The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
WILL McINTOSH FROM BELLEVIEW, PA: Another close win, but a win is a win. It seems like every week the Steelers test my blood pressure and heart rate. For 3 quarters, we played what I thought was excellent defense, but then they moved the ball on us like we were a JV team. Did the coaches do this by design to let time click off the clock, or is it just players running out of gas? But what Joey Porter Jr. did to keep the receiver out of the end zone should be a lesson for all ages, to play through the whistle, because you don't know what will happen until the play is blown dead.
ANSWER: I'm sorry, but this line of thinking annoys me. You're not showing the whole situation the proper respect. The Detroit Lions have been the NFL's No. 1 scoring offense for two seasons now, and this season their 2-headed running game had produced 1,700 yards on a 5.2 average and 21 rushing touchdowns; their top 2 receivers had combined for 2,100 yards and 18 touchdowns; and all of it was being engineered by a quarterback completing 70 percent for 29 touchdowns and only 5 interceptions. That Steelers defense on the field was without T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig and James Pierre, and Brandin Echols was knocked out of the game in the first half. You looking to blame the coaches or the conditioning of the players is unfair.
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DAVID PRICE FROM CRYSTAL LAKE, IL: It was a great game with the Lions, and we were fortunate to come away with the win. We dominated the second half, but the Lions made it much closer than it should have been. In the final five minutes, did the Lions simply raise their level and out-execute our defense, did we start playing softer, or did we get overconfident and let them back into the game?
ANSWER: And another submission that confuses NFL regular season football in December with a video game. No team, no defense should be expected to shut down that offense. It is just not realistic. They are too talented, and the rules of the sport at the NFL level are written to favor the offense. Steelers fans should be proud of the way the defense played against that offense in Detroit with the guys who were missing from the lineup or lost during the game.
TOM HENSON FROM MARTINSVILLE, IN: If the Ravens lose on Saturday the Steelers are division champs with two games remaining on their schedule, is it even a remote possibility we could see Coach Tomlin rest players and/or rotate backups into those final two "meaningless" games if that happens on Saturday?
ANSWER: This is me telling you what I think (which doesn't mean diddly in the grand scheme of things). By Saturday night, the Steelers already will be in their hotel in Cleveland for Sunday's 1 p.m. kickoff vs. the Browns. The plan will have been installed and practiced, all of the preparations for a late December regular season game will have been happening all week. I don't see the Steelers going from that to a laissez-faire approach in 12 hours. What I have seen Mike Tomlin do is judiciously rest bodies in a finale with no postseason implications when his team already had secured its spot. It's not going to turn into a 2026 Training Camp Preview.
ROB BEBOUT FROM SPRINGFIELD, OH: Has there been a Steelers running back duo that accumulated almost 280 yards from scrimmage as Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell did in Detroit? Thoughts go to Franco and Rocky, but I'm not sure.
ANSWER: In a 45-0 win at Kansas City on Nov. 7, 1976, Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier combined for 219 yards on 38 attempts; in a 14-3 win over Miami on Nov. 14, 1976, they combined for 220 yards on 42 attempts; and in a 21-0 win at Houston on Dec. 11, 1976, they had 211 yards on 45 attempts. I have one more for you, but I have to expand the number of running backs to three. In a 51-35 win in Cleveland on Oct. 7, 1979, Franco Harris carried 19 times for 153 yards and 2 touchdowns, Sidney Thornton had 98 yards and 1 touchdown on 19 carries, and Rocky Bleier carried 4 times for 81 yards and a touchdown. That made for a grand total of 332 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns from 3 running backs, and Thornton also caught a 10-yard pass for a touchdown.
CHRIS WELBURN FROM GLASTONBURY, CT: So many times I see other teams after a questionable call hurry to the line and run another play before it can be challenged. How is it possible that multiple times the Steelers can't do the same? Why are we the team that decides to substitute prior to the quick snap requiring the officials to hold the snap until the defense can also sub out? And by then the red challenge flag comes out. Something needs to be better with this or am I missing something?
ANSWER: The way I see this issue, and off the top of my head I remember only 2 instances – one vs. the Ravens and the other in Detroit on Sunday – is that Aaron Rodgers is a master at stealing 5 yards or getting a free play from an opponent trying to get guys on and off the field. That can convert a third down and keep a drive alive. To not have some system in place to take advantage of that is a waste of an asset in my opinion, especially at the time of a season when every snap might be critical.
ED SARNECKI FROM DES MOINES, IA: Where is Kaleb Johnson?
ANSWER: The rookie third-round pick who played college football at Iowa is currently third on the depth chart at running back behind Jaylen Warren and Kenneth Gainwell.
HOWARD ASHCRAFT FROM LANSING, MI: How does a team signing players off the practice squad of other teams impact possible compensatory draft picks?
ANSWER: It does not. The compensatory draft pick formula deals with gains and losses of players who had been classified as unrestricted free agents.
DONNIE BROWN FROM VAN BUREN, ME: Is there a story about Art Rooney Sr. leaving the Immaculate Reception game before that play happened?
ANSWER: It was on Dec. 23, 1972, when the Steelers hosted the Oakland Raiders in an AFC Playoff Game at Three Rivers Stadium. The Steelers held a 6-0 lead and seemed to be on the way to the first playoff win in franchise history when Raiders QB Ken Stabler escaped contain and raced 30 yards for a touchdown and a 7-6 lead with 1:17 left in the fourth quarter. At that point, Art Rooney Sr. rose from his seat in a stadium box and headed to the elevator that would take him down to the field level, where he planned to be in the locker room to congratulate the players on a great season after what he assumed would be just another in a lifetime of hard-fought losses. By the time he got to the elevator and rode it down to the field level, bedlam had broken out in the stands and among stadium employees. Rooney proceeded to the locker room and he was already inside as the first players started to filter in from the field. There actually is a spectacular photo taken from behind Rooney as he is extending his hand to Joe Greene, still in full uniform with his helmet on. That photo is in the Steelers Hall of Honor Museum. But the owner of the team never actually saw it happen.
