LATROBE, Pa. _ What we learned during Week Two at Saint Vincent College:
FULLBACK TO THE FUTURE: Notable developments during the first padded practice of training camp last Tuesday included fullback Jack Colletto helping to lead leading running back Najee Harris past inside linebacker Patrick Queen and into the end zone during "Seven Shots."
Colletto was at it again during "Friday Night Lights," lining up in the I-formation in front of running back Jaylen Warren during "Team-Red Zone."
Colletto, a first-year pro who spent time on the practice squads of the 49ers and the Steelers last season, has been conspicious by his periodic presence on the field with the first-team offense running against the first-team defense throughout training camp.
"For me, to get an actual look at what it's gonna feel like on Sundays is very valuable," Colletto maintained.
He's not here to be the camp "sleeper."
He's here to make the team.
"There's no tiptoeing through this," Colletto insisted. "It's go time."
The Steelers dabbled with center/guard Kendrick Green at fullback last summer, but Green didn't make the 53-man roster.
They have third-year pro Connor Heyward listed as a tight end/fullback, but Heyward plays more of an H-back role.
New offensive coordinator Arthur Smith confirmed his appreciation of having a traditional fullback at his disposal, but emphasized such a player also has to be able to contribute on special teams.
Is Colletto that guy?
"We're gonna see," offensive tackle Dan Moore Jr. said. "As Coach Tomlin (head coach Mike) likes to say, 'We're gonna find out.'"
Moore is all-in on the fullback concept.
"Heck yeah, I love it," he continued. "Put our hand in the ground and run off the ball, tee off on guys, push the pile, move bodies. That's what offensive linemen love to do.
"We're gonna be a run-first offense this year. We're gonna be a lot of hand-in-the-ground, a lot of I-formation stuff, a lotta downhill, so we're gonna be using fullbacks quite a bit this year. When you turn on that film after that first home game against the Texans, preseason, it's gonna look like a different offense."
SHARPENING DEFENSIVE IRON: The advantages gleaned from Justin Fields' extended run with the first-team offense while Russell Wilson has dealt with calf tightness and a limited role in practices have been significant in Fields' estimation.
Those included "getting the guys comfortable hearing my voice in the huddle, getting me comfortable talking to them, getting me on the same page with them while we're running plays," Fields assessed.
But the defense has, likewise, benefitted.
"When he breaks the pocket he is dangerous and he can turn a bad play into a really good play really fast," defensive coordinator Teryl Austin observed. "It's good for us because that means we have to be really sharp on our rush lanes and how we're rushing the quarterback. We have to be really sharp if we're in our zones and we see him scramble, in terms of coming out of coverage and corralling him. It's really good work for us.
"We're gonna run across quarterbacks like that. Obviously, we play (Baltimore's) Lamar (Jackson) twice. We're gonna run across quarterbacks like this and this can only help us."
WORDS TO REMEMBER: The fracas that erupted last Wednesday when inside linebacker Elandon Roberts threw a shoulder into Fields and knocked him to the ground was an example of what often happens in a competitive camp and included players not involved in the rep rushing in from both sidelines to join the fray.
Cooler heads eventually prevailed.
And in the end, the Steelers emerged with perspective.
"Guys wanting to run to the fight, not run away from it, is awesome to see," outside linebacker T.J. Watt maintained.
Added outside linebacker Nick Herbig: "It happens. We wouldn't be family if we didn't fight."
A MINDSET THAT MATTERS: Austin's post-brawl message was a reminder about the price to be paid for such transgressions. The penalty for an actual in-game fight, he emphasized, is getting thrown out of the game, which hurts the team.
But a fighting-mad approach on defense is another matter entirely.
"A lot of defense is about temperament, how you play and what you're willing to dish out," Austin explained. "I think our guys are tough, they're edgy. I like that and I would never discourage that at all.
"We want our identity on defense. We're gonna be tough, physical, hard-nosed, that's what we are. You don't want to legislate that out of those guys."
EVOLVE OR DIE: The new rules and procedures on kickoffs proved uneventful in action in last Thursday night's Hall of Fame game, but the alterations remain a topic of conversation and anticipation as the regular season beckons.
There remains an unknown element regarding what teams are about to receive, but not to Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith.
"I don't have a lot of questions, to be honest with you," Smith insisted. "I studied it hard. It's a rule, it's in. We better embrace it. We better love it if we want to excel in it, and that's a fact.
"I hear people say 'this might happen,' but I'm not worried. I'm full go, I'm full head of steam. We're going to excel in this, and our players are learning to love it as well as I."
One of the changes stipulates a kickoff that's caught and downed in the end zone now results in the ball being placed at the 30-yard line, but Smith wouldn't commit to touchbacks as a way to circumvent the process as a matter of policy.
"I'm not a blanket statement guy," he said. "I read, 'Hey, we're going to knock it out, put the ball at the 30 all day,' people are going to do that. Take me to the game. What's the score? What's the situation? How good are we covering? How good is their returner? What's the weather?
"I don't believe in that blanket statement stuff. Take me to that situation, and I'll tell you what we're going to do."
