WALLACE HORTON OF HYATTSVILLE, MD: Do you think we should reconsider how we judge the endings? I see pretty young tight ends all over the league, but it looks like we can never set up one of them.
ANSWER: Since Steelers Heath Miller is a no. 1 in the 2005 NFL Draft, they scored seven points – three in the seventh round, three in the fifth round and one in the third round. You do not get the kind of tight end you are talking about about the position in the stages of the draft where the Steelers have chosen them. General Manager Kevin Colbert was the head of the personnel department in 2005, as he is now, so he knows one when he sees one. It’s just that the Steelers chose to address other needs earlier in concepts, and I agree with them that there are other positions in a team that are the no. 1 and no.
BUDDY POWELL OF FORT MYERS, FL: I wish someone could explain to me how TJ Watt did not get the Defensive Player of the Year award?
ANSWER: I can explain why TJ Watt did not get the 2020 NFL Defensive Player of the Year award: he did not get it because the winner has not been announced yet. The NFL announces the winner as part of its NFL Honors program, which airs the night before the Super Bowl. Anyone can pick someone as their defensive player of the year, but the winner of the only award that counts will only be known the night before the Super Bowl.
MARGARET LONGAZEL FROM BOCA RATON, FL: I believe most football fans agree that Jim Brown is Cleveland’s greatest player. What’s the Steelers’ overall record against his Browns team during his career at Cleveland?
ANSWER: Let me just start with this: there is no rational argument against Jim Brown being the greatest player in the history of the Cleveland Browns franchise. Either way, in the 18 games against the Browns during Jim Browns’ nine-year career, the Steelers were 6-12.
CAL SABO OF AKRON, OH: If Matt Feiler was healthy enough to play, would he help the right game if he played the right suit?
ANSWER: If Matt Feiler is healthy enough to play, I do not believe coach Mike Tomlin will make several moves to accommodate his return.
JC LARKIN FROM GALLATIN, TN: Do you know of any teams from the Super Bowl era who have chosen to use a special team strategy that uses two different kickers who have different skills? Having seen Matthew Wright’s precision accuracy in his NFL debut (s) and his record-breaking career for the aforementioned accuracy, it’s not worth considering a ‘kicker-in-50’ team yard “kicker retains, along with a boomer that can be counted on to handle kick-off?
ANSWER: In addition to dedicating an extra pound day to a second kicker for a second day, you suggest allocating two spots in the 53-man to kickers, and the salary branch for two kickers. Not at all an efficient use of resources. And if you actually suggest using Matthew Wright to handle field goals within 50 yards and move Chris Boswell to kick-off, I sleep well at night because I know you have no decision-making authority with the Steelers. Wright’s ‘record-breaking college career for said accuracy’ allowed him to convert 77.5 percent of his field goal efforts during his time in Central Florida, with a best year of 85.7 percent. Boswell’s career percentage in the NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE is 88 percent, and he is 15-for-15 over his career in the playoffs.
MIKE HOLT FROM JACKSONVILLE, FL: So much talk about Ben Roethlisberger’s career has made me wonder if one of the great Steelers of the 1970s took over their starting positions in a similar way (Maddox injured, Ben takes over; end of story), or was their mostly positions won in training camp fights?
ANSWER: When Jack Lambert signed up for his rookie training camp at Saint Vincent College during the summer of 1974, there was no place for him in the starting lineup. A couple of Pro Bowl players in Andy Russell and Jack Ham handled the outfield of the lineout crew. Henry Davis, midfielder, was voted to the Pro Bowl after the 1972 season. But because 1974 was a strike year and the veterans were on the picket line at the beginning of the summer, rookies looked expanded at the beginning of the summer. Lambert is being used as a backup for Ham, but shortly after the veterans started infiltrating when the preseason began, Davis suffered a neck injury in the penultimate preseason game and Lambert was moved to the middle. Davis had to retire due to injury, and Lambert never left the starting lineup.
MARK WAKELEY FROM DENTON, TX: Do player and team stats continue during the playoffs, or are they separate? If TJ Watt gets two sacks against the Browns today, will his annual total rise to 17? If not, why keep them divorced?
ANSWER: Both team stats and individual player stats are separate for the regular season and the playoffs. TJ Watt’s pocket total for the 2020 season is 15 and it will remain at 15, regardless of what he does in the category during the playoffs. The NFL keeps them separate because that’s the fair way to do it, because not every player gets the opportunity to add his stats through extra games in the playoffs.
SCOTT BUCHANAN OF OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA: I do not know what the correct term for the play is, but many teams use the small turn to a runner in motion who receives it just as he passes in front of the quarterback. If it is muted, then is it an awkward or incomplete fit?
ANSWER: If the ball moves forward when it is passed from the quarterback to the runner / receiver, it is an incomplete pass.
PAUL MARINACCIO FROM FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ: If a team decides to do a 1-point conversion after an attack, and they (for example) dampen the lightning, but eventually pass or run, they get one or two points ?
ANSWER: Two.
GUY COURTNEY FROM FREDERICKSBURG, VA: I’ve never heard anyone say about the last game, but do you think the Steelers deliberately missed the two-point conversion to avoid a meaningless game being taken after overtime?
ANSWER: I do not think the Steelers did anything deliberate to avoid overtime during the two-point game, but you might want to check with the match officials who ignore a clear pass-through penalty when a Browns defender comes over Chase Claypool’s back and makes contact before the ball arrives. Maybe they wanted to avoid overtime.
AL ALVAREZ FROM LEXINGTON, KY: Field goal attempts are measured at where the ball is kicked. Why are points not measured to where the punter also makes contact with the ball?
ANSWER: Why is touchdown worth six points and field goals worth three points? Why is it 10 meters for a first discount? Why do teams get three time-outs per half? The answer to all these questions is the same: because that is the rule. Simply.
JOE CURRY FROM MANASSAS PARK, VA: It is reported that Alex Van Pelt will accept the play in play this Sunday. Will he also make all the head coaching decisions during the game, or has one of the other coaches been appointed as head coach for this game?
ANSWER: I work for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Asked and Answered appear on Steelers.com. What the Cleveland Browns are doing regarding their coaching staff is neither my interest nor my concern.