Let's get to it:
ERIC SCHIER FROM DOWNINGTOWN, PA: On the first series of the game against the Rams, T.J. Watt made a brilliant play on the interception when he was dropped into coverage. How often is he used in that capacity?
ANSWER: I'm not able to provide you with snap counts where T.J. Watt dropped into coverage vs. when he rushed the passer, but what I am able to tell you is that his interception on Sunday vs. the Rams was the seventh of his career. He recorded his first interception as a rookie in 2017 and posted two in both the 2019 and 2022 seasons. One website lists Watt as being targeted by opposing quarterbacks 47 times in his 93 career NFL regular season games. Having edge rushers dropping into coverage long has been a part of the Steelers defensive plan, going all the way back to Greg Lloyd doing just that when this version of the 3-4 was introduced by the Bill Cowher-Dom Capers-Dick LeBeau brain trust back in 1992. And of course, the most memorable/significant instance of an edge rusher dropping into coverage occurred in Super Bowl XLIII when James Harrison did just that to intercept a Kurt Warner pass and return it 100 yards for a touchdown at the end of the first half.
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DAVE KERN FROM DUPONT, PA: I've heard the term "wheel route" used on offense. Can you tell me what that play is?
ANSWER: That play typically involves an offensive player who lined up in the backfield circling out and running a pass route, usually deep, down the field.
LEE JOHNSON FROM MIDLAND, VA: You answered a question about Terry Bradshaw being voted the MVP of Super Bowl XIV, and It got me thinking about Super Bowl XLIII. I know Santonio Holmes was voted MVP – my opinion is it should have been Ben Roethlisberger, but with that said maybe both should have gotten MVP recognition. Have there ever been co-MVP winners in a Super Bowl?
ANSWER: After the Dallas defeated Denver, 27-10, in Super Bowl XII, a game in which the Cowboys defense had 8 takeaways and allowed only 8 completions for 61 yards, with two interceptions leading to 10 first-quarter points, defensive linemen Harvey Martin and Randy White were voted co-MVPs. That was the only time a Super Bowl had co-MVPs, and also the only time a defensive lineman was voted a Super Bowl MVP.
DAVID GIANNELLI FROM PFAFFTOWN, NC: I had a question about the 12 men on the field penalty called against the Rams in Sunday's game. The flag was thrown prior to the snap, and I had thought that it was only a penalty if a team had 12 men on the field during a play. I know offensively there are rules about how many players can be in a huddle, but I don't recall seeing this against a team on defense.
ANSWER: According to Rule 5, Section 1, Article 1 of the 2016 NFL rulebook, "If Team A has more than 11 players in its formation for more than three seconds, or if Team B has more than 11 players in its formation and the snap is imminent, it is a foul ... In these instances, game officials shall blow their whistles immediately and not allow the snap or kick to occur."
WAYNE EPPEHIMER FROM JAMESTOWN, NY: How is it determined which teams get to play in London?
ANSWER: According to Operations.nfl.com, "As part of the league adopting a 17-game schedule in 2021, AFC and NFC teams will alternate seasons where they have nine home games. The host teams for international games will be selected from the conference with the ninth home game, so clubs still will host eight games in their home stadium. For example, since NFC teams have a ninth home game in 2022, four NFC teams will be selected to host an international game that season. Teams can still volunteer to play home games abroad, just as they have in previous seasons."
JACK LATTA FROM PRESTONSBURG, KY: Greg Lloyd is my all-time favorite Steelers player. I know it's hard to extrapolate play, but do you think Lloyd was putting out Hall of Fame production before injuries derailed him?
ANSWER: During the 5 seasons spanning 1991-95, Greg Lloyd posted 37 sacks, 6 interceptions, 27 forced fumbles, and 8 fumble recoveries. Lloyd led the NFL in forced fumbles in both the 1994 and 1995 seasons, and also during that 1991-95 span he was voted first-team All-Pro three times as well as to 5 straight Pro Bowls. Lloyd was one of the first dual-threat 3-4 outside linebackers in that he was as effective in coverage as he was attacking the backfield, and his intensity on the field was both intimidating to opponents as well as being an inspiration to his own teammates. I don't know whether Lloyd would have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, but I believe he was on a path at least to having his candidacy discussed by the Board of Selectors before injuries hit starting with that torn patellar in the 1996 season opener.
MARK CENTENNIAL FROM FLORESVILLE, TX: Are plays analyzed by team reviewers to determine what went right or wrong, or who missed an assignment to cause a failure? Either as the game is being played, at halftime, or after the game?
ANSWER: Yes, that is done, and it's done both while the game is being played – which is what's happening when you catch a glimpse of players and/or coaches poring over those Microsoft Surface tablets in the bench area – and it's also done in more depth in meetings after the game is played.
SCOTT BLANKENSHIP FROM ASHEVILLE, KY: Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin are all coaches with defensive backgrounds. Noll is rightly given credit for the Steel Curtain defense though he did have a defensive coordinator (Bud Carson). Do we know who called defensive plays back then? Correct me if I'm wrong but Terry Bradshaw called the offensive plays. I'm also curious as to whether Cowher called any of the defensive and/or offensive plays?
ANSWER: During the 1970s when the Steel Curtain was terrorizing the NFL, both offenses and defenses were elementary in comparison to today's schemes. For those Steelers teams, the quarterbacks called the offensive plays, whether it was Terry Bradshaw or Joe Gilliam or Terry Hanratty who happened to be playing at the time. There were no defensive plays called, certainly not to the extent that defensive play-calls exist today. The pass rush was generated by the front four, the linebackers had their assignments determined by the week of practice and then they carried those out on a play-by-play basis, and the secondary basically played the same coverage the whole game. And yes, Bill Cowher was involved in play-calling on both sides of the ball whenever he chose to assert his authority as the head coach.
ROB JAMES FROM CANTON, OH: In the early 1970s, the Steelers drafted exceptionally well, including finding stars and solid players in later rounds to build a dynasty. By the late 1970s and into the 1980s, the Steelers drafted rather poorly, even accounting for picking later in each round. There were few later-round gems, yet the people picking the players largely remained the same. In your view, what changed? My theory is that other teams copied the Steelers in mining HBCU talent.
ANSWER: Your view of the draft process is overly clinical and discounts the reality of the entire process being more of a projection than a science. And it totally ignores the role that luck plays in the entire process. Yes, the Steelers did their homework and Bill Nunn was masterful in mining the HBCUs for talent that other teams ignored or failed to recognize, but they also were lucky to be able to find themselves in a position to draft John Stallworth, as an example. And in 1985, Nunn had done all of the work on a receiver from Mississippi Valley State who supposedly had questionable hands and he had convinced Chuck Noll that the guy was a real prospect, but then the 49ers traded up at the last minute and picked Jerry Rice before the Steelers had a chance to make their No. 1 pick – bad luck. I see the annual NFL Draft as being a football version of visiting a casino. The casino always wants gamblers to stay at the table and keep rolling the dice because eventually the house will win because the odds are in the house's favor. The same is true of a draft. The longer you stay and keep picking players based on projections and "gambling" that those individuals develop as you hope and avoid injuries, etc., the better chance you have of making picks who don't work out. The draft is not an exercise where you can plug in data and then have a result spit out to you, because none of that takes into account the human element involved.
RICH HOLZER FROM HOLLIDAYSBURG, PA: Since Pat Freiermuth has been placed on injured reserve due to an aggravation of a hamstring injury that had caused him to miss the previous game (vs. Baltimore), does his time on IR get backdated like in baseball?
ANSWER: It does not. Pat Freiermuth must miss 4 games after being placed on injured reserve, even if that same injury had caused him to miss games before he was placed on injured reserve.
DALE GELLER FROM CAPE CORAL, FL: I just want to thank Owen O'Ceallaigh for his comment in the Oct. 17 edition of Asked and Answered. I downloaded the Radio Garden app and was able to listen to the entire Steelers game vs. the Rams.
ANSWER: Glad it worked out for you.
KEN GLEASON FROM SPRINGBORO, OH: When George Pickens blocked Rams safety Russ Yeast at the end of the first quarter, why was that a penalty?
ANSWER: Because that's the rule. A few years ago, the rule was changed to outlaw those kinds of blocks in the interest of player safety. Had George Pickens simply used his body to screen Russ Yeast in the way a basketball player would in order to open a lane for a teammate, I don't believe a penalty would have been called. But since he lowered his shoulder and there was forcible contact, the flag came out.
MIKE FOSTER FROM EWA BEACH, HI: Ever thought of putting up an Asked and Answered FAQ? How to listen on radio via apps, your love of NFL officials and replay, how to find recipes for food players make, etc., all could be on there.
ANSWER: I'll get right on that – in my free time. What I might suggest instead is that everybody everywhere read every installment of Asked and Answered (maybe I'd end up getting a raise) and then don't ask me the same questions over and over and over again.
