Let's get to it:
RACHEL JENSEN FROM LOS ANGELES, CA: As a life-long member of Steelers Nation, I got to go to my first game (last Sunday) at SoFi Stadium. On at least two plays – but maybe only two plays – our defense seemed to have a moment where everyone, or almost everyone, did some kind of arm movement pre-snap that I'm guessing was a part of some kind of play communication? I hadn't seen anything like that before, although maybe I missed it in other games. Is it just some play-specific form of silent communication in the defense in loud crowd environments? I feel like I'm used to the green dot linebacker just yelling at teammates to give instructions.
ANSWER: You mentioned that you saw the game against the Rams in person, there were a lot of Steelers fans in attendance, and they were very loud. There have been times when Steelers fans made such a nuisance of themselves during games on the road that the home team was forced to go to a silent count when its offense was on the field. The Steelers typically practice with crowd noise at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, and for some time now they practice with crowd noise when their defense is on the field because of what that unit typically faces both at road venues and at Acrisure Stadium. Even in hostile environments, the defensive call is communicated onto the field through the player wearing the green dot on the back of his helmet, but I would guess that what you saw was some type of check or audible based on what the Rams offense showed when it broke the huddle. And since the Steelers fans in attendance were doing their best to distract the Rams, hand signals by the defense became necessary.
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SEAN FREDERICK FROM SOUTH BEND, IN: In the Oct. 22 segment of Asked and Answered; you said your last game was on Dec. 3, 1972. I would have thought you had inside access to get game tickets. Is there a reason you don't go to the games? I only ask because for some reason I got the impression you have been to many meaningful games since then.
ANSWER: The question read: "Have you ever seen a Steelers game in Acrisure Stadium from the stands, like a common man?" And my answer read, "The last Steelers game I saw as a fan was on Dec. 3, 1972, when the Steelers beat the Cleveland Browns, 30-0, at Three Rivers Stadium. I was in high school at the time." The key phrase in my answer was "as a fan." When I am working, I watch Steelers games from the press box, and I have been working for a long time.
AXEL CANO FROM NYE, MT: Longtime Steelers fan but not a great X's & O's guy. That said, since T.J. Watt is essentially getting double-teamed on every defensive play, what strategies can the Steelers employ to either combat that or use it to their advantage?
ANSWER: It's not really so much a strategy but an awareness by the other Steelers players on the field in those situations that the opponent has to take from another area in order to double-team T.J. Watt. That awareness comes from a player's understanding of the called defense and then to be able to see how the opponent is going to try to neutralize Watt and then try to take advantage of what soft spot it might create. One team might decide to chip Watt with a running back, and another team might have the guard on that side offer inside support to the tackle in pass protection. Each of those would create a different potential soft spot within the offense. Because of the many options and variations, the only thing to be done in that situation is to teach awareness. The game plan is taught each week and practiced as a matter of course, and then it's up to the players to learn those lessons, be aware, and then act in the heat of the moment. There's no time to plot strategy at that point, because the play-clock is running.
JOHN FRYE FROM TITUSVILLE, PA: I know usually when there is an accepted penalty, the official scoring is no play. But when Diontae Johnson caught the pass and then George Pickens was called for an illegal block, how is that play scored?
ANSWER: The play you describe came on a third-and-9 from the Rams 27-yard line. According to the official play-by-play, the 15-yard penalty for the illegal blindside block was enforced from the Rams 20-yard line. That shows there was a gain of 7 yards before the penalty occurred and was enforced. In that situation, Kenny Pickett is assigned an attempt and a completion for 7 yards; Diontae Johnson is credited with a catch for 7 yards.
JOE ASHER FROM TAMPA, FL: If T.J. Watt breaks his own (and Michael Strahan's) record for sacks in a single season, do you think he'd be the leading candidate for Defensive Player of the Year? Do you think there are any numbers he could achieve to be considered for MVP?
ANSWER: If T.J. Watt breaks the NFL single-season sack record of 22.5 this season, they should present him with the Defensive Player of the Year Award by the end of that game. That's what should happen, but I have been hearing a lot of blathering from television and social media about Myles Garrett, and the Defensive Player of the Year is decided by votes from a panel of 50 AP sportswriters. So it's an election, and you never know how an election might turn out. As for NFL MVP, the last defensive player voted that award was Lawrence Taylor in 1986. In that season, Taylor had 20.5 sacks and no forced fumbles, but getting credit for a forced fumble on a strip-sack was not yet a recognized statistic in the NFL. But whatever Taylor did – every tackle, every time his mere presence altered the outcome of a play – he did it in New York (physically New Jersey, but you catch my drift). And another issue potentially in Watt's way would be what type of season the league's best offensive players end up having, because those guys can put up some big numbers. If I had a vote for Defensive Player of the Year and the ballot was due today, I would write down Watt's name. But the ballot isn't due today, and I don't have a vote.
DAVE DENNIS FROM ETNA, PA: Do you think that after the 49ers lost to Cleveland that other teams would study how the Browns played them? And is that sort of thing standard in the NFL?
ANSWER: Standard procedure across the NFL is to scout the upcoming opponent to help with the preparation of a game plan, and so any team about to play the 49ers would be watching the video of Cleveland's 19-17 win over San Francisco on Oct. 17. But whether that would end up being a help would come down to whether the team doing the scouting had the personnel necessary to do the things the Browns did to defeat San Francisco. Looking specifically at that game, some of the reasons the Browns won was because their defense held Christian McCaffrey to 52 total yards on 14 touches – even though he did score a touchdown – and they intercepted Brock Purdy once, sacked him 3 times and hit him 6 times, and their offense ran the ball 34 times for 160 yards (4.7 average) and a touchdown, which also allowed Cleveland to enjoy a 6-minute edge in time of possession. A team would have to be able to play that way to enact that strategy, and so that team might have to come up with a completely different strategy.
EDWARD CABANA FROM NOTTINGHAM, PA: In the game vs. the Rams last Sunday, there was an incredible catch by Rams receiver Puka Nacua on the sidelines. Mike Tomlin threw the challenge flag. The network only showed the player's heal coming down one time in the replays, and his heal was clearly out of bounds. I believe the FOX announcers indicated the rule is that only the toes need to be in bounds? What is this rule in the NFL?
ANSWER: Honestly, I don't know the rule, but this is how replay reviews work in the NFL: Not only is the on-site referee looking at the play being challenged but so is someone in the NFL office in New York, and the NFL office in New York can communicate in real time with the on-site referee. Since the call on the field was upheld, I have to believe no letter-of-the-law rules were violated.
TOM HENSON FROM MARTINSVILLE, IN: I counted 14 total catches by tight ends through 6 games. With Pat Freiermuth on injured reserve, do you expect to see Darnell Washington get more targets, and what are the chances the Steelers get Zach Gentry back from the Bengals practice squad?
ANSWER: Connor Heyward (seven), Pat Freiermuth (eight), and Darnell Washington (one) had combined for 16 catches through the first six games of the season, and just off the top of my head I would expect Heyward to be the player among those three to see more targets while Freiermuth is on injured reserve. And I believe the Zach Gentry ship has sailed – on a couple of different occasions the Steelers made moves that indicate there is a preference for Rodney Williams.
