The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
CULLEN ROBISON FROM SUFFOLK, VA: If Mike McCarthy is calling plays for the offense, what is the actual role of the offensive coordinator?
ANSWER: Just because Coach Mike McCarthy has said he will be calling the offensive plays doesn't mean getting the unit to consistently produce the number of points necessary to win games won't be a collaborative effort that includes all of the offensive coaches. Rest assured offensive coordinator Brian Angelichio will have plenty to do.
DAVID LUCE FROM HENDERSON, KY: With Drew Aller not yet signing his rookie contract, does he count against the 90 player roster limit? If he doesn't sign, does he go back into the draft next year? What appears to be the problem with his contract?
ANSWER: Players not under contract do not count against a team's roster limit. If a rookie does not sign a contract with the team that drafted him at any point during his rookie season, he would go back into the draft pool the following year. I offered my guess as to what might be holding up negotiations as part of the answer to the next submission.
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MIKE FOSTER FROM EWA BEACH, HI: Didn't the 2011 Collective Bargaining Agreement introduce the salary slotting system for draft picks? It has evolved over the years to include increases in fully guaranteed 4-year contracts for all No. 1 picks and now for some No. 2 picks as well. How much leverage do rookies and their agents really have? I imagine this is why Drew Allar is not under contract yet. GM Omar Khan and the Steelers don't add a lot of fluff to their contracts, but is Allar being a QB, albeit a rookie, the main hangup?
ANSWER: What I believe is the hangup is that there were 10 QBs drafted in April, and the top 4 – Fernando Mendoza (No. 1 overall), Ty Simpson (13th overall), Carson Beck (Round 3, 65th overall), and Drew Allar (Round 3, 76th overall) all remain unsigned. That leads to a situation where nobody wants to be the first to come to terms, because the contract that gets done first will have some impact on all of the others. But a third-round pick being a holdout? Makes no sense to me.
KEITH MILLER FROM CANTON, NC: If a player who's eligible for the supplemental draft isn't selected, does he become a free agent or does he have to wait for the next regular draft? If he is selected, does he have to play for that team the same as a regular draft pick?
ANSWER: If a player available to be selected in the NFL supplemental Draft is not chosen, he becomes an unrestricted free agent able to sign with any team. Think of it in the same way that an undrafted rookie in the regular draft is able to pick his team. A team that selects a player who is eligible for the NFL supplemental draft owns the negotiating rights to the player for 12 months.
WAYNE PHILLIPS FROM SPRING HILL, FL: I'm confused about the NFL supplemental draft. For example, if the Cleveland Browns, as a tier 1 team, bid a third-round pick for a player, and the Steelers, as a tier 3 team, bid a second-round pick for the same player, who would get the guy? Or does it stop if someone in tier one bids?
ANSWER: In the scenario you describe the team that bid the higher-round pick for the player would get the guy. The tiers simply determine the order of the picking, which is a factor only in situations where 2 or more teams bid the same round pick for the same player.
WAYNE JONES FROM DAYTONA BEACH, FL: On the Drew Allar saga, if he does not have a contract can he participate at training camp? And at what point is he not allowed to be around the team?
ANSWER: Unsigned rookies are not permitted to participate in training camp, and at that point any player without a signed contract is not allowed to be around the team.
MARK RICE FROM LAS VEGAS, NV: If you had to cut a Steelers QB this year, who would it be – Mason Rudolph, Will Howard, or Drew Allar? And why?
ANSWER: It's not possible to answer that question now with anything that would be more than a blind guess. Put the 3 names in a hat, cover your eyes, and pick one.
TIM SIVERD FROM SOUTH HILL, VA: In my opinion, of the 4 quarterbacks we have as of today we will lose at least one of them. I say this because the one we decide to cut will never clear waivers and be assigned to the practice squad. Do you agree?
ANSWER: Putting a guy on the practice squad doesn't prevent another team from poaching him and adding him to its 53-man roster. Losing a player via waivers, and losing a player who is poached off your practice squad is no different.
CHARLES ROTH FROM HEREFORD, TX: Can you see the Steelers making a trade using one of their tight ends?
ANSWER: In trying to acquire what?
GRANT SPELLERBERG FROM CUTLER BAY, FL: I see a lot of submissions here about where a particular unit might rank against the rest of the NFL. In the grand scheme of things do you think it is really that important since the difference in most cases is really not that significant?
ANSWER: When you get down to it, the only thing that matters is how your team plays against a particular opponent at a specific time within the schedule. Past performance is no guarantee of future outcome, for either team. A statistically dominant win doesn't count more than 1, and "almost winning" is just another way of losing.
BRIAN ALEXANDER FROM ROCHESTER, NY: I just read a great article on Cameron Heyward. My question is, assuming Joe Greene would be your No. 1, where would you put Heyward among the top 5, or top 10, defensive linemen in Steelers history?
ANSWER: The Steelers have 2 defensive linemen enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame – Ernie Stautner, Class of 1969; and Joe Greene, Class of 1987. Unless Cam Heyward also would be elected, I couldn't put him above Stautner and Greene, but I also don't believe he would be any lower than No. 3.
KEN MAULDIN FROM CLYDE, TX: This time of year, I end up watching old games from the 1970s. I am surprised at how well Lynn Swann run-blocked, he really got after it. The puzzling thing I was hoping you could shed some light on is that considering the hard nose coaching style of Chuck Noll, why did he put up with PK Roy Gerela year after year? I am surprised Gerela did not cost them a Super bowl. Why did Noll keep him?
ANSWER: Roy Gerela had some tough moments in high-profile situations, but there were a lot of positives during his 8 seasons (1971-78) with the Steelers as well. Gerela was voted to the Pro Bowl twice -- in 1972 after he scored 119 points, and in 1974 when he scored 93 points. Both of those came in 14-game seasons. For his Steelers career, Gerela converted 64.3 percent of his field goal attempts during an era where the league leaders weren't converting at the percentages that Chris Boswell is today. Maybe Chuck Noll would've made a move had Gerela actually cost the Steelers a Super Bowl, but Gerela didn't and so Noll didn't.
DAVID FECICH FROM NORTH CANTON, OH: I have read two of the Steelers biographies that you recommended in an Asked and Answered last week, and really enjoyed them. May I also recommend "The Chief" a one-man play featuring Tom Atkins as Art Rooney Sr. The play had a long run at the Pittsburgh Playhouse, and was made into a movie in 2010. It is available on DVD.
ANSWER: I saw a live performance of "The Chief," and Tom Atkins was very believable as Art Rooney Sr. My wife and I enjoyed it very much.
