ESPN NFL

The draft is over, the rosters are filled up.

But what areas weren’t sufficiently addressed and where can we expect to see the teams of the AFC South continue to seek help?

Some thoughts.

Houston Texans

Veteran corner Jason Allen left as a free agent. He helped the Texans cover for Kareem Jackson, who played just 55.73 percent of the team’s defensive snaps in 2011.

Brandon Harris was a second-round pick out of Miami last year, but didn’t show anything. The Texans look to be counting on him to contribute more. They like Brice McCain, but he's a situational guy.

But corner is a spot where the Texans need some additional depth at the very least.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts loaded their roster with offensive players -- eight of 10 draft picks went on that side of the ball.

The defensive picks were on the defensive line.

Which means the Colts still have a ton of work to do in the defensive backfield.

Jerraud Powers is a quality corner and a good leader. But after him, there are no proven corners on the roster. Is the second starter Chris Rucker? Kevin Thomas? Mike Holmes? Brandon King?

That’s not a great group to be choosing from. Look for team to give some undrafted rookies a chance and grab a veteran or two as guys come free during camp cuts.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars believe a healthy Eben Britton will help fortify their offensive line and he should.

But they don’t have sufficient depth on the offensive line and should create a situation where there is more real competition.

They re-signed Guy Whimper, who is a swing tackle at best and had some bad stretches last season. They like John Estes as a reserve center, but it would be nice to have someone to compete with him for the right to take over for Brad Meester.

Tennessee Titans

The team has sent major mixed signals about its offensive line.

Tennessee courted all the top centers in free agency but did not land one. And then they didn't draft an offensive lineman. Coach Mike Munchak said it wasn’t a dire need and the team can win with what it has.

Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean reports that among the team’s undrafted rookies is William Vlachos. Perhaps the center from Alabama can scramble the mix. But the Titans should still be adding options on the interior.

A pass-rushing defensive end and a play-making receiver are very clearly at the forefront of what the Jaguars need in order to improve.

But as we’ve talked about quarterback Blaine Gabbert’s rookie struggles, we talked about two big contributing factors -- his lack of playmakers and his insufficient protection.

They added Laurent Robinson and Lee Evans as free agent wideouts and are sure to draft one high. But there should be an offensive lineman coming in the early rounds, too.

Eben Britton’s return from a back issue should help and Will Rackley should be better in his second year. But it would be great if one or both could be challenged at right tackle and left guard, respectively. Neither is a sure thing at this point.

Brad Meester is in his 13th year and the team should have a succession plan at center in place too.

The Jaguars have long looked to be a big, physical team that can wear down an opponent. It makes sense with Maurice Jones-Drew in the backfield.

Mike Mularkey held over Jack Del Rio’s line coach, Andy Heck. Heck should have a bit more to work with after the draft.

Reading the coverage…

Houston Texans

The Texans will play in prime time four times, plus on Thanksgiving, says John McClain of the Houston Chronicle.

We won’t really know what the Texans think about Garrett Graham until we see how the team addresses tight end in the draft, says Nate Dunlevy of Bleacher Report.

Indianapolis Colts

The Colts, typically all over the prime time schedule, have 15 kickoffs at 1 p.m. says Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star.

There are going to be season tickets available for the Colts this year, says Chappell.

"This group of (offensive) linemen will be able to accomplish far superior run blocking, should hold up better against the beefier defensive linemen that tended to cause pressue up the middle on the quarterback, and is better-suited to support (an Andrew) Luck-style offense," says Brett Mock of Colts Authority.

Jacksonville Jaguars

“The first practice of the coach Mike Mularkey era Tuesday featured a Brad Meester Super Bowl pep talk, a new haircut for Blaine Gabbert and questions about Maurice Jones-Drew’s absence,” says Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union.

Defensive tackle Terrance Knighton can see out of his injured left eye again, says Tania Ganguli of the T-U.

The Jaguars are not on the Monday Night Football calendar, says Ganguli.

After the top six picks, the draft looks unsettled, says Stellino.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans’ first month of games is full of challenges, says John Glennon of The Tennessean.

Tight end Jared Cook has the perfect pick for the Titans -- another South Carolina guy, defensive end Melvin Ingram. The story from Jim Wyatt of the Tennessean.

Who played the most on offense in the AFC South in 2011?

Here’s a rundown, with percentage of offensive snaps played:

QB – Matt Hasselbeck, Titans, 90.4

RB – Maurice Jones-Drew, Jaguars, 74.93

FB – Greg Jones, Jaguars, 38.71

WR – Reggie Wayne, Colts, 98.8

WR – Pierre Garcon, Colts, 95.5

TE – Owen Daniels, Texans, 79.13

C – Brad Meester, Jaguars, 100

G – Wade Smith, Texans, 100

G – Uche Nwaneri, Jaguars, 100

G – Jake Scott, Titans, 100

T – Jeff Linkenbach, Colts, 100

T – Michael Roos, Titans, 100

A few notes:

Chris Johnson was the only back other than MJD to play as much as 60 percent of his team’s snaps (70.23).

Jones was the only fullback to play at least a third of his team’s snaps. Houston’s James Casey was next in fullback playing time, working 32.39 percent of the Texans’ snaps.

Wayne missed just 12 snaps and Garcon only 44 for the Colts. They are both heading for unrestricted free agency, and if both are lost that’s a lot of playing time to fill in. The next biggest number for a receiver in the division? The Titans' Nate Washington at 82.9.

Daniels didn’t beat out Jacksonville’s Marcedes Lewis (76.75) by much. I’d bet guessing the No. 3 tight end would be tough. Prove me wrong in the comments section below.

Two other offensive linemen narrowly missed 100 percent: Titans guard Eugene Amano missed only one play and Colts center Jeff Saturday was off the field for just six.

Reading the coverage …

Houston Texans

As he prepares to face his former team, Colts quarterback Dan Orlovsky is proud of what the Texans have done, says Jeffrey Martin of the Houston Chronicle.

The Texans should lean heavily on the run to get on track in Indianapolis, says John McClain of the Chronicle.

Andre Johnson is out for Thursday night’s game in Indianapolis and Owen Daniels might be too, says McClain.

Shaun Cody put on an excellent production exploring the old age of Jeff Garcia and Jake Delhomme.

Indianapolis Colts

Bill Polian says Peyton Manning will fail his physical after the season and then be in line to continue his rehabilitation with the team, writes Mike Chappell of the Indianapolis Star.

Things are a lot different since the Colts played Houston on opening day, say Phil Richards and Chappell.

Football Outsiders says the Colts have an 89.8 percent chance of drafting first overall.

One-time Colts tight end Ben Utecht is experiencing memory loss, says Erik Brady of USA Today.

Jacksonville Jaguars

In his 12th season and at 34 years old, center Brad Meester wants to return and be part of a Jaguars turnaround, says Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union.

Gene Frenette of the T-U offers a review of Shahid Khan’s podcast with Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

The Jaguars put another defensive back on injured reserve, says Tania Ganguli of the T-U. Does safety Darcel McBath qualify as part of the injury trend when he didn't have a real role and just joined the team last week?

John Oehser of jaguars.com expects the Jaguars to become more of a passing team.

Tennessee Titans

This should have been the Titans' time, writes David Boclair of The City Paper. If Pacman Jones and Vince Young panned out and were in their prime, at worst Tennessee would be right there with Houston in the AFC South.

Matt Hasselbeck practiced and Chris Johnson rested on Tuesday, says Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean.

Pressuring Blaine Gabbert is one of the keys for the Titans on Saturday, says John Glennon of The Tennessean.

An overdue check in on the AFC South’s primary penalty offenders, courtesy of Jeremy Mills of ESPN Stats and Info.



Some notes:

• Houston cornerback Kareem Jackson leads the division with 99 penalty yards on five penalties (four accepted), highlighted by pass interference penalties of 41 and 30 yards.
• Smith has four offsides, two personal fouls, two roughing the passer and one neutral zone infraction.
• Lacey has six separate penalty types -- three pass interference, an offside, a face mask, a fair catch interference, a holding and a running into the kicker. That’s impressive diversity!
• Mike Brisiel is the only player on the list with no declined penalties -- five false starts, two holding and one face mask.

We are overdue to check in on penalties in the AFC South, so here’s an account from ESPN Stats and Info on the primary offenders:

Notes:

• Lacey has three pass interferences, an offensive holding, a face mask and a running into the kicker. If a cornerback is beat, it’s usually better for him to draw a flag then let a guy go. But I’d like him not to be in that position very often.
• All five of Meester’s penalties are holding, but four have been declined. Declined penalties get guys off the hook in a lot of ways but shouldn’t. They are still committing the foul, it’s just the context that is helping them.
• Smith had two offside, a face mask, an illegal use of hands and an unnecessary roughness penalties. A nice smorgasbord of infractions.

Rick Reilly tells the story of Luke Akerstrom and his football friend, Brad Meester.

Coach Jack Del Rio took the blame and he should.

But veteran center Brad Meester had to be more aware of the clock situation at the end of the Jaguars’ loss Sunday when the team only got one play off with 16 seconds remaining in the game.

Blaine Gabbert knew precious seconds were ticking away, but was unable to get Meester to snap the ball and didn’t get it in his hands until only 5 seconds were left, meaning they only had one play. It was an incomplete pass.

Del Rio argued with officials, but knew he was hard-pressed to get anything changed. The clock restarted once the ball was spotted following an announcement that a completion to Marcedes Lewis was upheld. They could have gotten a couple of seconds back after a few ticked away as the ball was snapped but whistled dead when the booth official called for a review.

It doesn’t speak well of Meester or Del Rio that Gabbert was the only one of the three who appeared to know what was happening when play restarted.

We haven’t heard from Meester, which is unfortunate. He’s an unshakable, stand-up guy who I am sure will take the blame if the story is still alive Wednesday.

In the meantime, Monday we got a second round of Del Rio talking about the end-of-game scenario when the Jaguars were out of timeouts.

From his session with the Jacksonville press Monday:

“I accept the responsibility for that not being done better. And I would take it beyond the 16 seconds and tell you that with 38 seconds before the ball that was ruled a catch on the field and then challenged and then that whole deal. There were 38 seconds and we only got two snaps off. That’s not good.”

“We need to be able to run several plays in that situation, and execute that situation much better. Like I said, that’s my responsibility. … I must make sure that our staff and our 11 offensive players that are involved in that situation handle that much better. It was not acceptable. It didn’t give us enough opportunities there at the end to steal that win. We could have done that and so again, you put that in that whole pile of missed opportunities that we had [Sunday]. And would you blame it all on that? Absolutely not. But is that a part of it? Yes, because it’s another opportunity that we did not seize.”

Before officials stopped the game for the review, Gabbert was trying to snap the ball with 18 seconds on the clock, got it at 17, but saw the play whistled dead with 16 for the review.

Del Rio said it was a quick review. He was still talking to back judge Keith Ferguson when referee Bill Leavy came out from looking at the play to make his announcement that the play was upheld. Leavy did seem in a hurry -- he was moving toward the line of scrimmage even as he revealed his review decision.

“When [Leavy] came out from the hood it was very early and I had actually talked to [an official] and said, ‘Please go get to Bill and let him know that you guys just stopped us and the ball was being snapped, we should get some extra time back on the clock and when you don’t do that, because I’m betting you won’t, at least have him allow us to get to the line and be ready to snap the ball before he blows ready for play.’ The message must not have either gotten there or it wasn’t acted on. He came out of there, went awfully quick. Like I said, from my standpoint what I must do is make sure that we’re better prepared to handle that and execute crisply and efficiently and effectively and get more plays off. There’s just no way we come out of that 38 seconds and only get two plays off. It’s got to be better.”

Del Rio was asked if the ref should come out and announce the ruling and the time that should be on the clock.

“Typically that’s what occurs,” he said. “As I said I’m more focused on the things that I need to be sure that we’re on top of from our end.”

Insider file: K.C. Joyner picks the guy on each team who’s got a Michael Vick factor to him in that he’s difficult to plan for. His AFC South choices: Jacob Tamme, Mario Williams, Chris Johnson and Brad Meester.

Houston Texans

The preseason finale is a numbers game for Gary Kubiak, says John McClain.

Indianapolis Colts

Kerry Collins is ready for extensive playing time tonight, says Mike Chappell.

Atlanta signed cornerback Kelvin Hayden.

Rivers McCown thinks the Colts run may be over. It’s an insider file, so I will share an important piece of it: "It goes beyond the preseason: Their core is aging. (Peyton) Manning's injury is only the first symptom, and unless Indianapolis' last two drafts blossom fast, this could be a team without a direction in a few years. Can they hold off Father Time for one more year? That remains to be seen. But we're not betting on it."

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jaguars rookies are ready for their final auditions, says Tania Ganguli.

Tennessee Titans

The Titans and Chris Johnson are making progress, say Jim Wyatt and John Glennon.

It’s the last chance for some guys to secure a spot for dome Titans, says Glennon.

More Scouts Inc. lists are out, with rankings of running backs, fullbacks and offensive lines.

Here’s where the AFC South starters and players of note stand.

Running backs

2: Chris Johnson

4: Maurice Jones-Drew

6: Arian Foster

22: Joseph Addai

I think: Foster might be too low.

Fullbacks

7: Lawrence Vickers

8: Ahmard Hall

9: Greg Jones

I think: I might flip Jones and Vickers.

Tackles

14: Eric Winston

22: David Stewart

23: Michael Roos

28: Duane Brown

33: Eugene Monroe

49: Ryan Diem

52: Wade Smith (actually a guard)

68: Eben Britton

I think: I expressed myself on Roos yesterday. He's way to low.

Guards

22: Jake Scott

41: Jason Spitz

55: Eugene Amano (actually a center)

56: Leroy Harris

61: Mike Brisiel

62: Uche Nwaneri

70: Kyle DeVan

71: Mike Pollak

I think: It says a lot about the division's guards that Spitz is second among them.

Centers

7: Jeff Saturday

9: Chris Myers

24: Brad Meester

I think: Myers is underrated generally, and deserves this top 10 slot.

Jaguars center Brad Meester befriended 6-year-old Luke Akerstrom and his family after Luke suffered a seizure caused by a rare form of encephalitis.

Reading the coverage…

Houston Texans

Jacoby Jones is a prodigal son of a gun, says Richard Justice. (Great headline, Chronicle editors.)

Dorin Dickerson’s growth was helped by offseason work with Larry Fitzgerald.

Says Dale Robertson: “Maybe everyone having to keep their distance for the last six months will prove to be a positive. You couldn’t ask for a fresher start.”

Michael Lombardi doesn’t like the Texans' toughness, says David Barron.

Stephanie Stradley found Eric Winston’s reaction to the soft accusations.

Indianapolis Colts

Anthony Gonzalez; ‘This may be one of my last opportunities (with the Colts), if not the last opportunity." Mike Chappell’s story.

Tommie Harris isn’t much of a spin move guy, says Chappell.

Training camps are smarter now, says Bob Kravitz.

Tom Moore will be a good resource for the Jets offense, says Peter King. I do not buy the idea I’ve heard that he’ll be a big factor in helping New York deal with Peyton Manning.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Jack Del Rio started easing his new guys into the lineup Thursday, says Vito Stellino.

David Garrard should be OK and Aaron Kampman may switch sides, says Tania Ganguli.

Paul Posluszny’s transition bears watching, says Gene Frenette.

Brad Meester and Jaguars PR man Ryan Robinson have helped inspire 6-year-old Luke Akerstrom to walk again. Watch the attached video.

Blaine Gabbert could ultimately be a top five quarterback, says John Oehser.

Tennessee Titans

Matt Hasselbeck put down the sweet tea and got to work, says John Glennon.

Mild-mannered offensive coordinator Chris Palmer has a stern side, writes Jim Wyatt.

Jake Scott says players have issues with the HGH testing company, writes Glennon.

Kenny Britt is disappointed yoga didn’t help him avoid hamstring troubles, says Wyatt.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jaguars aren’t looking for parades or pinwheels as congratulations. But in the two years since Gene Smith took over as general manager, they’ve basically gutted the roster. And while setting about a major rebuilding project, they remained competitive with a 7-9 season and an 8-8 campaign.

After another draft and an active free-agency period, they now feel the rebuild is complete.

“There is an expectation level in this league to win, and I think having some horses makes us all smile in this building,” Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. “I think we went out and acquired some guys for the second and third level of our defense where we talked about needing some help. ... It’s going to help us be a whole lot better.

“The pressure, the demands, that’s part of what we do, and I love that part of it. It becomes a little more enjoyable when you know you’re getting closer to being on equal footing."

Del Rio’s not buying that the Colts are slipping, and he’s not waiting for them to. The in-house expectation is that this team is capable of competing for the AFC South crown no matter what any other team in the division has going for it.

Bolstered by four upgrades among the top 12 players on defense, Jacksonville is a team that should be much improved. The Jaguars won’t be a popular pick, but they could be a surprise, emergent team.

THREE HOT ISSUES

1. Will there be a quarterback controversy? The team stands firmly with David Garrard and intends to bring first-round pick Blaine Gabbert along slowly. But Gabbert has looked great early, while Garrard tends to be inconsistent. There are bound to be times during the season when there is some pressure to make a change from inside team headquarters, not just from media and fans.

“If we ever get to the point where we think Blaine is better than Dave, that’s good for the Jaguars,” offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter said. “Because I think Dave is good enough to win with; I think we can win our division with Dave Garrard at quarterback. If Blaine is better than Dave, shoot, that’s good for us.”

Del Rio and Koetter could have a complicated job managing how and when to play Gabbert if they feel he’s forcing his way into the lineup.

“I’ve got a healthy appreciation for the desire out there to make it a story,” Del Rio said. “For us, we’re about maximizing our opportunities as a football team, playing the guys who give us the best chance to win games and working on the preparation. ...

“Through the course of competition and exposure and based on health, those factors kind of take care of themselves. I don’t think we have to get ahead of the story. I think we can just let it play out, and at least we are doing so from a position of strength. There is no reason to make it dysfunctional, make it unhealthy. What purpose does that serve? It’s not going to help us win more games.”

It sounds good, but it can get complicated. Garrard’s the guy right now, and the team and the quarterback need to do a better job of making sure he gets hit far less so he can make consistently good decisions with the ball.

Factor tight ends Marcedes Lewis and Zach Miller and running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Rashad Jennings into the mix with the receivers, and the Jaguars have sufficient weapons to complement a run-based offense. Mike Thomas, Jason Hill and Cecil Shorts could be a better three-pack of receivers than many people think.

2. How much better can the revamped defense be? If this defense doesn’t improve from 32nd against the pass, 28th overall and 27th in points allowed, Del Rio will lose his job.

The team shelled out $37 million guaranteed to three prime free agents: linebackers Paul Posluszny and Clint Session and safety Dawan Landry. The Jags also added nickelback Drew Coleman.

That group, plus rookie defensive backs Chris Prosinski and Rod Issac, should vastly improve the defensive production and depth.

Smith wanted to build foundations early and spent his first two drafts working on the lines. Defensive tackles Tyson Alualu and Terrance Knighton should take up all kinds of blockers and create space for the two new linebackers and the underrated Daryl Smith to make a lot of impact plays.

“Jacksonville’s interior D-line really stood out,” Posluszny said about his research as a free agent. “They’ve got two studs in the middle that are very active, get to the ball a lot and certainly are going to take up a lot of blockers.”

Safety play last season was horrific, and Landry will be a significant upgrade even though he didn’t bring Ed Reed with him from Baltimore.

“I’m not looking for any grace period to assemble this defense,” Del Rio said. "Guys we’re assembling and counting on for the most part are veterans. ... We’re going to expect to play coming out of the gate as a winning football team, and defensively we’ve got a lot of work to do.”

3. Can they play well late in the season? December is a debacle for this team.

In the past three seasons in games played in December and beyond, the Jaguars are 4-11. They need to learn to finish games and seasons better. What can change it?

“I think in Week 13 or something, we had a better record than the Packers did last year,” Daryl Smith said. “They got hot, and who would have thought they would go on to win? That could be us. Why not? We have to try to stay off of that roller coaster, try to be consistent, just get better each week. Steady, steady, steady, then come late November or December, get hot.”

“I’ve been in the playoffs twice since I’ve been here and that’s been the formula. … We can’t feel like we arrived when we have a good game or played well and won a couple games.”

Del Rio says that with a more talented roster, he has to guide it to better work in the last quarter of the season.

BIGGEST SURPRISE

Beat writers and fans call Austen Lane “The Bringer of Pain.” It’s funny. But he looks like a guy who will make it hard for the team to look anywhere else for its second starting defensive end. He can be a ball of fury, and that will fit right in with the tone and tempo of the rest of the defensive front.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT

Right tackle Eben Britton came in with a reputation as a nasty player, and the team missed him last season when he was lost with a shoulder injury. I’ve picked him as a breakout-caliber guy this season. But word is he has not been great so far. Perhaps he’s still being cautious and easing his way back, but he needs to take things up a big notch soon.

OBSERVATION DECK

• Two years ago, people were writing off center Brad Meester. But defenses were taking advantage of weak guard play to get to him. He rebounded well last season and is a guy whom coaches love as a reliable offensive line leader.
• Knighton’s weight always will be an issue. The defensive tackle is a great player and superlikable guy. The team cannot hold his fork for him. The more he can control it, the more impact and money he will make.
• Prosinski could well be in the opening day lineup as the free safety. He worked with the first team early in camp and might be up to a pairing with Landry in the middle of the secondary. Rashean Mathis and Derek Cox need to play better at corner, but the Jaguars will improve from the safety upgrades and from the presence of veteran nickelback Drew Coleman.
• Looking for an underdog to root for? How about undrafted free agent Marc Schiechl? He set a Football Championship Subdivision record for sacks at the Colorado School of Mines.
• Scotty McGee isn’t working with defensive backs regularly anymore. Can he stick as strictly a punt-return specialist? He caught 185 punts on one day of camp. And the team should move away from using Thomas in the role, although McGee is hardly the only alternative.
• I like Miller, and the team raves about his potential. But he’s been inconsistent early in camp with too many drops. He’s got great hands, so it seems to be a focus issue.
• Larry Hart may be in the doghouse for coming back from the lockout overweight. At defensive end, he currently ranks behind Aaron Kampman, Lane, Jeremy Mincey and Aaron Morgan.
• Fourth-round receiver Cecil Shorts was great in camp early, and I bet the undrafted crop of wideouts has at least one NFL-caliber guy. Keep your eyes on Armon Binns, Jamar Newsome and Dontrelle Inman.
• Third-year receiver Jarett Dillard is running well after a couple of injuries cost him the bulk of his first two seasons.
• Watch how much better punter Matt Turk gets now that he will be a beneficiary of the Jaguars’ topflight cover guys, Montell Owens and Kassim Osgood.
• The Jaguars may be content to use Jones-Drew, coming off a knee operation, very minimally in camp and preseason games.
• Veteran Jason Spitz has not been on the field yet, but I think the team would like for third-round pick Will Rackley to win the open left guard spot.

Chris Hope will be 31 in Sept. and is facing that awkward time in a professional sports career that tends to make me cringe.

At his best, he was very good. But he’s not at his best anymore, slowing down as he gets older. The confidence and swagger that helped make him good don’t allow him, or most players in that situation, to admit things are different. The sort of cheating he might try to make up for a lost step can hurt his team.

Teams deal with this all the time. Some are quick to move on, some show loyalty to a guy who has led well and been effective. The Titans don’t have great alternatives to challenge for Hope’s job. I expect he’ll be the starting strong safety on opening day, though the team would likely prefer to drop his salary which includes a $500,000 roster bonus and a $6 million base salary.

I don't see them chasing a free agent safety. The competition for the best guys will be fierce considering how many teams need safety help, including, potentially, the three other teams in the AFC South. And the Titans have other spots they need to address.

As constructed, the Titans don’t have great guys to challenge Hope.

Vincent Fuller was the nickelback until he was demoted last season, and is likely not durable enough to last 16 games. Nick Schommer, Robert Johnson and Myron Rolle are all unproven. Free agent Donnie Nickey has been a special teamer who’s never seriously challenged for a spot on the defense.

It’s a position that is likely to be an issue for Tennessee.

Where is age a pending issue for the rest of the division?

Houston Texans

Punter Matt Turk just turned 43, and while age is not a big deal for specialists, he hardly boomed it last season. He was 26th in the league with a 36.8 net average and only put 19 down inside the 20.

Even if the team is looking for placement over distance, an upgrade is a possibility.

Indianapolis Colts

Right tackle Ryan Diem was not good last season and turns 32 in July. The Colts drafted tackles with their first two picks, though Ben Ijalana could start off at guard.

Diem has a $5.4 million base salary, which is way high for his level of play at this stage. The Colts could part ways with him once they sort out their offensive line if they feel they have sufficient depth, or they could negotiate that number down. It would be difficult for them to pay him that, I imagine.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Center Brad Meester bounced back and played better in 2010 than he did in 2009, when there was a lot of talk about him slipping. GM Gene Smith indicated that Meester's 2009 performance had a lot to do with unsteady guard play.

Meester is a guy to watch, however. He provides good leadership for a line that has young tackles. Odds are he remains in place this season, but third-round draft pick Will Rackley could be the team’s center in 2012.