The family and I trekked to Latrobe on Thursday to see the Steelers in action at training camp. It was a little disappointing because the team went in helmets only, which made any evaluations of the linemen almost impossible. But the trip was far from in vain. Here are 10 observations from my time at Saint Vincent:

1. The defense dominates

This was more or less to be expected considering it was an unpadded practice. The defense always wins when there are no pads, mostly because it’s hard for offensive linemen to get a hold of them. Holding is a way of life in the NFL, and when the defense can run free to the ball without blockers grabbing at them it’s overwhelmingly to their advantage.

There were other factors in play as well. The offense is clearly still learning the nuances of Arthur Smith’s system. I’ll detail this momentarily but the growing pains are evident. On several occasions, players seemed confused as to their alignment or who should shift where. The line is still feeling itself out and the quarterbacks are learning, too. Teryl Austin’s defense looks lightning fast by comparison. It’s an unfair comparison at present, but the contrast is noticeable.

The other issue stemmed from the fact Russell Wilson did not participate in team sessions. Wilson did drill work but was held out of 11-on-11 periods as he recovers from the calf injury that has delayed his start to camp. This meant Justin Fields ran the show, and the results were, well, uneven.

If you read those last few paragraphs and feel a panic attack coming on, breathe deeply. The offense has time to get up to speed, so there’s no cause for concern right now. You just hope their inevitable growing pains don’t linger into the regular season.

2. Good Justin, Bad Justin

Pretty much everything you’ve heard about Justin Fields showed itself on Thursday. Fields is an explosive athlete who looks as dangerous as any player on the Pittsburgh roster when he takes off with the football. And, as advertised, he throws a great deep ball. But he holds the ball way too long in the pocket, which causes him to be late on throws or to take sacks. He is exciting and he is flawed, and that’s probably his truth for the time being.

First, the good. Fields deftly escaped pressure in team drills on several occasions, stepping up through seams in the pocket to extend plays or take off running. When he runs, he is about as smooth as someone can look with a ball in the open field. On one play, Mike Tomlin yelled at the defense, “Keep him in the pocket!” as the play unfolded. Fields appears more dangerous out of the pocket than it in, and when he breaks containment, he is a big play waiting to happen.

His deep ball came as advertised, too. On one rep, he unleashed a rope that hit George Pickens in stride forty yards down the field on a post route. Pickens trotted into the end zone from there. On another, Fields hung tough as the rush converged on him, then threw a strike to Connor Heyward on a corner route. Those were two of the most impressive plays of the day.

Too often, though, Fields appeared uncertain in the pocket, patting the football and firing his feet as he worked through his progressions. I don’t know if he lacks confidence in his ability to rip the ball into tight windows or if his learning curve in the new offense is slowing him down. But he doesn’t process quickly enough to be an effective pocket passer. The worst example of this was a play where Fields was late getting to his checkdown in the flat and reserve corner Thomas Graham stepped in front of the throw for a pick-six. That play seemed to summarize the day for Fields — boom or bust. In many ways, that’s been his career to this point.

3. The Arthur Smith offense

Much intrigue surrounds what the offense will look like after Smith was tabbed to replace the beleaguered Matt Canada as coordinator. Thursday was just a sample, but it appears heavy on pre-snap motion, outside zone runs and play-action passes.

The pre-snap movement issue might scare some fans who recall that Canada was said to be something of a guru in this area. If so, let me assuage your fears. Canada often seemed to use motion for the sake of motion, as though it’s mere existence would confound the defense. Smith uses it to create mismatches.

A quick example: on one play, the offense aligned in a 3×1 formation to its left. This prompted the defense to align accordingly, with its strength set to the three-receiver side. Smith then flipped the tight end to balance the formation, then motioned from left to right to create a new 3×1 set on the opposite side. The Steelers then ran wide zone to the right. This gave the Steelers a strong side run aimed at what was originally the weak side of the defense, with matchups favorable to the offense.

There were plenty of mistakes as players acclimated to the new schemes, terminology and movement. But it looked like a well-organized, professional offense. That represents progress over what we’ve seen the past few years.

4. Practice standouts

Patrick Queen looks like everything the Steelers need him to be. His movement is exceptional and he goes sideline-to-sideline better than any Steelers linebacker since Ryan Shazier. Queen won nearly every rep he took in coverage and was fast finding seams to the football against the run. He and Elandon Roberts are going to be fun to watch together.

Nick Herbig looked explosive off the edge and was a constant presence in the offensive backfield. He has clearly spent some time studying T.J. Watt and is building a nuanced pass rush repertoire. Herbig looks ready to make a second-year leap.

The absence of splash plays from Joey Porter Jr. speaks volumes. I don’t think I saw a receiver come close to being open whenever Porter was in man coverage. When Porter rolls up in press, the quarterbacks don’t even look in his direction. That’s the ultimate compliment for a cornerback.

George Pickens looks like a legitimate WR1. He made catches he should make, 50/50 catches and a couple of “how did he do that?” grabs. If he doesn’t get twice as many targets as the next receiver on the team, it will be coaching malpractice on the part of Arthur Smith.

5. As for the other receivers…

Van Jefferson was solid if not spectacular. He is big and runs good routes. He scored in the “Seven Shots” drill on a nice slant where he won cleanly with a stick-jab move at the line. He will block and do the little things required of a veteran receiver. The Steelers might be ok with him as their #2.

Scotty Miller had a good day too. He is quick off of the ball, stems defenders well and knows how to get open. I can see why Smith likes him. Miller could find a role in this offense as a jack-of-all-trades.

As for the rest of the receivers, there wasn’t much to see. Calvin Austin III is so small he gets lost amidst the sea of big bodies on the field. Quez Watkins didn’t make a noticeable play all practice. The other guys are back-of-the-roster players and camp bodies.

Honestly, I don’t think the group is deep enough. Maybe Roman Wilson, who didn’t practice because of the ankle injury he suffered Wednesday, will be a difference-maker. If not, it’s an underwhelming group. Pickens is a stud, Jefferson and Miller are pro’s pros and that’s about it. If Pickens goes down with an injury (knock on wood), the situation will be dire. I will be shocked if the team doesn’t add a veteran before the regular season starts. It doesn’t have to be Brandon Aiyuk, but it needs to be a serviceable pro. The Steelers checked too many boxes this offseason to leave such an important one blank.

6. The new kickoff rule

Plenty of time was devoted to the new kickoff format. You’ve probably heard the details of it by now, so I’ll spare you those, but it was interesting to see the team spend so much time working on it. Matthew Wright, who handled the kicking duties, placed the ball sideways on his kicking tee and was pounding knuckleballs down the field that landed around the 15-yard line. If that’s going to be the kickoff team’s strategy, it appears to be a good one. The return men were having a hard time fielding Wright’s kicks, and the coverage team was getting into good position as a result. I’m all for adding intrigue to the game, and there will be plenty of it with the new kicking rules.

7. Another practice, another scuffle

One day after a large fracas broke out stemming from a hit that Roberts put on Fields, the team got into it again. This time it was rookie defensive lineman Logan Lee taking exception to a block thrown by offensive tackle Anderson Hardy. Things looked serious at first, and the officiating crew littered the field with flags. But players soon began picking up the flags and throwing them at each other, and that light-heartedness alleviated the tension. Mike Tomlin stood back with arms folded across his chest, surveying the scene like a parent whose child got into trouble at school for reasons Tomlin didn’t exactly object to.

8. Play of the Day

Reserve tight end Matt Sokol, wearing #49, made a twisting, turning one-handed catch over the back of linebacker Jeremiah Moon, who also donned 49. It garnered a huge roar from the crowd and plenty of congratulations from Sokol’s teammates on offense.

9. Next-play mentality

I loved this bounce-back play from new cornerback Donte Jackson:

One play after Jackson and Cam Sutton miscommunicated on a coverage switch, allowing Miller to break wide open for a touchdown, Jackson drove hard on an in-cut from Watkins and spiked a well-placed throw from Kyle Allen out of his hands. Jackson has some swag to him and plays with the next-play mentality you need in a corner. He looks like a solid partner in the secondary for Porter.

10. Odds-and-ends

a. Rookie 1st Round pick Troy Fautanu has the most impressive physique of all the offensive linemen. He is listed as 6’4-317 pounds and he doesn’t appear to have an ounce of fat on him. His legs and hips are thick and he moves lightly for a large man. Fautanu had a quiet day on Thursday, but if he plays half as well as he looks, he’s going to be a stud.

b. I loved watching wide receivers’ coach Zach Azzanni put his players through their individual drills. Azzanni is constant energy and a big personality. He rides players hard but compliments them when they show out. His demanding style could pay dividends for a receiving corps that hasn’t been the hardest working group on the field the past few seasons.

c. I also loved seeing rookie guard Mason McCormick working with Isaac Seumalo in the pre-practice period. No better mentor for McCormick than Seumalo.

d. Both Wilson and Fields were much more talkative with their teammates than the quarterbacks I watched at camp the past two seasons. Wilson in particular was dapping up everyone in sight. He seems to have a knack for leadership and he hasn’t lost an ounce of enthusiasm for the game.

e. DeMarvin Leal looked great on some reps. Quick off the ball, explosive, good leverage. On other reps he gambled and got beat, in particular when he tried to swim under blocks and got pinned on outside zone runs. I still don’t know what to make of Leal. I’m not sure the Steelers do, either.

f. Best Steelers jerseys in the crowd: an older couple sitting in canvas chairs on a hill near the end zone opposite the scoreboard, dressed in matching Louis Lipps jerseys.