What, who I'll be watching in the first preseason game

The Steelers will play their first preseason game at Philadelphia Thursday night, and there's going to be plenty of notable action on the field.

Here are a few of the things and players I'll be watching in this one:

@ How does the new offense look under Todd Haley?

Traditionally, teams don't show a whole lot in the preseason. But the Steelers haven't had a completely new offense in Pittsburgh in quite some time.

To this point, the Steelers offense has featured more intermediate passes and throws to the running backs. We'll see if that carries over to the games.

@ How do the rookie offensive linemen look?

I've found it interesting that so many people have said that David DeCastro has been a bust in the first two weeks of training camp. That's ridiculous.

I've seen countless rookies take some time to get accustomed to the speed and power of the NFL. DeCastro has as well. But Maurkice Pouncey struggled with one-on-one matchups in his first camp as well. Then, when he got into game action, it was obvious he was a player.

The other side of the DeCastro coin is that Ramon Foster is having a very solid camp.

There was a big difference between DeCastro beating out Foster and Mike Adams pushing Trai Essex aside.

@ Does Cortez Allen take advantage of Keenan Lewis' shoulder injury?

Allen will likely start with Lewis being limited with the shoulder injury. If he can hold up in coverage against DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin, it will go a long way toward winning a starting job.

@ Who will step up at free safety?

To this point, Ryan Mundy has been so-so. The same goes for veteran Will Allen.

I'm anxious to see what a young kid like Robert Golden can do in game action. There's a spot to be won there behind Ryan Clark.

@ Will any of the receivers behind Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders and Jerricho Cotchery show anything.

It's been up and down throughout training camp for the receivers behind those three.

At this point, I'd say Derrick Williams and Tyler Beiler have been the most consistent, but that's not saying much.

@ Can Chris Rainey win the starting return job.

Rainey is fast, but can he consistently catch punts? He flubbed one in practice on Tuesday, which has to be a concern. This is, after all, a kid that fumbled six punts in college.

I'm not as concerned about him as a kick return guy, but if he can't field punts, that's a problem.

Marquis Maze will also be given a chance. It's big for him because he hasn't shown a lot as a receiver.

@ Keep an eye on rookie punter Drew Butler, the son of former Bears kicker Kevin Butler.

Butler is the only healthy punter in camp right now with Jeremy Kapinos dealing with back issues.

Kapinos has gotten more surly as camp has gone on because Butler has looked pretty good. But can he do it on the big stage?

If so, Butler could win the job.