Steelers heated training camp brawl is an example of steel sharpening steel

Scuffles will happen in the NFL, in games, or occasionally in training camps. Football has violent aspects, and tempers will flare even during a team's practice. Go back to the 70s, and you can find stories of that happening in Steelers practices for various reasons.

Scuffles, like the one at the Steelers training camp, are not just incidents of aggression. They are valuable learning lessons that can help bond an NFL team, making it better during the regular season. Today's incident is another one of those situations. It's an opportunity for the Steelers to learn and grow, nudging them in the right direction early in the season.

Steelers' on-field fight is a display of unity

Tempers boiled over when the Steelers practiced a read-option running play. Elandon Roberts, a linebacker, and Beanie Bishop, a cornerback, collided with Justin Fields a little harder than they should have. The Steelers already saw a freak injury to Russell Wilson in training camp, and the last thing they need is an injury to Justin Fields. However, from a defensive perspective, coaches, especially Mike Tomlin, want to see some defensive aggression.

The unfortunate by-product of the defensive aggression was hitting Fields harder than it should have been. However, what occurred after the hit was a display of unity. Yes, punches were thrown, but in the big scheme of things, it's a sign of the team's solidarity. Come next year, everyone involved will probably laugh about it.

Following the hit on Fields, rookie Troy Fautanu shoved Elandon Roberts in the back, nonetheless. Then rookie Mason McCormick started in with Roberts, and the next thing you know, Joey Porter Jr. is throwing some punches at McCormick. At that point, fans might as well have broken out the popcorn as offensive lineman Ryan McCollum hit Patrick Queen and knocked him into next week.

As Steelers color commentator Craig Wolfley might have said, as he has in many broadcasts, it's an example of steel sharpening steel. The offensive linemen, especially the rookies, showed they are not going to back down if someone gets rough with their quarterback. It's a good trait to have in first-year players. Their actions impressed center Nate Herbig, who had even sparred a bit with Patrick Queen earlier in the practice. At one point, even Pat Freiermuth tussled with rookie Payton Wilson.

A second takeaway is that the defense had some unity as well. In a regular season game, any hit on a player in any capacity can draw the ire of your opponent, and if the Steelers' defensive players hit a guy cleanly and the opposing offense opposes which could happen, they can not be afraid to back down. Hence, Joey Porter Jr. showed he wasn't afraid to mix it up like his dad did on a few occasions in his career.

In the end, Mike Tomlin might scold a few players over the incident, but remember that a team occasionally needs this type of aggression. Something T.J. Watt noted after the brawl, "stoke the fire a little bit and see what we are as a team." You saw players doing what you hoped they would in a live game.

In the '70s, the Steelers had a team full of tough football players who challenged each other to be tougher than the guys on the Raiders, Cowboys, Vikings, or Dolphins. The occasional fights in those training camps helped forge them into champions then, and it can happen again. Hopefully, the training camp brawl does just that.