October 18, 2023 • 19 mins
Labs and Tom talk about the AFC North going 3-0 last week as the Steelers were off, and then get into this week’s questions
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is asked and answered question with Tom Upperman and
Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
The Steelers have returned from their bye week. Labs has
returned from whatever tropical paradise he was at, and I
have returned from my parents' basement after the bye week
is over, but unfortunately not living there anymore. Just paid
a little visit while we were off this weekend. But Labs,
it wasn't a great bye week for the Steelers because
I'm looking around at the rest of the AFC North
three and oh between the three teams.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Yeah, not a whole lot of good news to Commuta
that were weekend sitting around watching football for the Steelers.
I mean, you know, in this Pittsburgh area. Two of
the games, well actually all three of the games were
on right the Ravens Titans. That was the early game
from London. And you know, the Ravens are not going away,
(00:56):
They're just not. I mean they were only one for
six in the red zone, but you know they had
enough to beat the Titans. And let me just throw
this into back in twenty twenty two leading up to
the draft, when there was like a kind of a
debate between who do you pick at quarterback Kenny Pickett
(01:18):
or Malik Willis. Right, if anybody watched that game, Malik
Willis took three sacks inside the fifteen inside the Ravens
fifteen yard line after the two minute warning when they
were trying to come back. I mean, he just looked.
I don't want to assume he was confused, but he
(01:40):
did not have a good handle on what needed to
be done in those particular situations. So, you know, anyway,
there was that the Bengals win. Joe Burrow looks like
he's getting healthier.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
That is not good news, and they're heading to their
buy too, so he can get even.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Healthier, right, And then the Browns won without Deshaun Watson.
Then they beat the forty nine ers, So you know,
the Browns defense is for real, it's really good, and
that's gonna be something that's going to be a problem
all season long. So yeah, not a whole lot of
good news from that respect, but there was one thing
(02:19):
we could count on in all those games. The officiating.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Oh it was terrible across the board too, not just.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
On the North match. Right, every game I watched every
highlights I watched.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
In the Jets Eagles game Labs, I saw a block
in the back called where the Eagles player was staring
at the Jets player who hit him. I was baffled.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
I you know again, I nothing, nothing baffles me anymore.
You know, just when you think you it can't get
any worse, it does.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
So you know, well, let's get a lot better. Right now,
Let's get to the questions of this week. Our first
one comes from Donnie Brown from Van You're in Maine,
and he asks Calvin alsin the third has the kind
of speed that can be dangerous on punt returns. Considering
this as a rookie season for him, who had the
most successful rookie season returning punts? Antonio Brown, Antoine Randell,
(03:13):
and Rod Woodson are the most elite as I remember.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Okay, I'll start with I'll start answering this by with
the three names that Donnie provided. Okay, Rod working chronologically backward.
Rod Woodson his rookie season was nineteen eighty seven. That
was only eight games because of a contract holdout. But
(03:39):
during his rookie season, he returned sixteen punts for one
hundred and thirty five yards an eight point four average.
Nothing special there, Antoine Randelell's rookie season was two thousand
and two. He returned thirty seven punts for two hundred
and fifty seven yards, a six point nine average. Nothing
special there. Antonio Brown's rookie season was twenty ten. He
(04:05):
returned nineteen punts for one hundred and ten yards. Really
a five point eight average. Really, nothing special there. You
got to go back farther back in the way back machine,
you know, And so let's jump right in right now.
These are the two guys that I would I believe
could lay claim to being the Steelers' most punk dynamic
(04:26):
punt returner as a rookie nineteen seventy four, Lynn Swan.
You might have heard him, forty one punt returns for
an NFL leading five hundred and seventy seven yards and
one touchdown. His average per return was fourteen point one. Wow.
The guy I would pick though, as the most dynamic
rookie punt returning in Steelers history. Lewis Lips nineteen eighty four,
(04:51):
fifty three punt returns for an NFL leading six hundred
and fifty six yards in one touchdown. His average per
return was twelve points four. Now, while twelve point four
is less than fourteen point one. My rationale for picking
Lips over Swan is that Lips is six hundred and
(05:12):
fifty six punt return yards, remains the franchise's single season record.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
And obviously those two guys weren't just one trick ponies
incredible wide receivers as well, Yes, Zach Raves from Scottsdale, Arizona.
If a team starts having trouble selling tickets or merchandise,
who ends up losing money? Are there stipulations in players
slash coach contracts tied to sales or is it only
the owner?
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Now? There are no stipulations regarding ticket sales or merchandise
sales in player or coaches contracts. The revenue generated by
the sale of tickets and merchandise from each of the
thirty two teams, that money is pooled together and it
goes into determining the amount of the salary cap for
(05:59):
team for the next year. Okay, So, just to kind
of refresh everyone's memory here, the COVID twenty twenty season
that forced most teams to play their games in empty stadiums,
which obviously impacted greatly the ticket sales revenue. Okay, so
(06:21):
what happened. Then in twenty twenty one, the salary cap
decreased for the first time since the system was put
into place in nineteen ninety three. So that's that's how
that uh, that's how that's impacted. So if revenue from
ticket sales and merchandise is the same way league generated
(06:43):
merchandise sales are pulled together and divided up thirty two ways.
So if revenue from ticket sales and merchandise that declines,
the players and owners sharing the pain equally.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Dick Vochek from Portage, Pennsylvania, who do you consider the Steelers'
most traditional rival? In my opinion, it's the Browns. I've
lived in Maryland, and Ravens fans think they are the
greatest rival of the Steelers.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Okay, this sounds to me a whole lot like who's
the MVP? Is MVP the best player on the best team,
or is the MVP the most indispensable player on any team?
So you know me what I do for a living,
So I looked it up in the dictionary Oxford.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
You have a hard copy to send people to know that.
You go to the bookshelf. There's no looking up on
the internet with you.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Yeah, I do have a hard copy, but I'll tell
you what, I am lazy now, and be intern is
so much easier, especially if I'm sitting at my laptop anyway. So,
according to the dictionaries, synonyms for traditional are established or
long established, and so based on that, the answer to
the question is the Cleveland Browns, because the Steelers have
(08:02):
played the Browns at least twice a season from the
time that franchise first joined the NFL in nineteen fifty
until Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore for the
nineteen ninety six season, and then Steelers Browns series resumed
when Cleveland rejoined the NFL in nineteen ninety nine, and
the teams have met at least twice a season every
(08:24):
year since then. So you know, that's to me is
long standing, consistent, even in the strike years. You know,
nineteen eighty two, for example, a strike limited all teams
to only nine games, but the Steelers played the Browns twice.
I mean they made sure that that continued. So the
(08:47):
longest most traditional arrival would be the Browns. But if
you changed the question to which team is the Steelers'
most hated rival today, then my answ would be the
Baltimore Ravens.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Who would you say the biggest rival is for the
Steelers outside of the division, the Raiders, right, it has
to be.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Well that again, that's that's a long time it is ago,
a long time ago, but that that's a very historic rivalry. Certainly.
You know outside of the division, you don't play teams
very often. True, that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
You'd say Cowboys, but you see him once every four
years of.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
That, right, exactly, So that's hard. I'd have to think
about that and look it up. I mean, there isn't
a team that pops into my head outside the division
currently the Steelers' biggest rival right now, I'll take I've
got to give you a got to give me a
rain check on that.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Andrew Rally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With the NFL issuing a
fine to Jalen Warren for an incident in a game
against the Houston Texans that wasn't penalized, how long does
the NFL have to review and issue a fine on
player slash team after a perceived offense And what would
happen to a player if he was fined after the
game but wasn't on the roster by the time the
(10:08):
punishment came out, such as being traded or cut.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Okay, Andrew, the NFL is very efficient in this issuing
issuance of fines. They do it on a week by
week basis as soon as the game start, so it happens.
You know, if you did something on Sunday as an
example that the NFL reviews and determines that a fine
(10:36):
is necessary or is to be meted out, you hear
you get a FedEx or you know, an overnight letter
in the mail by Thursday it says you know you
were fined for this this amount, okay. And the way
that works is you don't send them a check. They
(10:57):
take the money out of your check before you even
see it. Okay. So players are pay you know, game checks.
So just let's just use an example of the Ravens game.
If you, if Tom, you got fined for unsportsmanlike conduct,
because that's the kind of guy you are against the Ravens,
(11:20):
you would have heard on last Thursday that you were
getting fined and how much, and they take that money
out right now you never see it. Now, if you
want to appeal the fine, you can do that. And
if the league either reduces the amount of the fine
based on your appeal an explanation, or in very rare cases,
(11:44):
they resind the fine. Then you get money back. But
it's not a situation where they trust you to send
the money in. I mean they're way slickly.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Can you do when you get a chance, please?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Right?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Yeah? Could you imagine you know, we all all the
stuff in the news lately about Antonio Brown and missing
child support payments and everything. Could you imagine the league
trying to get money from him? You know, if you're
not going to pay for your kids, and I don't
imagine you're gonna be real quick to send in a
(12:18):
check to the league for your socks being up too
high or whatever some of those kinds of fines are.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah, I'm sure somehow, some way he does actually owe
the NFL some sort of money at some point. He
just seems to owe everybody money right now.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Well, again, I don't think he would of the NFL.
And because they take it before you get it, yep,
they get it up front.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Joshua Johnstin from Sydney, Australia asks what is the Steelers
philosophy for not having the captain's patch on their jerseys.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Okay. The Steelers underwent a jersey redesign that was implemented
for the nineteen ninety seven season. Okay, and that's when
the team, the franchise decided to go away from the
block numbers to the more rounded numbers. And then also
(13:11):
part of that jersey redesigned was putting the Steeler logo
patch on the front. Okay. Now this was before the
captain C on the front was a thing. Okay, So
then when that became a thing, the Steelers were given
the option to put the sea on or not. But
(13:33):
because they already had the logo on, Dan Rooney made
the decision that, you know, we don't want to look
like a NASCAR driver and have all that stuff. But
he didn't say that. I mean, I'm just being a
smart alec, but he decided that there was enough stuff
on the front of the jersey we don't want to see.
(13:53):
The NFL said, okay, because again the jersey had been
designed before this captain see thing came on. So the
Steelers opted for the less cluttered version in the NFL said, okay,
that's that's okay with us.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Addison Oss from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania I was at the game
against the Ravens at Akershuer Stadium. There were so many
obvious penalty flags that should have been thrown but weren't.
Is there a rock solid reason that the refs didn't
call it? Or was it just because they were blind?
It might really just be because they were blind.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
You know, there's a reason. I wouldn't call it rock
solid though. But the crew that worked that game, that
was assigned to work that game, and the way crews
are referred to is by the name of the referee.
The referees got the white hat and okay, the referee
in that game was Carl Cheffer's. Okay. So the Carl
(14:51):
Cheffer's crew is known throughout the league as one that
doesn't call a lot of penalties. It just doesn't. And
here's I got some statistics to back that up. Okay.
I found four games in twenty twenty three so far
the Cheffer's crew worked Okay. In those four games total combined,
(15:15):
they've only called seven offensive holding penalties, so that's less
than to a game. Three defensive holding penalties, one offensive
pass interference, one defensive pass interference, one delay of game,
one unsportsmanlike conduct, and one rough in the pass, so
carlos let him play. Yes, So that can be good sometimes.
(15:40):
But I also believe, especially in the case of Carl Cheffers,
who has again he has this established this reputation his group,
I think teams no. I mean because some of those
holding penalties, Oh man, it was I thought. I agree
with Addison. I mean, some were very blatant and they
(16:05):
don't get called. They don't do that. So you know,
my only advice would be, next time you're going to
going to play a game with Carl Cheffers as the referee, buddy,
hold all you excuse me, hold all you want. You
make it, called for it once or twice, but you're
gonna get called for it too many times.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Kim York from Warre in Pennsylvania. Does the Steelers GM
have any say in hiring an offensive consultant or is
it up to coach Mike Tomlin to hire or fire
at that position.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Based on the Steelers business model, the general manager now
nor ever had any unilateral authority over the coaching staff,
so to put names to this. Omark Kahn, if he
was asked by Mike Tomlin, might offer an opinion. So
(17:01):
I don't know if you would call that having a say,
but he doesn't walk. Omar Kahn doesn't walk into Mike
Toman's office and tell him I hired an offensive consultant
for you or I fired your whatever coach. That doesn't
work that way. Never has. I won't say never will,
(17:22):
but it never has.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
And our final question comes from Clark Arnold from Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Do officiating airs such as Mika Fitzpatrick's roughing the passer
penalty on Jimmy Garoppolo in the game in Las Vegas
result in the offending official receiving any punitive actions.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yes, that official has to is sentenced to one month
of doing asked and answered both written.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
That's cruel and unusual. I would appeal that if I've
we the refs.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
No seriously to answer the question seriously. Officials are graded
weekly on their performances and then those grades are factored
into the assignment of postseason games, and postseason games are
awarded to the officials with the best highest grades. So
(18:13):
if you get if you're an official and you get
a postseason assignment, that's not only extra pay, but it's
higher pay. I don't know what the numbers are, but
I'm just going to throw a couple out just for
the purpose of this explanation. Let's say a referee makes
one thousand dollars for a regular season game. You know,
he might make fifteen hundred for a wild card game,
(18:38):
two thousand for a divisional round game, three thousand for
a conference championship game, and five thousand for the Super Bowl,
just as example. So there are monetary awards for in
terms of additional assignments for good performances high grades over
(18:59):
the course of the regular season. The other officials who
do not have high grades do not get these assignments.
And of course none of these grades are ever made
public or the reviews of the performances of these individual officials.
So you can kind of figure it out if you
you know, you're keeping a scorecard, if you're really an
(19:20):
official nut, you know who's who's the line judge in
this playoff game, and who's the back you know, all
that kind of stuff. You can figure out who had
high grades, but you're not going to hear about the
ones who didn't. You'll have to do it by process
of elimination.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Steelers take a trip to the West Coast the Sunday
to take on the three and three Los Angeles Rams
Super Bowl fourteen rematch. How could we forget that? And
hopefully the Steelers will stack another win and improve two
four and too. That'll do it for us today, for
Bob Labrielle, I'm Tom Offerman. Get your questions into labs
now and you might just hear them read and answered
on a future edition of Asked and Answered
This is asked and answered question with Tom Upperman and
Steelers Digest editor Bob Labriola.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
The Steelers have returned from their bye week. Labs has
returned from whatever tropical paradise he was at, and I
have returned from my parents' basement after the bye week
is over, but unfortunately not living there anymore. Just paid
a little visit while we were off this weekend. But Labs,
it wasn't a great bye week for the Steelers because
I'm looking around at the rest of the AFC North
three and oh between the three teams.
Speaker 1 (00:31):
Yeah, not a whole lot of good news to Commuta
that were weekend sitting around watching football for the Steelers.
I mean, you know, in this Pittsburgh area. Two of
the games, well actually all three of the games were
on right the Ravens Titans. That was the early game
from London. And you know, the Ravens are not going away,
(00:56):
They're just not. I mean they were only one for
six in the red zone, but you know they had
enough to beat the Titans. And let me just throw
this into back in twenty twenty two leading up to
the draft, when there was like a kind of a
debate between who do you pick at quarterback Kenny Pickett
(01:18):
or Malik Willis. Right, if anybody watched that game, Malik
Willis took three sacks inside the fifteen inside the Ravens
fifteen yard line after the two minute warning when they
were trying to come back. I mean, he just looked.
I don't want to assume he was confused, but he
(01:40):
did not have a good handle on what needed to
be done in those particular situations. So, you know, anyway,
there was that the Bengals win. Joe Burrow looks like
he's getting healthier.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
That is not good news, and they're heading to their
buy too, so he can get even.
Speaker 1 (01:57):
Healthier, right, And then the Browns won without Deshaun Watson.
Then they beat the forty nine ers, So you know,
the Browns defense is for real, it's really good, and
that's gonna be something that's going to be a problem
all season long. So yeah, not a whole lot of
good news from that respect, but there was one thing
(02:19):
we could count on in all those games. The officiating.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Oh it was terrible across the board too, not just.
Speaker 1 (02:25):
On the North match. Right, every game I watched every
highlights I watched.
Speaker 2 (02:32):
In the Jets Eagles game Labs, I saw a block
in the back called where the Eagles player was staring
at the Jets player who hit him. I was baffled.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
I you know again, I nothing, nothing baffles me anymore.
You know, just when you think you it can't get
any worse, it does.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
So you know, well, let's get a lot better. Right now,
Let's get to the questions of this week. Our first
one comes from Donnie Brown from Van You're in Maine,
and he asks Calvin alsin the third has the kind
of speed that can be dangerous on punt returns. Considering
this as a rookie season for him, who had the
most successful rookie season returning punts? Antonio Brown, Antoine Randell,
(03:13):
and Rod Woodson are the most elite as I remember.
Speaker 1 (03:17):
Okay, I'll start with I'll start answering this by with
the three names that Donnie provided. Okay, Rod working chronologically backward.
Rod Woodson his rookie season was nineteen eighty seven. That
was only eight games because of a contract holdout. But
(03:39):
during his rookie season, he returned sixteen punts for one
hundred and thirty five yards an eight point four average.
Nothing special there, Antoine Randelell's rookie season was two thousand
and two. He returned thirty seven punts for two hundred
and fifty seven yards, a six point nine average. Nothing
special there. Antonio Brown's rookie season was twenty ten. He
(04:05):
returned nineteen punts for one hundred and ten yards. Really
a five point eight average. Really, nothing special there. You
got to go back farther back in the way back machine,
you know, And so let's jump right in right now.
These are the two guys that I would I believe
could lay claim to being the Steelers' most punk dynamic
(04:26):
punt returner as a rookie nineteen seventy four, Lynn Swan.
You might have heard him, forty one punt returns for
an NFL leading five hundred and seventy seven yards and
one touchdown. His average per return was fourteen point one. Wow.
The guy I would pick though, as the most dynamic
rookie punt returning in Steelers history. Lewis Lips nineteen eighty four,
(04:51):
fifty three punt returns for an NFL leading six hundred
and fifty six yards in one touchdown. His average per
return was twelve points four. Now, while twelve point four
is less than fourteen point one. My rationale for picking
Lips over Swan is that Lips is six hundred and
(05:12):
fifty six punt return yards, remains the franchise's single season record.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
And obviously those two guys weren't just one trick ponies
incredible wide receivers as well, Yes, Zach Raves from Scottsdale, Arizona.
If a team starts having trouble selling tickets or merchandise,
who ends up losing money? Are there stipulations in players
slash coach contracts tied to sales or is it only
the owner?
Speaker 1 (05:38):
Now? There are no stipulations regarding ticket sales or merchandise
sales in player or coaches contracts. The revenue generated by
the sale of tickets and merchandise from each of the
thirty two teams, that money is pooled together and it
goes into determining the amount of the salary cap for
(05:59):
team for the next year. Okay, So, just to kind
of refresh everyone's memory here, the COVID twenty twenty season
that forced most teams to play their games in empty stadiums,
which obviously impacted greatly the ticket sales revenue. Okay, so
(06:21):
what happened. Then in twenty twenty one, the salary cap
decreased for the first time since the system was put
into place in nineteen ninety three. So that's that's how
that uh, that's how that's impacted. So if revenue from
ticket sales and merchandise is the same way league generated
(06:43):
merchandise sales are pulled together and divided up thirty two ways.
So if revenue from ticket sales and merchandise that declines,
the players and owners sharing the pain equally.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Dick Vochek from Portage, Pennsylvania, who do you consider the Steelers'
most traditional rival? In my opinion, it's the Browns. I've
lived in Maryland, and Ravens fans think they are the
greatest rival of the Steelers.
Speaker 1 (07:11):
Okay, this sounds to me a whole lot like who's
the MVP? Is MVP the best player on the best team,
or is the MVP the most indispensable player on any team?
So you know me what I do for a living,
So I looked it up in the dictionary Oxford.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
You have a hard copy to send people to know that.
You go to the bookshelf. There's no looking up on
the internet with you.
Speaker 1 (07:38):
Yeah, I do have a hard copy, but I'll tell
you what, I am lazy now, and be intern is
so much easier, especially if I'm sitting at my laptop anyway. So,
according to the dictionaries, synonyms for traditional are established or
long established, and so based on that, the answer to
the question is the Cleveland Browns, because the Steelers have
(08:02):
played the Browns at least twice a season from the
time that franchise first joined the NFL in nineteen fifty
until Art Modell moved the franchise to Baltimore for the
nineteen ninety six season, and then Steelers Browns series resumed
when Cleveland rejoined the NFL in nineteen ninety nine, and
the teams have met at least twice a season every
(08:24):
year since then. So you know, that's to me is
long standing, consistent, even in the strike years. You know,
nineteen eighty two, for example, a strike limited all teams
to only nine games, but the Steelers played the Browns twice.
I mean they made sure that that continued. So the
(08:47):
longest most traditional arrival would be the Browns. But if
you changed the question to which team is the Steelers'
most hated rival today, then my answ would be the
Baltimore Ravens.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
Who would you say the biggest rival is for the
Steelers outside of the division, the Raiders, right, it has
to be.
Speaker 1 (09:07):
Well that again, that's that's a long time it is ago,
a long time ago, but that that's a very historic rivalry. Certainly.
You know outside of the division, you don't play teams
very often. True, that's the thing.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
You'd say Cowboys, but you see him once every four
years of.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
That, right, exactly, So that's hard. I'd have to think
about that and look it up. I mean, there isn't
a team that pops into my head outside the division
currently the Steelers' biggest rival right now, I'll take I've
got to give you a got to give me a
rain check on that.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Andrew Rally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. With the NFL issuing a
fine to Jalen Warren for an incident in a game
against the Houston Texans that wasn't penalized, how long does
the NFL have to review and issue a fine on
player slash team after a perceived offense And what would
happen to a player if he was fined after the
game but wasn't on the roster by the time the
(10:08):
punishment came out, such as being traded or cut.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Okay, Andrew, the NFL is very efficient in this issuing
issuance of fines. They do it on a week by
week basis as soon as the game start, so it happens.
You know, if you did something on Sunday as an
example that the NFL reviews and determines that a fine
(10:36):
is necessary or is to be meted out, you hear
you get a FedEx or you know, an overnight letter
in the mail by Thursday it says you know you
were fined for this this amount, okay. And the way
that works is you don't send them a check. They
(10:57):
take the money out of your check before you even
see it. Okay. So players are pay you know, game checks.
So just let's just use an example of the Ravens game.
If you, if Tom, you got fined for unsportsmanlike conduct,
because that's the kind of guy you are against the Ravens,
(11:20):
you would have heard on last Thursday that you were
getting fined and how much, and they take that money
out right now you never see it. Now, if you
want to appeal the fine, you can do that. And
if the league either reduces the amount of the fine
based on your appeal an explanation, or in very rare cases,
(11:44):
they resind the fine. Then you get money back. But
it's not a situation where they trust you to send
the money in. I mean they're way slickly.
Speaker 2 (11:53):
Can you do when you get a chance, please?
Speaker 1 (11:56):
Yes?
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Right?
Speaker 1 (11:57):
Yeah? Could you imagine you know, we all all the
stuff in the news lately about Antonio Brown and missing
child support payments and everything. Could you imagine the league
trying to get money from him? You know, if you're
not going to pay for your kids, and I don't
imagine you're gonna be real quick to send in a
(12:18):
check to the league for your socks being up too
high or whatever some of those kinds of fines are.
Speaker 2 (12:24):
Yeah, I'm sure somehow, some way he does actually owe
the NFL some sort of money at some point. He
just seems to owe everybody money right now.
Speaker 1 (12:31):
Well, again, I don't think he would of the NFL.
And because they take it before you get it, yep,
they get it up front.
Speaker 2 (12:40):
Joshua Johnstin from Sydney, Australia asks what is the Steelers
philosophy for not having the captain's patch on their jerseys.
Speaker 1 (12:48):
Okay. The Steelers underwent a jersey redesign that was implemented
for the nineteen ninety seven season. Okay, and that's when
the team, the franchise decided to go away from the
block numbers to the more rounded numbers. And then also
(13:11):
part of that jersey redesigned was putting the Steeler logo
patch on the front. Okay. Now this was before the
captain C on the front was a thing. Okay, So
then when that became a thing, the Steelers were given
the option to put the sea on or not. But
(13:33):
because they already had the logo on, Dan Rooney made
the decision that, you know, we don't want to look
like a NASCAR driver and have all that stuff. But
he didn't say that. I mean, I'm just being a
smart alec, but he decided that there was enough stuff
on the front of the jersey we don't want to see.
(13:53):
The NFL said, okay, because again the jersey had been
designed before this captain see thing came on. So the
Steelers opted for the less cluttered version in the NFL said, okay,
that's that's okay with us.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
Addison Oss from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania I was at the game
against the Ravens at Akershuer Stadium. There were so many
obvious penalty flags that should have been thrown but weren't.
Is there a rock solid reason that the refs didn't
call it? Or was it just because they were blind?
It might really just be because they were blind.
Speaker 1 (14:28):
You know, there's a reason. I wouldn't call it rock
solid though. But the crew that worked that game, that
was assigned to work that game, and the way crews
are referred to is by the name of the referee.
The referees got the white hat and okay, the referee
in that game was Carl Cheffer's. Okay. So the Carl
(14:51):
Cheffer's crew is known throughout the league as one that
doesn't call a lot of penalties. It just doesn't. And
here's I got some statistics to back that up. Okay.
I found four games in twenty twenty three so far
the Cheffer's crew worked Okay. In those four games total combined,
(15:15):
they've only called seven offensive holding penalties, so that's less
than to a game. Three defensive holding penalties, one offensive
pass interference, one defensive pass interference, one delay of game,
one unsportsmanlike conduct, and one rough in the pass, so
carlos let him play. Yes, So that can be good sometimes.
(15:40):
But I also believe, especially in the case of Carl Cheffers,
who has again he has this established this reputation his group,
I think teams no. I mean because some of those
holding penalties, Oh man, it was I thought. I agree
with Addison. I mean, some were very blatant and they
(16:05):
don't get called. They don't do that. So you know,
my only advice would be, next time you're going to
going to play a game with Carl Cheffers as the referee, buddy,
hold all you excuse me, hold all you want. You
make it, called for it once or twice, but you're
gonna get called for it too many times.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Kim York from Warre in Pennsylvania. Does the Steelers GM
have any say in hiring an offensive consultant or is
it up to coach Mike Tomlin to hire or fire
at that position.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
Based on the Steelers business model, the general manager now
nor ever had any unilateral authority over the coaching staff,
so to put names to this. Omark Kahn, if he
was asked by Mike Tomlin, might offer an opinion. So
(17:01):
I don't know if you would call that having a say,
but he doesn't walk. Omar Kahn doesn't walk into Mike
Toman's office and tell him I hired an offensive consultant
for you or I fired your whatever coach. That doesn't
work that way. Never has. I won't say never will,
(17:22):
but it never has.
Speaker 2 (17:24):
And our final question comes from Clark Arnold from Bowling Green, Kentucky.
Do officiating airs such as Mika Fitzpatrick's roughing the passer
penalty on Jimmy Garoppolo in the game in Las Vegas
result in the offending official receiving any punitive actions.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yes, that official has to is sentenced to one month
of doing asked and answered both written.
Speaker 2 (17:47):
That's cruel and unusual. I would appeal that if I've
we the refs.
Speaker 1 (17:52):
No seriously to answer the question seriously. Officials are graded
weekly on their performances and then those grades are factored
into the assignment of postseason games, and postseason games are
awarded to the officials with the best highest grades. So
(18:13):
if you get if you're an official and you get
a postseason assignment, that's not only extra pay, but it's
higher pay. I don't know what the numbers are, but
I'm just going to throw a couple out just for
the purpose of this explanation. Let's say a referee makes
one thousand dollars for a regular season game. You know,
he might make fifteen hundred for a wild card game,
(18:38):
two thousand for a divisional round game, three thousand for
a conference championship game, and five thousand for the Super Bowl,
just as example. So there are monetary awards for in
terms of additional assignments for good performances high grades over
(18:59):
the course of the regular season. The other officials who
do not have high grades do not get these assignments.
And of course none of these grades are ever made
public or the reviews of the performances of these individual officials.
So you can kind of figure it out if you
you know, you're keeping a scorecard, if you're really an
(19:20):
official nut, you know who's who's the line judge in
this playoff game, and who's the back you know, all
that kind of stuff. You can figure out who had
high grades, but you're not going to hear about the
ones who didn't. You'll have to do it by process
of elimination.
Speaker 2 (19:38):
Steelers take a trip to the West Coast the Sunday
to take on the three and three Los Angeles Rams
Super Bowl fourteen rematch. How could we forget that? And
hopefully the Steelers will stack another win and improve two
four and too. That'll do it for us today, for
Bob Labrielle, I'm Tom Offerman. Get your questions into labs
now and you might just hear them read and answered
on a future edition of Asked and Answered
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