Pittsburgh Steelers: What We've Learned Through Week 3 of Training Camp

Three weeks of the Pittsburgh Steelers' 2015 training camp are in the books, along with their first preseason game of the season. Now, the work gets harder, the on-field aggression intensifies and players trying to stand out in order to make the Steelers' final roster are heading into make-or-break situations.

What have we learned from Steelers camp this week? Read on and find out.

Steelers Have a New Kicker

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The most severe injury the Steelers sustained in Sunday night's Hall of Fame Game against the Minnesota Vikings was suffered by kicker Shaun Suisham. Suisham, heading into his sixth year with the team, slipped during a tackle attempt on the second-half kickoff and tore his ACL and meniscus, ending his season.

On Monday, the Steelers worked out a trio of veteran kickers to replace him—Alex Henery, Jay Feely and Garrett Hartley, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette. Not long after, the Steelers announced that Hartley was the man for the job, at least for now.

This will be Hartley's eighth season in the NFL. He spent his first six years with the New Orleans Saints, making 82 of his 101 field-goal attempts and 176 of his 177 extra-point attempts. He appeared in two games for the Cleveland Browns in 2014, replacing Billy Cundiff. He went 3-of-3 in extra points and 2-of-2 in field goals. 

According to Bouchette, some Steelers believe that the 11-year-old FieldTurf at Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio, where Sunday's game was played, was to blame for Suisham's injury. The turf was replaced the following day.

Practice Pace Picks Up

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It appears that the Steelers' first two weeks of training camp were an appetizer for the real thing. Beat writers in attendance this week have noticed that the pace in camp has picked up considerably.

ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler noted that "all available starters" were in pads for Tuesday's practice and that "bodies [were] flying." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Mark Kaboly opined that "JV Camp appears to be over for the Steelers," and Steelers guard David DeCastro agreed.

DeCastro said to Kaboly's colleague Chris Adamski, "Now we're really getting into the normal swing of preseason where we can kind of build up and get ready." 

If you thought training camp was underway before, it appears now it's really kicking into high gear.

Jesse James' Struggles Continue

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Rookie Steelers tight end Jesse James had one of the team's worst performances in Sunday's 14-3 Hall of Fame Game loss to the Minnesota Vikings. He had a costly drop that turned into a fumble recovered by the Vikings, had a holding penalty called on him and, most egregiously, turned to run before catching what would have been a sure-thing touchdown.

That performance may have gotten into James' head, because, as Steelers Depot's Jon Ledyard noted on Tuesday, James is "struggling catching the football all of a sudden." Ledyard counted "two drops in team period, one on the goal line" and "a double-catch that he pinned to his back hip in positional drills."

Though Ledyard did observe that his run blocking has shown improvement, his receiving skills have taken a step backward. James will be a player to keep an eye on during Friday's preseason game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Guess Who's Back?

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Veteran Steelers linebacker James Harrison has been in sweatsuits on the sidelines for all of Steelers training camp up to now, with head coach Mike Tomlin claiming that the 37-year-old is "too old to be working" that early in the summer, per Adamski.

But Harrison's rest period appears to be over. Harrison showed up to Tuesday's practice in full pads, reported the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Mark Kaboly. And not a moment too soon.

Kaboly and his colleague Ralph N. Paulk noted that Harrison "bull-rushed 6'9", 330-pound-plus left tackle Alejandro Villanueva into backup quarterback Landry Jones. Harrison took all his snaps at second-team right outside linebacker, and the majority of his rushes were of the bull-rush variety."

Even though Harrison wasn't with the starters, his presence made a difference. Tomlin said to Kaboly and Paulk, "I know when you get 92 back in the uniform that changes the climate a little bit. I think it did today." 

See, things are getting serious in Latrobe.

The Plan vs. Jacksonville

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A vast majority of the Steelers' first-team offensive and defensive players sat out most or all of Sunday night's preseason opener against the Minnesota Vikings. But that won't be the case on Friday night when the Steelers take on the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday, via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac, "Our intention at this point is that all healthy men are going to play." He did not elaborate on how much playing time the starters will get, adding, "How much they play will be determined positionally…the amount of depth behind them. We'll make those determinations at the 11th hour. We're excited about that."

That means quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, receivers Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant, tight end Heath Miller and linebacker James Harrison should all be expected to take the field.

The only players guaranteed at this point to play zero snaps are defensive lineman Daniel McCullers, linebacker Vince Williams, safety Robert Golden and the three players still on the physically unable to perform list—offensive tackle Mike Adams, quarterback Bruce Gradkowski and cornerback Senquez Golson.

So expect a more effective Steelers team, at least in the early goings of Friday's game, given that so many starters will play at least a few series.