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Question: Why is it when a receiver makes a drop on a touchdown pass, Ben tells them to be ready as he is coming right back to them? Yet if a running back makes a fumble he is benched. Why?

Chris Carnegie, Ocoee, Fla.

BOUCHETTE: If you benched all the receivers who drop passes, you would wind up with nobody to throw to. Every Steelers receiver has dropped passes this season -- by STATS count, five by Santonio Holmes and three by Hines Ward. The difference between dropping a pass and losing a fumble is loss of possession. Rashard Mendenhall not only lost two fumbles the past two games, he did so in scoring territory and they have been working with him to secure the ball better when he carries it. However, he was not "benched" in the true sense of the word. They merely ran Mewelde Moore out there in the fourth quarter because he's in a Jerome Bettis-like category when it comes to holding onto the ball.

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