFL history, but if the season continues on this course I could be convinced easily that this 2024 special teams group could be the best in Steelers history.
RAPHAEL BOESCH FROM KARLSRUHE, GERMANY: If the Steelers were to make it to a Super Bowl with the AFC as the home team, would they be allowed to play Renegade during the game?
ANSWER: The NFL controls the Super Bowl, not a particular team. While there is a designated home team and visiting team in each Super Bowl, that's usually limited to jersey color (no throwbacks or color rush) and which sideline to use, but everything else – and I mean everything – associated with the game and the presentation of the game and the broadcast of the game and the halftime of the game is controlled by the NFL. A team would not be permitted to choose any of the music.
MARCK LEWIS FROM AMITY, OR: Any chance we will see the bumblebee jerseys this year?
ANSWER: Teams are allowed to choose one style of throwback jersey/uniform to wear each season. The Steelers went with the 1974 block-number style with the gray facemasks for this season. One per customer. That's the rule.
DAVID MAURO FROM LOVELLS, MI: Going into our bye week, what do you see as our strengths and our weaknesses?
ANSWER: I wrote a column about that following the Monday night win over the Giants. If you're interested in reading that, it can be found by going to Steelers.com, and at the top of the home page there is a nav bar. Click on "News." That will take you to another page, and at the top there, you will see another nav bar. Click on "Labriola On." That will take you to another page where you will see a portal headlined "Labriola on the Steelers at their bye." You will find my column after clicking on that.
RANDALL STONEBRAKER FROM BUCKHEAD, GA: Coach Mike Tomlin said he spoke to New York about the call on Minkah Fitzpatrick that nullified his blocked extra point in the game against the Jets. I thought it was reviewed during the game? How does the review during the game get that so wrong?
ANSWER: That blocked extra point stood as it was called because replay cannot change the outcome of a penalty, and the ruling on the field was that Minkah Fitzpatrick was guilty of using illegal leveraging – using the body of an opponent to vault over the line of scrimmage to block a kick. Penalties are not subject to replay review in the NFL. That's the rule.
PAUL KAMMERMEIER FROM BLOOMFIELD, NY: I noticed during the Monday night against the Giants that the Steelers defense employed different looks up front – sometimes with Cam Hayward and Keanu Benton paired with Alex Highsmith and T.J. Watt, and sometimes adding Larry Ogunjobi to the mix for presumably extra run support. Do you have any data on whether the run stopping was more effective with the extra lineman?
ANSWER: That is something that has been dissected by the coaching staff, and I would expect neither alignment got good grades for run defense. The Steelers allowed 145 yards on 20 rushing attempts (7.3 average) to the Giants, with undrafted rookie Tyrone Tracy accounting for 145 yards on 20 carries (7.3 average) including a 45-yard touchdown run.
KEITH MILLER FROM CANTON, NC: The Steelers have not scored a touchdown on the opening drive this year. Did they last year? And isn't it a valid criterion to evaluate both offensive and defensive coordinators on their ability to prepare for the beginning of a game?
ANSWER: What transpires on the opening possession of a game – either on offense or defense – is only significant if it's part of a trend that carries throughout the game. If it's a one-off, then it doesn't matter. If a defense allows a touchdown on the opening possession but then no more points for the rest of the game, does the coordinator in that instance deserve praise or criticism? Conversely, if the offense scores a touchdown on the opening possession but no more points for the rest of the game, does the coordinator in that instance deserve praise or criticism? It's a 60-minute contest, and the winner and loser are not crowned until the end.
CAMERON JAMES FROM MINT HILL, NC: Watching the Steelers give up so many third-and-long situations is nerve-wracking. Is it the scheme, the players, or both that need work?
ANSWER: Since it has been somewhat recurring, it would seem to me that it's some combination of scheme and player-execution.
JOE ASHER FROM TAMPA, FL: You've written before about the difficult path Chris Boswell has toward either the Pro Bowl or All-Pro honors because Justin Tucker plays for a team in the same conference. What are Boswell's and Tucker's numbers at this point in the season, and how lopsided will they have to get for the Steelers' kicker to finally be recognized? Also, have the respective teams' win-loss records influenced the votes/decisions?
ANSWER: I'll get to the statistics in a minute. The Pro Bowl rosters are selected by the league based on a vote of the players and fans, and the All-Pro team is selected by the Associated Press based a vote of a nationwide panel of sports media picked by the Associated Press. There is no way to accurately predict the outcome a vote, or to know what factors influence the voters' decisions.
As for the statistics in 2024, in 8 games so far Chris Boswell is 23-of-24 on field goals, which breaks down to 5-of-5 from 40-49 yards and 6-of-7 from 50-plus yards. Also in 8 games so far, Justin Tucker is 13-of-17 on field goals, which breaks down to 4-of-5 from 40-49 yards and 2-of-5 from 50+ yards. Neither kicker has missed at extra point.
GEORGE FARR FROM LACEYVILLE, PA: Do you believe now after the Steelers WRs have been a bigger part of the passing game since Russell Wilson has been inserted as the starting QB that they still would like to add a WR via trade? I'd like to see GM Omar Khan make a trade for Giants WR Darius Slayton. Do you even think that'd be a trade they'd consider? Or if the Giants would entertain such a trade?
ANSWER: It is said the three most important things in real estate are location, location, location. Well, in making a deal at the NFL trading deadline, those important things change to price, price, price. As in the cost of draft capital/salary cap charge to acquire the player. At one point, I have no doubt the Steelers had interest in acquiring a top-of-the-depth chart kind of receiver, but I don't know that any of those are left/available, and I don't believe the Steelers ever shared the fans' perspective of "add a receiver, any receiver." And especially not now after seeing how inclusive Russell Wilson has been since becoming the starter.
HOLLY SPANGLER FROM RISING SUN, MD: Would you please reprint the info about finding Steelers game coverage on other audio platforms? I went to look it up and that issue of Asked and Answered was gone from the Steelers website.
ANSWER: What you needed to do was get to the part of Steelers.com that has archived all past editions of Asked and Answered. Here's how you do that: Go to Steelers.com, and at the top of the home page there is a nav bar. Click on "News." That will take you to another page, and at the top there you will see another nav bar. Click on "Asked and Answered." That will take you to another page where all of the previous editions of Asked and Answered are archived. The ones that contain the information you're looking for are the Oct. 15 and Oct. 17 editions.
LARRY PIPER FROM SMITHFIELD, PA: What happened to Troy Fautanu ? I thought he would be helping by now.
ANSWER: Troy Fautanu injured a knee during a practice and was placed on the injured reserve list on Sept. 21. I have seen reports that he might be done for the season.
JAMES McCULLOUGH FROM MAUMEE, OH: It is so awesome to see Cam Heyward still playing great defense at a consistent level. It made me wonder: who has played the longest for the Steelers?
ANSWER: The Steelers game vs. the New York Giants was the 202nd of Cam Heyward's career with the team, and he is in his 14th season. Heyward's 202 games played puts him fourth in franchise history behind Ben Roethlisberger, Mike Webster, and Hines Ward. His 14 seasons puts him tied-for-third with James Harrison, Ward, Donnie Shell, John Stallworth, Larry Brown, Mel Blount, Terry Bradshaw, and Ernie Stautner. And those guys are behind Roethlisberger and Webster in that category.
