RICHARD SNYDER FROM SAN PEDRO, CA: Adam Thielen and Marquez Valdes-Scantling have added experienced hands to the receiving corps at a critical time of the season. Even Scotty Miller had three receptions in Detroit, which came on a key drive. Curious to know if Roman Wilson is injured, or has he just slid down the depth chart?
ANSWER: Roman Wilson is not injured and he has not been on any recent practice report that listed him as anything but a full participant. Here is what Coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday when he was asked about the wide receiver position if DK Metcalf isn’t available for Sunday’s game in Cleveland: “A guy like Roman Wilson, for example, who has been working extremely hard and growing throughout the course of this thing, but had his role reduced in recent weeks. I’m excited what that opportunity might mean for him to display growth in the midst of the time where he hadn’t been participating, to show his professionalism and readiness and how he’s been sharpening his sword for battle in the ranks while he hadn’t been playing.”

RICHARD SNYDER FROM SAN PEDRO, CA: Kyle Dugger’s sack for a safety in the Detroit game was the turning point of the game and a huge play. On the free kick, Detroit’s placekicker used a tee, whereas in prior years the punter lined up with the kickoff team and kicked from there. Curious to know if it Is the kicking team’s choice, or does this reflect a rule change?
ANSWER: It’s the kicking team’s choice.

DAVID FRANCIS FROM OKLAHOMA CITY, OK: I thought after the last pass, and the Lions receiver being pushed back over 5 yards the whistle had blown. The players had stopped around them. I thought the play should have been over right then anyway. Your thoughts?
ANSWER: Yes, in my opinion, the whistle should have blown the play dead, but NFL officials are petrified of blowing a play dead because then there’s no way it can go to replay review. I also believe that if a whistle had not blown the play dead, and Joey Porter Jr. continued with the play and planted the receiver on the ground that he would’ve been penalized for unnecessary roughness. And that makes absolutely no sense. Blow the whistle.

CHRIS HYNES FROM STATEN ISLAND, NY: With Mike Tomlin’s motto of “next man up,” if Pittsburgh defeats Cleveland on Sunday, regardless of what Baltimore does on Saturday, should Mason Rudolph and Will Howard get reps with the first-team in practice during the week leading up to the regular season finale vs. the Ravens? And, to that point, does Pittsburgh potentially treat a “meaningless game” as a preseason game and get all three QBs live fire reps in the game?
ANSWER: Wow, you’re really working hard to get me to agree with you about playing Will Howard, but I don’t believe it would serve any purpose to put a rookie who has yet to take a single NFL snap into the regular season finale, meaningless or not. And it’s not possible to treat Week 18 like a preseason game, because there are 90 players in uniform during the preseason but only 48 for a regular season game. Finally, if there’s a quarterback who needs repetitions in the finale, it should start with whether Aaron Rodgers wants to take some game snaps, and then next up should be Mason Rudolph, because he is the backup and would be the player to go into the game if something happened to the starter. And I would then play the game as normal, because if Rudolph does need to play he would have had some recent live-fire game reps. Do you really think it would be fair to Howard, or serve any purpose beyond satisfying fans’ curiosity, to throw him into a game against the Ravens with so little preparation/experience?

CHARLES MURRAY FROM WEST CHESTER, PA: Loved your explanation of how Mr. Rooney missed the Immaculate Reception. I would also suggest that many in the stands missed Franco’s rebound catch, too. My dad was at the game and when the ball bounced backward following the collision, he put his head down in disappointment, only to hear the stands erupt. He looked up and saw Franco scampering to the end zone for the TD!
ANSWER: Another of the interesting stories associated with the Immaculate Reception.

SUNIL GEORGE FROM PRINCETON, NJ: I saw the AFC Pro Bowl roster. Connor Heyward and Chris Boswell were definitely snubbed. Did Cameron Dicker really have better year than Boswell?
ANSWER: Statistically, it’s easy to make the case for Chargers PK Cameron Dicker. Through 15 games, Dicker was 36-of-38 (94.7 percent) on field goal attempts, and 33-of-33 on PATs. He missed 1 field goal attempt of 50-plus yards, and 1 from 40-49 yards. His points total was 141. Chris Boswell was 23-of-27 (85.2 percent) on field goal attempts, and 40-of-40 on PATs. He missed 1 field goal attempt of 50-plus yards, 1 from 40-49 yards, and 2 from 30-39 yards. His points total was 109. With the voting for things such as the Pro Bowl Games, the circumstances of missed attempts for placekickers often gets ignored.

EVAN SMITH FROM SAN FRANCISCO, CA: Do you see the Steelers consistently taking timeouts early in halves to be an issue? In the majority of games this season, Aaron Rodgers has had to take timeouts to prevent delay of game penalties and regularly appears frustrated about it. Would love your take on the issue.
ANSWER: In general, I would be in favor of allowing Aaron Rodgers a lot of leeway in managing the game when it comes to things such as getting to the line of scrimmage quickly to get the ball snapped and using timeouts to avoid delay of game penalties, especially in the first half. The frustration you say you see on Rodgers’ face could come from a lot of factors, and there should be an effort made to clean those things up.

GIANNI D’ANGELA FROM WINDSOR, ONTARIO, CANADA: I was at the Steelers and Lions game, and I have been a Steelers fan all my life. My question is regarding the episode with the fan and DK Metcalf. While I don’t condone what DK did, however, where is the stadium security? The fan was in the aisle, not in his seat, and hiding behind a wig. Why is he allowed to leave his seat and hang over the railing egging on the players? This is not acceptable behavior. As fans we should go to the game, cheer our team, maybe a few boos (LOL) but that’s it. Some fans feel way too entitled to cross the line, in my opinion.
ANSWER: Well said.