The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
MARC SIMON FROM NAPLES, FL: Sam Darnold, signed for three years for $105 million, with $37.5 million guaranteed. DK Metcalf, signed for four years, $132 million, with $60 million in guarantees. I know it's early in the season, and I know there may be reasons why Pittsburgh didn't pursue Darnold, or he wasn't interested in Pittsburgh. But, for the sake of argument, where would you have spent the money?
ANSWER: First of all, according to Spotrac.com, the total guarantees in Sam Darnold's contract totaled $55 million. And regardless of the numbers, you can't just dismiss the reasons, the circumstances involved and then simply ask which player would you rather have. Real life isn't a binary decision. According to reports at the time, the Steelers were sufficiently interested in Darnold to have at the very least talked to him and his agent to gauge his interest and outline what a contract might look like. Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated indicated that Darnold wanted a commitment that he'd be the starter beyond 2025. I understand how "reports" go, and how they're based on "sources," and how free agency deserves to be called the NFL's silly season, but there is no doubt the Steelers were exploring their options at quarterback at the time, because the only player at the position under contract when free agency began was Skylar Thompson. I watched what Darnold did in the game vs. the Steelers last Sunday, but I've watched Aaron Rodgers since the first day of training camp. In my opinion Rodgers is a better quarterback and is way cheaper than Sam Darnold for 2025, and the Steelers want to keep their options open for the 2026 NFL Draft. I can understand why Darnold would be interested in a longer commitment, and I also can understand why the Steelers wanted to keep their options open when it came to next April's draft class.
DONALD DAVENPORT FROM MILWAUKEE, WI: Why are the Steelers not America's Team. We've got 6 Super Bowl rings.
ANSWER: Actually, the idea to hang the "America's Team" label on a franchise was spawned in the 1970s, and the story goes that after the Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X, the league offered the "crown" to Art Rooney Sr. But Rooney told Commissioner Pete Rozelle, "We're Pittsburgh's team."
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ROBERT McNALLY FROM NEW BERN, NC: In the 1970s the Steelers defense was a BLITZING team. What become of that? A BLITZING team is a winning team in most cases. You're placing the pressure on the opposing teams' offense and ultimately their QB. Even Tom Brady performed poorly when he was being BLITZED. The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots twice in the Super Bowl, by putting extreme pressure on Tom Brady.
ANSWER: My first impression was to delete this submission immediately, but upon further review I found it amusing because of a combination of the use of ALL CAPS (so junior high) and your frighteningly inaccurate FACTS. The Steelers Media Guide lists the 8 teams from 1972-79 as having 334 sacks, with only 85 (25.5 percent) of those coming from players other than defensive linemen. Also, in Super Bowls XLII and XLVI – both of which ended with the New York Giants defeating the New England Patriots – Tom Brady was sacked 7 total times. Six of those 7 sacks came from Giants defensive linemen, which indicates the Giants were able to generate pressure on Brady by only rushing 4, and that's the same strategy Philadelphia used to defeat Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes in the most recent Super Bowl. And finally, Matt Williamson posted this stat: through the first two games of the 2025 season, the Steelers' blitz rate of 41 percent was behind only Denver and Kansas City as the highest in the league so far.
LARRY DUSAK FROM LEXINGTON, KY: When a QB rolls out on a run-pass option play and he is tackled in the backfield, does the defender get credited with a sack? When does the statistician call it a tackle for loss vs. a sack?
ANSWER: Without seeing the play you are describing as a run-pass option, my sense is that unless the quarterback who was rolling out already had the football tucked in the manner of a running back, the play would be scored a sack if the quarterback was tackled behind the line of scrimmage.
JIM GLUNT FROM EDGEWOOD, NM: If our defense continues on its current path, we would give up well over 500 points on the season. Would that be an NFL record?
ANSWER: As meaningless as I find it to project a two-game statistical total over the course of an entire 17-game regular season, I'll humor you this time. If the Steelers defense continues to allow an average of 31.5 points per game, that would work out to 535.5 points over the whole regular season. The record for most points allowed in a 17-game NFL season is 534 by the 2024 Carolina Panthers, which broke the record of 533 points over a 16-game season set by the 1981 Baltimore Colts.
ROD KEEFER FROM EDMOND, OK: I know coaches and players watch film of their most recent games to identify and address any correctible weaknesses. And I realize preparation time each week is limited. But do they ever watch film of other games (aside from their next opponents), for example to see how teams that succeed at running the football or protecting the passer are doing it?
ANSWER: It's not the Xs and the Os, it's the Jimmys and the Joes. That really is true, because if a team pops in a video of the Baltimore Ravens running game, and said team doesn't have a Lamar Jackson threatening the defense in his way and Derrick Henry threatening the defense in his way, what possible benefit could come from studying the way the Ravens run the football? Merril Hoge always told of when he was signed by Chicago as an unrestricted free agent. Some coaches brought Hoge into a meeting room and asked him how the Steelers ran the football. In his explanation, Hoge mentioned that the Steelers would pull their center (Dermontti Dawson) on running plays and lead the back around the end down at the goal line. When the Bears said, "We don't have a center who can pull and lead a back around the end down by the goal line," Hoge replied, "Then you can't run the ball like the Pittsburgh Steelers."
BRIAN BOYCE FROM SPRINGBORO, PA: The young men who make up our Steelers team are among the most well-conditioned athletes in the world. They have professional trainers to aid in that conditioning in a world class training facility. They have access to specialized diets and supplements to help maintain that conditioning. How do they continuously strain, pull and blow out muscles every year?
ANSWER: It was Vince Lombardi who was given credit for popularizing the quote, "Football isn't a contact sport. Football is a collision sport. Dancing is a contact sport." Estimates are that during the average NFL season, there are between 1,500-2,500 injuries reported on all teams' practice reports. Those numbers can fluctuate based on a variety of factors, but have been studies done that concluded up to 68 percent of NFL players are injured to some degree over the course of an NFL season. It's football, and at the NFL level injuries are inevitable. It's not a situation unique to one team.
PHILIP GEISLER FROM PITTSBURGH, PA: This is not a question, but an observation. How could we have been so wrong about Aaron Rodgers? I as well as the majority of Steelers fans were worried about character issues being the No. 1 concern with our new quarterback. How is it possible that a guy who has been demonized by the media and others prove himself to be the complete opposite of what's been said about him. I for one would like to say, he's the kind of person I'd want to have a conversation with, as well as lead my football team. The players love him, and I believe the city of Pittsburgh has changed its tune on him. I know I have. How about a nice piece of humble pie?
ANSWER: Thanks for sharing.
