Let's get to it:
TOM MIHALIC FROM SUFFOLK, VA: If continuity is considered a key component to offensive line play, then what is up with the tackle rotation and what is your take on it?
ANSWER: I have seen it work in the past, this rotation of offensive linemen over the course of a couple of seasons as a matter of fact. From 1974 when Mike Webster was a rookie fifth-round pick from Wisconsin, through the end of the 1976 season when veteran Ray Mansfield retired after 182 regular season games over 13 seasons with the Steelers, Chuck Noll alternated centers by quarter. Mansfield started the game and also played the third quarter, and Webster played the second and fourth quarters. After a 1-game sample, a similar arrangement doesn't seem to be working as effectively with the young right tackles – rookie Troy Fautanu, who started, and second-year pro Broderick Jones who was going to see playing time there as well. I believe the idea was to keep both young players involved and continuing their development by splitting game time at right tackle, because Dan Moore Jr. is the best left tackle on the roster. But since Moore also figures to be a hot commodity on the free agent market next March and there has been a significant draft capital investment in Jones and Fautanu, the plan is for them to be ready in 2025 to man those tackle positions for the next decade. But against Denver, Jones imploded. He was penalized 3 times within 6 snaps, and Coach Mike Tomlin pulled him from the game. Maybe Tomlin will have something to say about the plan there moving forward during his Tuesday news conference.
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ALEXANDER EICHENMILLER FROM SALISBURY, MD: I read that the Steelers are 24-6 against rookie quarterbacks during the Mike Tomlin era. Who were the 6 we lost to?
ANSWER: This question was received prior to the final outcome of Sunday's game in Denver, and as a result of that 13-6 victory over the Broncos and rookie quarterback Bo Nix, that record is now 25-6. The 6 rookies who quarterbacked their teams to wins over the Steelers were (in reverse chronological order) C.J. Stroud, Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Carson Wentz, Dak Prescott, Brandon Weeden, and Troy Smith.
CRYSTAL JAMES FROM WAPPINGERS, FALLS: I thought the Steelers touted Cordarrelle Patterson's history as a kickoff returner as the key reason for signing him. Yet I don't think I've seen him do that so far this season. Has their thinking changed, and if so for what reason?
ANSWER: I just don't think there have been enough opportunities for kickoff returns throughout the whole league at this point in the season. Through 2 games, Steelers opponents have kicked off 6 times, and 5 were touchbacks. That's been the trend through the whole league so far. This is all new to every team in the league, and these kickoff rules are unlike anything the NFL's coaches and players ever have experienced at any level of football in their lives. As the calendar moves toward Halloween and then into November, the weather will be less cooperative with kickers and there could be more opportunities for returns. And in the meantime the Steelers use Patterson in a handful of offensive plays during games, because if he gets a crease he still has the quickness and vision to take it to the end zone, while also keeping him in in-season shape.
KEVIN EDEN FROM MOCKSVILLE, NC: The game summary I saw listed Justin Fields as passing for 110 yards in the first half and then 117 yards total. Did Fields only throw for 7 yards in the second half against the Broncos?
ANSWER: It was a typo. Justin Fields passed for 117 yards against the Broncos in Denver, and 101 of those yards came in the first half.
GREGORY O'NEILL FROM TROY, MI: In the Denver game, it appeared that the player who downed the punt at the 1-yard line had his foot in the end zone. Does the touchback rule require the ball to cross the plane of the goal line or does the location of the player downing the ball matter?
ANSWER: I cannot confirm nor deny your claim that the Denver player who downed the punt at the 1-yard line (FB Michael Burton) had his foot in the end zone. What I can tell you is that the rule for downing punts or recovering fumbles in football is the same as the rule for balls out of bounds in basketball – it's where the feet of the player are when he's in possession of the ball that counts. Where the ball is doesn't matter. It's not like a touchdown, where all that's required is for any part of the ball to cross any part of the plane of the goal line.
KIM OWENS FROM FREDERICK, MD: I noticed on kickoffs, the kicking team's front line leaned over the line on the field. Isn't that offsides? I believe it is for linemen on a play from scrimmage.
ANSWER: Leaning across the neutral zone during a play from scrimmage is a penalty because of the proximity of the players to each other and the potential significance of a slight advantage. But on a kickoff, the kicking team cannot even move immediately when the ball is kicked, and so it's where the feet are that makes it legal or illegal.
ERIC HUTTINGER FROM KETTERING, OH: Is Darnell Washington already the best blocking tight end in football? I felt bad for some of those Falcons.
ANSWER: Darnell Washington is big, strong, athletic, and willing, which combine to make him an effective blocker. The game against the Broncos showed he has some reliable hands, too. Now it comes down to Washington playing consistently at that level over the course of a long regular season.
BRYAN CRAMER FROM FRANKLIN, PA: Can fines be levied for a play in a game even if there was no penalty called on the field?
ANSWER: Yes. And that's not what I would refer to as a rare occurrence, either.
JOE MINNECI FROM SAVANNAH, GA: Over the years the Steelers have played poorly in Denver. I am wondering if it's the altitude. I noticed that they are traveling on Saturday, the day before the game. Why don't they go to Denver a couple of days prior to the game?
ANSWER: NFL teams don't do that on trips into Denver because it's impractical to actually spend the amount of time on site that a person needs to adapt to altitude in competition. What teams/players do now is train throughout the year for what altitude can do during competition. Below is Coach Mike Tomlin explaining that:
Q. Whenever the words Denver and environment are put together, one thing that comes to mind is the altitude. Chuck Noll believed athletes needed several days of exposure to altitude to become accustomed to it, and so the best travel plan was to arrive in the city the day before the game like a normal road trip. Do you share that?
A. I think those discussions are less relevant today. Technology has minimized some of that. These guys train with devices that restrict their oxygen intake in the offseason, for example, and so there's so many mechanisms at their disposal to prepare them, not only this week, but over the course of the whole 12 month calendar in terms of how they train. Restricted oxygen is just a routine component of training these days, and I think it just prepares them for some of those scenarios that used to be more problematic for us as a collective.
