Winners and Losers from Week 2 of the Pittsburgh Steelers Training Camp

The Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t have the greatest showing in their first preseason game versus the New York Giants, and now it’s time to see how the team reacts to that.

Though the final score doesn’t really matter during the preseason, the team has a lot of things to correct going forward.

Here are eight winners and losers from the first couple weeks of training camp and the first preseason game.

Winner: J.D. Woods/Justin Brown, WRs

The injury to Plaxico Burress has really opened up an opportunity for the young receivers on the roster. The game versus the Giants was their first shot at making an impression.

The two that really jumped out at me were J.D. Woods, who finished with two receptions for 21 yards, and Justin Brown, who led the led the team with four receptions for 32 yards.

Though in limited time, both showed good hands and both of Woods' receptions were especially difficult. One came on the sideline where he kept his feet in bounds. With the other one, he went up for it and was flipped over by the Giants defender.

After the preseason game, I would put Brown and Woods ahead of guys like Derek Moye and David Gilreath.

Statistics from ESPN.com.

Loser: David Gilreath, WR

David Gilreath should have had the edge on receivers trying to make the roster going into training camp because he is the only one of them that has any experience.

Unfortunately for Gilreath, he did not have the strongest showing during the team's first preseason game versus the Giants.

Not only was Gilreath not targeted on offense, but he did not look good at all returning kicks. On the two punts Gilreath tried to return, he gained a total of four yards.

Not to mention the fact that Gilreath botched one of his attempted returns, and the Giants recovered the fumble.

Statistics from ESPN.com.

Winner: Alameda Ta'amu, NT

Going into the preseason game versus the Giants, I had Alameda Ta’amu fourth on the depth chart behind Steve McLendon, Al Woods and Hebron Fangupo.

Ta’amu showed his immense potential in this game, and in my opinion, he put himself right back in the mix for top backup behind McLendon.

I hadn’t completely counted Ta’amu out, but with him missing the start of camp with a hamstring injury, I couldn’t just place him second on the depth chart.

In the game versus the Giants, Ta’amu showed an ability to occupy blockers and the strength to push the pocket, albeit versus the second team.

Loser: Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith, S

It may be on the unfair side, but Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith falls on the loser side here mainly because of one really bad play.

Cromartie-Smith was the guy who completely whiffed and allowed the Giants defender to come clean and block the punt in the first quarter.

It is the preseason, and it is only one play, but for Cromartie-Smith, he needs to make this team on special teams and that play will not help him.

Winner: LaRod Stephens-Howling, RB

LaRod Stephens-Howling may have had the best showing of anyone in the preseason opener and led the team with 40 yards rushing.

Most of the time, statistics don’t really mean anything in the preseason, but you could really see how effective Stephens-Howling was in the game.

Though he didn’t have a reception, Stephens-Howling displayed his speed, quickness and willingness to hit the holes that are open for him.

Stephens-Howling is a lock as the third-down back for the Steelers, and his performance showed he is capable of contributing more in the run game as well.

Statistics from ESPN.com.

Loser: John Parker Wilson, QB

John Parker Wilson probably got the worst deal of any of the quarterbacks during the preseason game because of the dreadful performance of the offensive line.

Parker Wilson has had a great camp to this point, and there had been a growing belief that there was a chance he could unseat Landry Jones as the third quarterback for the Steelers.

With Jones being the team's fourth-round pick, Parker Wilson would really need to outperform the rookie during the preseason to have a legitimate shot to make the roster.

Though he completed four of his five passes, Parker Wilson was also sacked four times and even in limited playing time, just didn’t distinguish himself from Jones.

Statistics from ESPN.com

Winner: Brian Rolle, LB

I really think all of the young linebackers were winners from the preseason game, but Brian Rolle really stood out to me.

I had Rolle as having virtually no chance because of being behind Marshall McFadden, Vince Williams and Stevenson Sylvester, and I thought he flashed in all aspects during the game.

Rolle finished the game with a pass defense, two quarterback hits, a sack, a tackle for loss and four total tackles.

I still think it is going to be hard for Rolle to jump over all the guys in front of him, but his performance will at least get the coaches to look at him harder than maybe they already were.

Statistics from ESPN.com

Loser: Backup Offensive Linemen

Other than John Malecki, who was the first backup in for Maurkice Pouncey, I refuse to say any of the backup offensive linemen played well in the game.

This slide should really just be that the Steelers lose because if two linemen get hurt this year, the team could be in serious trouble.

I’ll still give Kelvin Beachum the benefit of the doubt, and I still like the potential of a lot of guys currently on the roster, but that game showed that right now most of them shouldn’t be near the playing field in an actual game.