Pittsburgh Steelers and NFL Offenses in Need of a Facelift

The Pittsburgh Steelers were a disappointment offensively in 2011 and, like a few other teams, they needed a facelift this offseason.

Here is a look at three franchises that need to fix serious deficiencies offensively if they hope to compete in 2012. 

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers put up yards in 2011 but they had major failings up front that put quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at risk. In the 2012 NFL Draft, Pittsburgh went a long way towards solving the offense's problems.

Roethlisberger and company posted 5,957 yards of offense in 2011, but the offensive line allowed 42 sacks and there simply wasn't enough room for the team's running backs to do much damage. The Steelers have always prided themselves on using a power running game to establish their offense, but they finished 14th in rushing yards league wide in 2011.

During the draft, the Steelers wisely focused on replenishing their offensive line. Pittsburgh landed Stanford guard David DeCastro in the first round, then snagged Ohio State offensive tackle Mike Adams in the second. Both players have a ton of talent and I believe DeCastro will be one of the NFL's best guards from day one.

The addition of those two offensive linemen, plus the drafting of a quick, speedy back like Chris Rainey should make the Steelers much more dangerous on offense. 

If all of those guys can fit in and contribute, expect Pittsburgh to rebound offensively in 2012.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars boasted the worst offense in the NFL in 2011, averaging just 259.3 yards per game. Maurice Jones-Drew is one of the NFL's best running backs, but with shaky second-year quarterback Blaine Gabbert under center, defenses can load up to stop the three-time Pro Bowl back. 

This offseason the Jags signed free agent wide receiver Laurent Robinson, then drafted Oklahoma State wideout Justin Blackmon with the fifth pick in the draft. While those moves should help Gabbert's development, I'm still not sure he has what it takes to become a top-flight NFL quarterback.

In 2011, Gabbert completed just 50.8 percent of his passes for 2,214 yards, with 12 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. His passer rating of 65.4 ranked dead last among the 34 quarterbacks who qualified. Gabbert also finished at the bottom of the league in yards per attempt (5.36). 

To be fair, there is no reason Gabbert can't turn things around eventually. But so far he hasn't looked like a long-term solution for the Jags. With more offensive weapons around him this year there will be no excuses if he can't get the job done.

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts selected Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft, but that won't even come close to solving all of their offensive problems.

The Colts added some talent in the draft by getting Luck's tight end from Stanford, Coby Fleener, while also snagging speedy wideout T.Y. Hilton from Florida International. But Indianapolis has problems on the interior of its offensive line and at receiver. 

Luck will be playing behind a line that has unproven tackles, Anthony Castonzo and Ben Ijalana on either side of it. Ijalana is coming off of ACL surgery and Castonzo is largely untested. Meanwhile, the interior of the line is a huge question mark after the departures of center, Jeff Saturday and guard, Ryan Diem.

Samson Satele was signed to play center during free agency, but he can't do everything and only rates as solid, not spectacular.

The team's stable of running backs leaves much to be desired as well. Donald Brown has looked like a bust for most of his career, while Delone Carter has talent but has yet to show it consistently.

Meanwhile the receiving corps is led by aging wideout Reggie Wayne and a bunch of spare parts. The Colts simply need to land more receiving talent if they hope for Luck to develop.