It’s Time for Some Answers

You have NFL questions; we have answers. In fact, if you don’t have questions, we have both:

1Now that Ben Roethlisberger has recovered from his motorcycle accident, are the Pittsburgh Steelers OK?

Not necessarily. Now that Jerome Bettis is working in the TV studio, his old team could be in big trouble at running back. The Steelers, who have run more in the last two seasons than any other team, had hoped Duce Staley would step in as the No. 1 power back. But Staley showed up at camp out of shape and has played poorly, casting doubt on his future with the franchise. Coach Bill Cowher is not pleased.

The Steelers, coming off their first Super Bowl victory in 26 years, have speedy Willie Parker and third-down back Verron Haynes, but they could use a bruiser to further balance their attack.

2Is this Seattle’s year, or will the Seahawks fall prey to the NFL’s runner-up hangover?

The last five Super Bowl losers failed to make the playoffs the following season. The Seahawks are acutely aware of that, and “we can’t get complacent” has been Mike Holmgren’s unwavering theme. Injuries are the main reason teams fail to get back to the Super Bowl, so the Seahawks have concentrated on building depth at key positions.

For example, Bobby Engram was Seattle’s leading receiver last season, and D.D. Lewis was a highly productive starting linebacker. Now, after the free-agent acquisitions of receiver Nate Burleson and linebacker Julian Peterson, Engram and Lewis are backups. That’s quality depth.

Something that concerns the Seahawks, though, is their depth at safety. They were hurting there in the playoffs last season and had to use third-stringer Etric Pruitt in the Super Bowl. That killed them. Pruitt was badly out of position on two plays, both Pittsburgh touchdowns.

3Which NFL award will be the most hotly contested this season?

Comeback player of the year. The preseason favorites are all quarterbacks: Miami’s Daunte Culpepper and Cincinnati’s Carson Palmer, both coming off devastating knee injuries, and New Orleans’ Drew Brees, who had off-season surgery on his throwing shoulder.

4Will Vince Young treat NFL defenses the way he abused USC’s in the Rose Bowl?

If so, it will take time. Tennessee would love to have the luxury of waiting until Young is completely ready to play. The Titans might be forced to use him earlier than they’d like to, however. Although he looked pretty raw at times, Young improved with each exhibition.

His two most impressive plays went for naught. On one, he was flushed out of the pocket, rolled to his left and effortlessly fired a 60-yard pass downfield, hitting Roydell Williams in stride. Williams dropped the ball.

On another, Young scrambled to the sideline, reversed field, than ran three-quarters of the way to the other sideline before connecting on a 10-yard pass. A holding call wiped out the play.

5What will Arizona Cardinal Matt Leinart miss most about USC football?

His offensive line. Arizona’s is shaky at just about every position, and especially right tackle, the guy charged with protecting the blind side of the left-handed rookie. All that depends on whether Leinart will play this season, of course, but considering Kurt Warner hasn’t finished a season in five years, that’s the next best thing to a foregone conclusion.

6 Now it can be told: Which quarterback did Tennessee offensive coordinator Norm Chow really want, Young or Leinart?

Given his choice, Chow would have taken San Diego’s Philip Rivers had the Chargers decided to keep Brees instead. Chow coached Rivers for a season at North Carolina State and says he’ll wind up leading the Chargers to the Super Bowl at some point.

7 Back in May, everyone got revved up about a vitally important meeting of NFL owners, one sure to determine the future of the NFL in the Los Angeles area. California’s governor showed up, and so did the mayors of L.A. and Anaheim. The buildup was tremendous ... and we haven’t heard a peep since. What happened?

We took the bait.

Again.

8 Can Terrell Owens and Bill Parcells coexist in Dallas?

We may be asking that question all season. This week, Owens tried to characterize his relationship with his new coach.

“I think everybody is trying to make it me vs. Bill, Bill vs. T.O.,” Owens said.

“It’s not. I wouldn’t say our relationship is where it needs to be. But I think it’s a building process for the both of us. We don’t know each other very well.”

Translation: It doesn’t look good.

9 What’s the Bear minimum we should expect of Chicago?

The Bears should at least win a playoff game. Failing to reach the playoffs would be a monumental failure for a team that returns all 22 starters after an 11-5 season and that plays in the league’s weakest division. They haven’t won a playoff game in 13 years, and they blew chances to do so last season and in 2003.

The Bears have taken some risks this off-season. For the first time in franchise history, they used their first five draft picks on defensive players. That’s odd for a team whose offense finished 29th in 2005. They did add depth at quarterback by signing Brian Griese to back up Rex Grossman, but only time will tell if that makes a difference.

10You might not look like Reggie Bush, but can you smell like him?

Yes, and soon. In the coming month, Bush will roll out “619” cologne, named for the area code in San Diego where he grew up.

Just think, you too can smell like a locker room!

sam.farmer@latimes.com