After a season that wasn’t as successful as we like in Pittsburgh, the Steelers can look back and reflect on their offense and say it was pretty solid. This season, now that there is one, the Steelers should expect to have Ben for the entire time and the offense will improve even more.
Last season the Steelers were 12th in the NFL in points per game, obviously a big factor was not having Ben for the first four games, though the Steelers still played well despite not having him. The offense scored a total of 375 points with 23.4 points per game average. The Steelers were 14th in the NFL in yards per game with a large portion of those yards attributed the long play beast, Mike Wallace, who averaged 21 yards per catch last season.
However we can’t forget workhorse Rashard Mendenhall. While he may not write the most eloquent tweets, he was 7th in the NFL in rushing yards, 3rd in touchdowns and 4th in carries.  With Ben under center for the entire season this year, from a playmaker standpoint, the Steelers look really good.
The weak spot, if there is one, continues to be the offensive line. Eighth in the NFL in sacks and second in the AFC is just unforgivable, and most of those, well that’s the big boys up front not doing their job. Now, I don’t want to seem like I’m bashing the guys up front, but fourth in the AFC in quarterback hits should not be acceptable for any team that should be a Super Bowl contender every year. The Steelers were 3rd in the AFC and 6th in the NFL in rushes for negative yards, come on guys!
There is one bright spot in that, the only teams in the AFC with more rushes for negative yards were division rivals Ravens and Bengals. The Steelers offensive line is the 6th least experienced line in the AFC, so what better way to help the young guys by resigning veteran OT, Willie Colon, now that the lockout is over. One definite bright spot on the Steelers o-line was all-pro second team, and pro bowl selected rookie Maurkice Pouncey. Another hopeful bright spot will be our second round draft pick Marcus Gilbert out of University of Florida (same college as Pouncey). The 6’6†330lb beast can play either the left or right tackle position. Sixth round draft pick Keith Williams, named second team All-Big 12 by Rivals.com will also add depth at the guard position, hopefully.
In the meantime, how can the Steelers shore up the line? Well, now that the lockout is over, they can use free agency to add a couple veterans to the line. After doing some research and looking at free agent lists, I have a list of possible offensive free agent targets.
- Derrick Dockery, former Redskins guard- while he has had some trouble staying healthy, he could be an asset in the run block game.
-  Next possible target is OT Jammal Brown. He had four good seasons in New Orleans, and had another decent season last year playing out of position at RT for the Redskins.
- Not a Raven! Yes a Raven folks, it’s Tackle Jared Gaither, if he was healthy, he would be arguably the best o-lineman in this free agent class. If signed he would provide a much needed upgrade at tackle where we’re far from strong. The combination of Max Starks and Willie Colon allowed a combined 19 sacks last season.
- Now we have Guard Justin Blalock from Atlanta. If he leaves Atlanta he would provide a more skilled and less penalized guard than Chris Kemoeatu. Kemoeatu was a reason that the Steelers’ o-line had the most penalties in the NFL last season (46, 10 by Kemoeatu).
- My last target, if he is not resigned by the Pats is OL Matt Light. He has been a core lineman for one of the best o-lines in football. He would be a solid improvement.
We all know the Steelers have the offensive playmaker, to make it to the playoffs again. But the playoffs are not enough. Our main weakness is the o-line. Improve the o-line and I cannot see how the Steelers aren’t a Super Bowl favorite. The stronger the o-line, the better the passing game is, and the better the running game.
This post was written by Brian Jacobs, who will be a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts studying sports marketing – a Steelers fan, Jacobs grew up in Silver Spring, MD and is an avid golfer while saving his real skills for the ski slopes. He’s also an accomplished smart ass and Steelergurl and Media Frenzy summer intern.
These are HIS views and not necessarily those of Steelergurl  SG would have made more mention of Isaac Redman as a great running back and fan favorite.  As well as referring to Hines Ward at least once as the “baby daddy” err I mean, great wideout he is.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I enjoyed the read and like your ambition in regards to improving our obvious offensive weakness, but I have one question…Where’s the cap space? The Steelers are currently over the cap and have not yet signed any of their own free agents (most notable Ike and Colon) or draft picks.
I am aware that through some contract restructuring and extensions to players on the last year of their deals (Troy, Timmons, Woodley) room can be created, but I do not believe we will have the money to add any free agent of significance and still keep Colon and Ike. All of the players you listed, minus Dockery who I don’t think helps the Steelers very much, will command a lot of money. The Steelers don’t overpay for free agents even when they have the cap space. Getting any of those four guys is a pipe dream.
Anthony, I agree and hopefully Brian will jump in and respond to your comment as well.
I think re-signing Ike and Colon are important and definitely have to figure out what we do with Woodley et al for the future. Obviously, can’t let them all go.
I think the first thing though, is to make sure Ike is re-signed (and in Brian’s defense, he has written a defense blog that I haven’t posted yet). Once we know what we had to pay for Ike, then it’s time to let go of the low hanging fruit.
Some of those who won’t be back in my opinion are: Randel El, I think the young money crew proved themselves capable of handling the task set out for them. At ARE’s price, he likely won’t be in the roster. Mewelde Moore, though it pains me because he’s a workhorse and has been good for the Steelers. Limas Sweed, no comment needed. And hate to say it, but barring any injuries, do we need Charlie Batch (or a total of 4 QBs unless someone disappears fm the roster). The cap is definitely an issue….you hear Mark Sanchez in NY offering to restructure his deal so that they can keep both Tone and Braylon. Would be interesting if Ben offered to restructure his big ass deal to make sure we had a solid team through the next couple years. Who knows, maybe he will….but again, I think it all depends on how it goes down with Tone and then we know the $$ we’re working with.
Anthony, you are right, according to the 2010 roster, the steelers are around 12 mil. over the new cap. However, the Steelers, just as all other teams in the NFL can borrow 3 million to use against future caps, another 3.5 million for player performance bonus’. The cap is lower than before but with increased revenue can go up. Also as Steelergurl said, how much interest do guys have in renegotiating their contracts to make space for new players. Also, are we going to keep the Mewelde Moores and the Randel Els, and the Arnaz Battles who’s contracts aren’t terrible, but are a little much. And if we are looking to beef up the O-line, are we going to resign Tony Hills, Trai Essex, and Willie Colon. Essex and Colon have two of the larger contracts on the o-line. While I do agree that those players I listed will demand some money, I wouldn’t say it’s a “pipe dream”
Moore and Batch aren’t under contract, so they’re not part of any discussion about cuts to save space.
Also, Brian, ‘Essex and Colon have two of the larger contracts on the o-line.’
Huh??? Essex signed a two-year deal in ’09 for less than two million dollars. You think that’s more expensive than Chris K, Pouncey, Flozell Adams, Starks (before he got cut, which you wrote your article and comment before he got cut)? That’s four offensive line starters that cost more than Essex. Not sure what you’re possibly referring to.
As for Colon, he played under a modest restricted free agent contract in ’10. Less than $2 million. Again, not sure where you think that figure is greater than any of the other starters on the line.
Well Mb, I looked at the roster and both Essex and colon had a mores expensive contract than half of the offensive lineman, including backups. If you want I can show you the site when I get back to my computer. You have to remember, the steelers don’t have just 5 offensive lineman!