_The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization._
Let's get to it:
**RUSS PALLONE FROM TRINIDAD, CO: I watched the preseason game, Packers vs. Steelers at Acrisure Stadium. The playing surface appeared to be in excellent condition. Is that because this was the first game played on it, or has ownership gone in a different direction in regard to the playing surface?**
ANSWER: Many months ago, the Steelers decided to address the condition of the grass field at Acrisure Stadium by switching from Kentucky bluegrass to Tahoma 31 Bermudagrass, which is a mixture of Bermuda and bluegrass and is said to be more resistant to the cold conditions of Pittsburgh in the winter. Unlike some NFL stadiums that host maybe 15 games at the most during football season, Acrisure Stadium is home to the Steelers and the Pitt Panthers, and also hosts 4 classifications of WPIAL high school championship games. The Tahoma 31 surface was installed in July so that the sod would have time to take root. Laying the sod too late in the summer could have resulted in the grass pulling up too easily, which is exactly happened during the Super Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
**GREG MAGNANT FROM ESSEX JUNCTION, VT: I've heard Coach Mike McCarthy refer to a "Burt" a few times when he's at the podium for his media briefings. Who is Burt and what position does he hold?**
ANSWER: That would be Burt Lauten, the Steelers Senior Director of Communications.
**DON WINNING FROM ENOLA, PA: With the stellar performance of all three backup quarterbacks in the preseason opener, do you think Aaron Rodgers might now fear for his spot on the roster? But seriously, not being an expert on QB mechanics, I was wondering if you or the coaching staff have any insight into whether Drew Allar's footwork actually exhibited the changes Coach Mike McCarthy was working to instill? Arm strength, accuracy, and touch all seemed to a be there. Certainly having open receivers helped though he did thread the needle a couple of times as well.**
ANSWER: I have none of the expertise that would be required to assess Drew Allar's footwork against the Packers, and whether it reflected the changes Coach Mike McCarthy wanted to implement. But what I do believe is that even if it did, doing it once doesn't mean the problem is fixed. It's consistency that wins the day in professional football, and so it's how guys react under pressure of a real game or during a set of games. Do they maintain the proper footwork, or do they regress and repeat their old bad habits? This kind of change/adjustment is something that has to evolve over time and then be maintained. Think about it as being similar to losing weight. A person doesn't become overweight overnight, and that same person cannot lose that extra weight overnight.
**VINCE AZZARELLO FROM WEIRTON, WV: I thought all 3 QBs played well last Thursday night. Why all the concern about keeping 4 QBs on the roster? Roman Wilson didn't play much on special teams last year and was inactive most of the season. Didn't seem to matter filling out a game day roster. Am I missing something?**
ANSWER: What you're missing is that keeping a fourth quarterback on the 53-man roster essentially would make it a 52-man roster because the fourth quarterback would have absolutely no job/role on the team, nor would he be someone with the potential to have a role on the team. Your example of Roman Wilson leaves out the part that if the Steelers needed someone to fill in on special teams he could've been utilized there. A quarterback cannot play special teams – cover kicks, be a gunner on the punt team, etc. I am of the opinion that spots on the 53-man roster should go to players who can help contribute to winning in the upcoming season. Those spots should not be awarded to a player who maybe, might be a contributor a couple of years down the road. The Steelers very well could decide to keep 4 quarterbacks on the 53-man roster. I personally would not cut an NFL-caliber player at another position in order to do that.
**BENNIE WOODARD FROM PORTSMOUTH, VA: Do you think it would be a great idea to make Will Howard and Drew Allar the No. 2 and No. 3 quarterbacks behind starter Aaron Rodgers? By making them No. 2 and No. 3 we get to keep both for next season. Because you know as well as I do that if they put either one on the practice squad, another team will take them. So why not put Mason Rudolph on the practice squad? I don't think we would have to worry about him being taken from us.**
ANSWER: Before any player can be signed to the practice squad, he must be waived if he has fewer than 4 seasons of NFL experience, or released if he has 4 or more seasons of NFL experience. If a waived player is not claimed by any other team, he then is able to sign with any team to be on a 53-man roster or a practice squad. A released player is not exposed to waivers and is allowed to sign immediately with any team to be on a 53-man roster or a practice squad. My hunch would be that if the Steelers tried to get Will Howard on their practice squad he would opt to sign with a different team's practice squad – a team that didn't just waive him – and get a new start. A vested veteran such as Mason Rudolph becomes an immediate free agent when he is released, and can sign with any team that might be interested.
**SCOTT RANDALL FROM CONWAY, SC: Two more preseason tuneups to go, and with that said do you think Coach Mike3 McCarthy and his staff will give Kaleb Johnson more reps or do you think he is seriously on the outs?**
ANSWER: This is my theory on the Kaleb Johnson situation: Sometimes players are just not a good fit for the way a particular team wants to run the football. My understanding is that Arthur Smith, who was the offensive coordinator at the time, really liked Johnson coming out of Iowa because he was a good outside-zone runner. It's possible Johnson doesn't fit the way Coach Mike McCarthy wants to run the football, because his offense has been described as being west coast style. Often a player who doesn't fit the scheme when a coaching change has taken place will find himself "seriously on the outs." I just don't know that McCarthy would have identified Johnson as a back he wanted to add to his offense.
**TYLER JONES FROM ST. PARIS, OH I read in a recent article that Omar Khan told reporters that once the regular season starts the Steelers don't talk about contracts and they focus on football. If the Steelers don't extend Joey Porter Jr. before the season starts could they hypothetically extend him in between the end of their season and the start of the new league year?**
ANSWER: There is nothing against the rules about a team and a player negotiating a contract extension once the season ends, but if a player has taken things that far I would see it as highly unlikely that he then would suddenly decide against testing the open market as an unrestricted free agent.
**MARK OWEN FROM PASSAIC, NJ: Do you believe if Dan Rooney was still alive that L.C. Greenwood would be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame?**
ANSWER: I believe Dan Rooney tried to use his influence to help L.C. Greenwood get elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame when he was alive.
**LANCE BOOMHOWER FROM ANGLETON, TX: While watching the Hall of Fame Game, my wife asked a question, and I had absolutely no idea what the answer might be. She saw the nice white jerseys the Carolina Panthers were wearing and asked if they are washed after each game, or if they are new for each game since they always look so clean at the beginning of games?**
ANSWER: No NFL team, including the Steelers, provides new uniforms for every player before every game. It's very possible that the white uniforms the Panthers were wearing for the Hall of Fame Game were new since that was Carolina's first game of a new season.
**MIKE VIOLA FROM UPPER ST CLAIR, PA: From the time the Steelers leave Saint Vincent College until the roster cut-down date, do players stay at local hotels, share rooms, follow the same SVC training camp schedule or is it very different?**
ANSWER: Once the Steelers return to Pittsburgh players who live in the area are permitted to live in their homes, and players who need housing are put up in a hotel in proximity of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. It is not dormitory living. The players' schedule is not exactly the same as it was on campus, because they're not on a small college campus anymore.
**DON SEGRETI FROM NORTH RICHLAND HILLS, TX: On a side note, when I come home to visit family in Pittsburgh, I stay with my family in Wexford and always go to Labriola's for my wedding soup meatballs, Auricchio Provolone, and depending on my flight back to DFW maybe a loaf of Mancini's or Bread Works bread. There is a lady cashier who knows me by look and refers to me as a "Frequent Flyer." Any relation to Labriola's?**
ANSWER: Yes. Cousins. What I can tell you is that the recipe used to make the pasta sauce that's sold in quart jars in all locations is the same recipe my grandmother and mother used. I have eaten a lot of that sauce over the course of my life, and it's still my favorite.