The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
GARY CAITHNESS FROM LYNCHBURG, VA: Short and straight to the point. Will Rocky Bleier ever make the Pro Football Hall of Fame? I believe I read the Seniors Nominees need to be out at least 25 years. Also it was meant to be an avenue for players long ago when football was played very differently. How many 4-time Super Bowl champions not in the Hall (Seniors), can there be? Lastly, how many Steelers from those 1970s teams were Steelers before Chuck Noll?
ANSWER: A short and straight to the point answer to your opening question: No, I do not believe he will.
This is from profootballhof.com:
"Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee members will consider 52 names as they begin their work to determine three Finalists from the Seniors category for the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2026.
"The nine-person Blue-Ribbon committee received the names following the initial work of the separate Seniors Screening Committee, which had been tasked with reducing the list of 162 nominees for the new class to 50. (Ties for the final spot also advanced.)
"Members of the Seniors Blue-Ribbon Committee, who also serve on the full Hall of Fame Selection Committee, will reduce the list of 52 candidates to 25, then again to nine, in balloting that will occur over the next several weeks. They then will meet virtually to discuss those nine Semifinalists and will choose three Finalists for the Class of 2026.
"To be considered this election cycle, each person in the Seniors category could have appeared in a professional football game no more recently than the 2000 season."
The players who remain eligible for election with the Class of 2026 are:
• QUARTERBACKS (5): Ken Anderson, Charlie Conerly, Roman Gabriel, Jack Kemp, Don Meredith.
• RUNNING BACKS (6): Ottis Anderson, Larry Brown, Roger Craig, Chuck Foreman, Cecil Isbell, Paul "Tank" Younger.
• WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS (9): Mark Clayton, Isaac Curtis, Lavvie Dilweg, Henry Ellard, Harold Jackson, Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, Stanley Morgan, Art Powell, Otis Taylor.
• OFFENSIVE LINEMEN (11): Jay Hilgenberg, Chris Hinton, Joe Jacoby, Mike Kenn, Bob Kuechenberg, Marvin Powell, Dick Schafrath, Jerry Sisemore, Walt Sweeney, Jim Tyrer, Al Wistert.
• DEFENSIVE LINEMEN (4): L.C. Greenwood, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Jim Marshall, Harvey Martin.
• LINEBACKERS (8): Carl Banks, Maxie Baughan, Mike Curtis, Larry Grantham, Lee Roy Jordan, Clay Matthews Jr., Matt Millen, Tommy Nobis.
• DEFENSIVE BACKS (8): Dick Anderson, Bobby Boyd, Pat Fischer, Lester Hayes, Albert Lewis, Eddie Meador, Lemar Parrish, Everson Walls.
• SPECIAL TEAMS (1): Steve Tasker.
To your other questions: This is a list of just Steelers players from the 1970s team that have 4 Super Bowl rings and are not enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Rocky Bleier, Larry Brown, Sam Davis, Steve Furness, L.C. Greenwood, Randy Grossman, Kon Kolb, Gerry Mullins, J.T. Thomas, Loren Toews, Mike Wagner, and Dwight White.
And here are the 5 players who were Steelers before Chuck Noll was hired in 1969 who stuck with the team through Super Bowl IX: Rocky Bleier, Sam Davis, Ray Mansfield, Andy Russell, and Bobby Walden.
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CHRIS WELBURN FROM GLASTONBURY, CT: I don't expect you can verify your response with accurate statistics but based on your experience and what you can recall … do most head coaching candidates have experience coaching different units on both sides of the ball before they develop into great coordinators? Or do many just have excellent experience with the offense or defense. Wouldn't the former be better candidates?
ANSWER: Generally speaking, it might be most advantageous for a head coaching candidate to have experience coaching both offense and defense, and if we're going to start down this path, some special teams experience couldn't hurt either. But pursuing that multi-dimensional career path is just not realistic because of the time element. I believe an NFL team looking to hire a head coach is going to be looking for a candidate with a number of seasons as a successful coordinator, and typically guys don't ascend to the level of coordinator without a number of years as a successful position coach. Because of that, it's typically best for a candidate to choose the side of the ball with which he is most familiar and then start climbing the ladder. Trying to do both at a high level usually doesn't work.
Let's use Matt Patricia as an example. During his 21 years as an assistant coach before being hired by the Lions in 2018 to be their head coach, Patricia's background was on defense. He won 3 Super Bowl rings with the Patriots, and then he was hired by the Lions in 2018. After 3 seasons in Detroit, Patricia was fired, and he returned to the Patriots as a senior defensive advisor. In 2022, Bill Belichick made Patricia the Patriots' senior football advisor and offensive line coach, and throughout that season Patricia also called the offensive plays during games. After a season during which New England's offense averaged fewer than 20 points per game, Belichick took away Patricia's play-calling responsibilities, because he wasn't good enough at it. Patricia is back to coordinating defense at Ohio State, and the Buckeyes are the defending National Champions and are ranked No. 1 on the way to a shot at a repeat.
DAVID POLLARD FROM WARRINGTON, UNITED KINGDOM: JaMarr Chase had 16 receptions against the Steelers, which I believe, is the highest number of catches in a single game against Pittsburgh and broke the record that had stood since 1981. Whose record did he break?
ANSWER: In a 34-20 victory over the Falcons in Atlanta in Nov. 15, 1981, RB William Andrews caught 15 passes for 124 yards and 0 touchdowns.
TIMOTHY PAULL FROM PAHRUMP, NV: When the 2-point conversion rule was implemented in the NFL, Mike Tomlin went for two quite often early in games that year, but since then rarely does he ever go for two. Why do you think that is?
ANSWER: The NFL implemented the 2-point conversion rule in 1994, and Mike Tomlin wasn't hired by the Steelers to be their head coach until 2007, a span of 13 years. In 2015 and 2016, the Steelers attempted 2-point conversions 20 times and were successful on 11 of those attempts for a rate of 55 percent). As for why Tomlin went for 2 so many times those seasons, my guess would be it had to do with personnel. In 2015 for example, the Steelers could break the huddle at the 2-yard line with Ben Roethlisberger at QB, and with these 5 eligibles deployed across the formation – Heath Miller, Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, and Markus Wheaton. In 2016, the Steelers still had Roethlisberger, Bell, and Brown, along with Eli Rogers and Ladarius Green.
JIM STANLEY FROM SARASOTA, FL: I've seen you fielding quite a few questions about Will Howard and your response has been that his current status on injured reserve bars him from actively practicing with the Steelers. My question is do you know what he is doing to be ready for next year or whenever he's called on? I don't know why but my gut is telling me that he is somehow going to be an asset to our team.
ANSWER: On Wednesday, Oct. 22, the Steelers moved Will Howard to the IR/designated to return list, and he also returned to practice. While practicing, Howard will remain on IR/designated to return, and then the team has 21 days to add Howard to the 53-man roster or he will miss the remainder of the 2025 season. During the regular season in the NFL, most of the practice time is dedicated to the starter, with the backup next in line for on-field reps during the week. How much action Howard gets as No. 3 probably won't be a lot.
LEE JOHNSON FROM MIDLAND, VA: When a team has a bye week, I think you said by contract they must have 4 consecutive days off. Can the players still come in and work out on their own, and I would assume they can come for medical reasons?
ANSWER: During the bye week, the Collective Bargaining Agreement requires teams to give the players 4 consecutive days off, and for the Steelers those days typically have been Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. While there are no requirements for the players on those days, they certainly are not barred from the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for any reason.
MIKE POWELL FROM UNIVERSAL CITY, TX: An offense calls a screen pass and the QB sees that the defense has sniffed it out, so he throws the ball to the ground, sometimes darn near his own feet. Why is this not intentional grounding? Even though it may be thrown near an eligible receiver, I thought the ball had to at least reach the line of scrimmage. And the QB was not "outside the pocket."
ANSWER: Typically in the situation of a "sniffed out" screen pass, the QB can throw the ball at the intended receiver's feet and he will not be flagged for intentional grounding. I personally never have seen an instance where the QB threw the ball into the ground at his own feet, and if he did that I would believe an intentional grounding penalty would be warranted. Unless he was hit by a defender in the act of throwing the ball.
BENJAMIN GILLESPIE FROM MYRTLE BEACH, SC: Why don't the Steelers bring up Beanie Bishop from the practice squad? Against the Bengals it seemed like none of our corners could guard JaMarr Chase, including these veteran guys like Darius Slay and Jalen Ramsey. Have they discussed that for when we go against young great WRs?
ANSWER: All due respect to Beanie Bishop, but he is not the kind of player who could be deployed to "guard JaMarr Chase." And one of the reasons he has not been made active on game days is that he doesn't contribute on special teams. The Steelers had 9 DBs active for the game vs. the Bengals, and the only ones who didn't play special teams were Joey Porter Jr. and Darius Slay, likely because both of them were on the field for more than 65 percent of the defensive snaps.
ANDY BALDONADO FROM ANNA, OH I know that the loss on Thursday to the Bengals was mostly due to poor run defense. But allow me to further explain the loss. The loss was most likely also due in part to me not having my "Victory socks" that I had so proudly worn on Monday of that week. Poor planning on my part, I feel, contributed to the loss by not having the Victory socks washed and available for Friday. Fans have to prepare for the short weeks, too! I plan on working on it this week. The socks are washed and ready to go for next Monday. Because, after a win on any given game day, the next most important day to a Steelers fan is the day after a victory.
ANSWER: Now that we've figured that out, please see to it that you're not "Victory socks" deficient the rest of this season.
