Q: The way the passing game is going right now it looks as if Hines Ward and Plaxico Burress could both end up over 1,000 yards receiving. When was the last time the Steelers had two 1,000 yard receivers in a season?
Bill Toepher of Grand Terrace, Calif.
BOUCHETTE: It's never happened. Ward needs 138 yards over the final three games and Burress needs 198 to reach 1,000.
Q: Please help me understand how the Steelers clinched the AFC Central with the win over Baltimore.
--First tie-breaker: head to head. The two teams split on this.
--Second tie-breaker: division record. Steelers are two games ahead with two games remaining that we could (doubt it) lose. So, another split.
--Third tie-breaker: conference record. Steelers are two games ahead with two games remaining that we could lose. So a third split.
Jeff Yourish of Seven Fields
BOUCHETTE: The Steelers can finish at worst 9-4 in the AFC. Baltimore can finish at best 8-4 because the Ravens play one fewer conference game. 9-4 beats 8-4.
Q: Do you think that the Steelers should cut Kris Brown and pick up another kicker before the playoffs start? I just think that when the pressure is on he will miss and cost us the game.
Ian Fletcher of Fremont, Ind.
BOUCHETTE: Signing another kicker at this stage is way too risky. It's not as if there's a young Gary Anderson out there available. Coach Bill Cowher said they will not even bring any kickers to work out the rest of the season. Brown, who has missed a league-high 12 field-goal tries, is it, barring injury.
Q: What is wrong with the Steelers special teams? During the Ravens game we gave up yardage on each kickoff. They were starting at the 35 and 40 most of the game, and the kick coverage was poor at best. And, how is Bill going to fix it?
Ken Hermann of Pickerington, Ohio
BOUCHETTE: Bill Cowher promised yesterday to fix it. How? That's another matter. They have played poorly and the topper was when only 10 men took the field to kick a field goal on Sunday in Baltimore. They had to call time out.
Q: Is there a minimum number of players that must be deactivated before each weeks game?
Dan Jasper of Erie
BOUCHETTE: Eight players must be made inactive two hours before kickoff. One can be a third quarterback, who can play in the event of injury to the first two.
Q: Can you think of a precedent (NFL or otherwise) for what Kordell Stewart has experienced: penthouse to outhouse to penthouse? The best example I can come up with is Richard Nixon (but of course you must add another outhouse at the end). The morning after the Ravens game my wife asked me whether she had only dreamed that Kordell had played that well; I told her, "Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."
Martin Flajnik of Rochester, Pa.
BOUCHETTE: Bob McLaughlin, sports producer at WBGG-AM radio in Pittsburgh, suggested John Travolta. He started in the penthouse playing the Vinny Barbarino character on television, had a few hit movies such as Grease, slipped out of sight, made a comeback in the movies again but was last seen waving to everyone before boarding a helicopter on the White House lawn.
Q: Why wasn't the Hines Ward taunting penalty considered a dead-ball foul? It happened after the whistle and should have been first down.
Rod Morgenstern of Jamestown, N.Y.
BOUCHETTE: The NFL has an inconsistent and virtually unexplainable rule on this one. Coach Bill Cowher was told that if the play ends and the clock still moves, the penalty is assessed as if it occurred during the play. If it happens when the clock stops, it's assessed as if it's a dead-ball foul.
Q: Why don't the Steelers ever get any respect?
Jim Weakland of Patton
BOUCHETTE: Who is NOT giving it to them these days? I've found they're getting an amount deserved for having the best record in the AFC.
Q: Why does NFL broadcaster Paul McGuire hate the Steelers? He seems very biased against the Steelers whenever he announces their games. Is there any known grudges that he holds against Pittsburgh?
Kevin Pullins of Toronto, Ohio
BOUCHETTE: Maybe he just does not respect them. I've found that when teams are winning, some fans don't want to hear any objectivity about their team. During the 1970s, fans accused Curt Gowdy of being biased against the Steelers.
Q: I think Kordell Stewart deserves the team MVP, a Pro Bowl berth, and serious consideration for league MVP. He has shown he means more to this team than any other individual on the roster. Rich Gannon is the only other AFC quarterback who is playing better these days. I think Jerome Bettis should sit this week (or only take 5-6 snaps) to give him an extra week to heal. What do you think?
Steve Musial of Pittsburgh
BOUCHETTE: I agree on all counts.
Steelers Q & A with Ed Bouchette 
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