KEVIN STRAKA FROM WILKES-BARRE, PA: I’ve become a huge fan of TJ Watt, especially after his 2019 season where he showed off unmatched engine, incredible versatility, and amazing stats. When I heard he came third in the defensive player of the year vote, I was shocked. Do you think Watt deserved Defensive Player of the Year honors? What else could you have done to convince voters?
ANSWER: TJ Watt finished the 2019 season as the All-Pro first team, and his stat line included 55 tackles, 14.5 sacks, two interceptions, eight defended passes, eight NFL leaders forced fumbles and four fumble recoveries. As for being voted the Defensive Player of the Year Award, it’s often about how the team performs in support of the player. As examples, the Steelers’ two most recent winners of that award, James Harrison in 2008 and Troy Polamalu in 2010, benefited from the team that won the AFC Championship in each of those seasons to advance to the Super Bowl. On the way to that team’s success, both Harrison and Polamalu exhibited in important games of the regular season and had the opportunity to make big plays in important games, which they were able to do. I think the team’s success was an important factor in Stephon Gilmore of New England being voted the winner of the Defensive Player of the Year Award in 2019, because he not only led the NFL in interceptions and defended passes, but the defense of New England was a contributing factor in the Patriots winning another AFC Eastern Division title and advancing to the playoffs. In the void, Watt’s statistics certainly were worthy of supporting a successful bid for the Defensive Player of the Year Award, but voters also put those statistics in the context of the team’s success. Now, if the Steelers had earned a place in the playoffs despite playing without Ben Roethlisberger for all but six quarters of the regular season, the defense would have earned great credit for leading the NFL in both bags and conclusions to support that cause. . And I think that would have improved Watt’s chances of getting more individual postseason recognition.
MATT ECKERT FROM BEAVER, PA: We are spoiled here for having had two franchise quarterbacks playing for so many years and winning multiple Super Bowls. Signing free-agent quarterbacks never seemed like a viable option, even during the “interim” period of Terry Bradshaw’s career end and the start of Ben Roethlisberger (I don’t count Kent Graham). I seem to remember that Jeff Hostetler was available after his days with the New York Giants. Do you remember any serious discussion between the Steelers and Hostetler? No one knows what it might have been, but a guy who cut his teeth under Bill Parcells, won a Super Bowl, and went to a Pro Bowl in 1994 seems like a better option than Neil O’Donnell.
ANSWER: Wow. I’ve dealt with a number of examples of Steelers fans who exercise the “other man’s grass is always greener” approach, and this is similar to many of them in that it’s overkill. When Jeff Hostetler’s Giants career was coming to an end, he was a 31-year-old career backup, and therefore just the type of quarterback a team might want to add to and then build their offense. And as for Super Bowl XXV, the Giants defeated the Bills that day thanks to a great job by the defense and an offense that controlled the ball for 40 minutes with a quick attack led by Ottis Anderson. And then don’t forget that the Giants took a break when Scott Norwood missed a 47-yard field goal when time expired. So crediting Hostetler for the outcome of that Super Bowl is a misrepresentation.
LARRY MORRISON OF PENSACOLA, FL: Running the ball and playing a great defense used to be a recipe for winning. With Ben Roethlisberger up in age, is Leonard Fournette worth risking for a year?
ANSWER: Do you know what is also a recipe for winning in the NFL? Scoring touchdowns. In 2019, Leonard Fournette ended the season with 341 touches, 265 career attempts and 76 catches on 100 goals, and scored a total of five touchdowns. A stellar defense made up of players from the 1976 Steelers, the 1985 Bears, and the 2000 Ravens couldn’t win with that kind of leading-type production in attack.
DEVIL SAYAYIN OF CDMX, MEXICO: What do you think of Ryan Shazier? Will it have a place on the list?
ANSWER: Ryan Shazier was placed on the reserve / withdrawal list in January.
AARON AMBROSE FROM DELAWARE, OH: I know the Steelers signed Eric Ebron during free agency to bolster the tight position, but I wonder what the strategy is in this position. I kept scratching my head when the team selected Zach Gentry, who had little experience in the job, and then Chase Claypool with his tight end size.
ANSWER: I keep scratching my head at this question. Are you implying that because the Steelers spent a fifth-round pick on a development perspective they shouldn’t have made a move to add a tight end that has proven to be an offensive weapon with the Indianapolis Colts? And what does Chase Claypool’s pick, a wide receiver, have to do with the depth chart at tight end?
NICHOLAS PELCHAR OF PURCELLVILLE, VA: When the subject is the worst first-round pick in NFL history, experts often include players like Ryan Leaf. I remember the Steelers had the first pick in the draft once and took Dick Leftridge. Did the Steelers pass a Hall of Fame player making that mistake?
ANSWER: Dick Leftridge was a running back from the University of West Virginia, and the Steelers selected him in the first round of the 1966 NFL Draft. Leftridge was the third overall pick in the first round, and after that draft was completed. With 305 individuals selected over the 20 rounds, the only Hall of Fame player to come from that draft was the Rams guard Tom Mack, who was the second overall pick. Although the Steelers did not pass on any future Hall of Fame players to select Leftridge, there is no doubt that it was a failure. He played just one season for the Steelers, 1966, and that was his only season in the league, too. He appeared in four games and had eight carries for 17 yards and two touchdowns.
GEORGE HNARAS OF UNIONTOWN, PA: Have Bill Cowher and Troy Polamalu made any comments about who will introduce them for entry into the Professional Soccer Hall of Fame?
ANSWER: Since the initiation ceremonies for the Class of 2020 have been officially postponed until 2021, I don’t expect much news on that front until we get closer to next summer.
JOHN THOMPSON OF CONNEAUT, OH: Why do most Steelers fans hate the backup quarterback so much? I think Mason Rudolph is going to be good, but he’s just as hated as Landry Jones before him.
ANSWER: If Mason Rudolph or Landry Jones were the substitutes when Neil O’Donnell or Mike Tomczak or Mark Malone were the starters, they would have been loved because they were not O’Donnell or Tomczak or Malone. But since they are Ben Roethlisberger backups, they are hated because they are not Roethlisberger.
CHARLIE HUNT FROM KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC: I have a follow-up question about your answer from John Henry Johnson in the July 7 installment of Asked and Answered. If the Steelers recruited Johnson but he went to the CFL, why didn’t we have his rights when he returned to the NFL after a year playing for Calgary?
ANSWER: I don’t know specifically, but I think the answer to your question has something to do with the fact that John Henry Johnson was drafted in 1953 and the NFLPA was not formed until 1956. Obviously, there were different rules on such things. Back then, if there were any rules at all.
JAMES DIBERT OF FAIRBORN, OH: Do you know who was selected for the Steelers Hall of Honor Class of 2020? I think the selections were scheduled for May, but I haven’t seen any information or updates.
ANSWER: Voting for the Class of 2020 Hall of Honor took place in mid-June, and the results will be announced in late July or possibly early August, depending on when the NFL training camps officially open.
MARK WESTRICK FROM SANFORD, NC: I know of some current and past Steelers who have contributed a lot to the Pittsburgh community, such as Franco Harris and Brett Keisel. Can you share something about other Steelers who have made a significant difference in the community through their volunteer work, etc.?
ANSWER: Over the past few decades, there have been many, many Steelers involved in the community. In 1970, the NFL established its Man of the Year Award, which the league presents annually to honor a player’s charitable and volunteer work, as well as his excellence on the field. In 1999, it was renamed The Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. The first award winner was Johnny Unitas in 1970, and there have been four Steelers to win it. They were Franco Harris in 1976, Joe Greene in 1979, Lynn Swann in 1981, and Jerome Bettis in 2001.
Among current players, I would single out Cam Heyward as one of the team leaders in this area of combining volunteer and charity work with excellence on the field. In 2015 Heyward established Heyward House, a Foundation dedicated to impacting the lives of today’s youth, including the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation, the Smyrna Stars Basketball Club, and after-school fitness programs. He has the Cameron Heyward Birthday Bash, where he hosts an annual party for children often forgotten on their birthdays. It has partnered with Blessings in a Backpack, which provides backpacks full of healthy foods every weekend of the school year to those at Urban Pathways Charter School. Heyward is the driving force behind a t-shirt campaign promoting cancer awareness, and the “Pittsburgh is stronger than cancer” t-shirts raise money for research and to help families cope with difficulties than treatment cancer can create. He launched “Craig’s Closet” along with his foundation and Sports Clips to provide suits, shirts, ties and other accessories to young men in the Pittsburgh area who lack the means to have the right clothing for important events, such as a job interview or even a special family occasion. Heyward has led an initiative with local police officers to work together to make an impact in and around Pittsburgh, including a Thanksgiving turkey distribution through the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, where his fellow Team and police officers team up to distribute food to local families. He is working with UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh and UPMC Asthma Institute to help children with asthma, a disease Heyward fights against himself. Last Christmas, Heyward gave all the patients at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh one of their shirts to help brighten their days, and he has plans for more involvement there in the future.
Three times, Heyward has been nominated for a Steelers for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. In my opinion, he would be a winner worthy of becoming the fifth player in Steelers history to do so.
