Pittsburgh Steelers Look to New Blood to Rev Up Running Game

The Pittsburgh Steelers ranked 23rd in rushing offense in 2008.

That's not going to cut it for a team that prides its self on smash-mouth ball control football. The young offensive line has to take the biggest part of the blame, but the effectiveness of Willie Parker also had alot to do with it.

Parker has the ability to bust the big play, but often hesitates in the backfield instead of flying to the hole. He's not the chain mover the Steelers are used to having. Pittsburgh not only lost their chain mover, but also their short-yardage back with the retirement of Jerome Bettis.

Rashard Mendenhall hopes to be the change-up back the Steelers were looking for when they drafted him No. 1 in 2008. Mendenhall's between the tackle style was what the Steelers were sorely lacking last year. He proclaims himself fully healed from the shoulder injury, which caused him to miss the majority of last season, and ready to help his team become more effective in the ground game.

Frank "The Tank " Summers is another player the Steelers hope to use this season, especially in short-yardage situations. Pittsburgh uncharacteristically struggled trying to convert on 3rd-and-1. Summers, a thick bodied back from UNLV, will get a shot to be the man in short and goal line situations.

Pittsburgh's much maligned offensive line had its share of problems last season.  Virtually,  the entire group is back this year and, hopefully, another year wiser. The group seemed to have gelled somewhat by playoff time, and the Steelers coaches have said they attribute most of their problems to just being inexperienced.

We'll know pretty quickly if these new pieces and a more experienced line are enough to do the trick in '09. I'm betting it is.