Did these NFL teams address their needs?

During the NFL offseason, I will be conducting an analysis to see if each NFL team across the NFL addressed their most dire needs. These needs come from the statistical website of ProFootballFocus.com. Pro Football Focus looks at every player on every play and determines with a grading system if that player did his job correctly. If a player did his job well, he may receive a positive score (up to +2 in increments of 0.5), and if he didn't do well, he will receive a negative score (to -2 in increments of .05).

While there is some "judgment" to this method, generally this process can determine if stats are telling the truth or not. For example, ILB London Fletcher of the Washington Redskins had 139 total tackles last year, but he had the worst Pro Football Focus rating on the Redskins defense in 2012. This shows the box score doesn't tell the whole story.

Each player on offense is graded on their job in the passing and running game on offense, and each player on defense is graded on their job in the pass rush, run defense, or pass coverage. Obviously a defensive tackle will rarely contribute ratings to the pass coverage category. Now without further ado, here are the worst ratings of each AFC East team and what they did to fix them.

Buffalo Bills
Worst Ratings: Passing game and Rush Defense

The Bills had a pretty below average passing game last year with QB Ryan Fitzpatrick at the helm. Fitzpatrick put up some lofty stats at times, but ultimately threw too many interceptions and didn't win enough games. Also, behind WR Stevie Johnson and TE Scott Chandler, no receivers did much of anything to contribute to the passing game. This offseason, the Bills got rid of Fitzpatrick and grabbed QB Kevin Kolb from the Cardinals. They also drafted QB EJ Manuel in the first round. As far as receivers go, they drafted two receivers in USC's Robert Woods and speedster Marquise Goodwin from Texas to help out Johnson.

The other area that the Bills struggled in last year was against the run. The Bills are switching to the 3-4 under new head coach Doug Marrone and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. The former first round pick Marcell Dareus did a great job at getting after the quarterback in 2012, but failed to create anything against the running game. The Bills may have addressed it by taking ILB Kiko Alonso out of Oregon in the second round in this year's draft. They also traded their worst defensive player against the run, LB Kelvin Sheppard, to the Colts for OLB Jerry Hughes. We'll see if these moves pay off.

Miami Dolphins
Worst Ratings: Rush Offense and Run Blocking

When talking about the rush offense, we're talking about the running backs, receivers, and quarterbacks who attributed to running the football for yards, disregarding blocking. Last year, the Miami HBs (Reggie Bush, Daniel Thomas, Lamar Miller) didn't have great years. The Dolphins addressed this in the draft (some thought it was too late) by taking Mike Gillislee in the 5th round. Miami lost Bush in free agency to the Lions, so it will be interesting who wins the job for them at HB this year.

The other flaw of the Dolphins was their run blocking. Miami lost LT Jake Long to the Rams this year, and they didn't do much in the draft to help this unit. They drafted LT Dallas Thomas out of Tennessee in the third round, but he will most likely turn into a reserve guard at the start of 2013. The Dolphins are still hoping to get LT Branden Albert or some other player to help out at the tackle spot. Jonathan Martin had a subpar year in 2012, but is hoping to play better as he will probably be the starter at left tackle this year.

New England Patriots
Worst Ratings: Pass Rush and Rush Offense

The Patriots have a brand new passing offense with Danny Amendola, Aaron Dobson, and Josh Boyce, but last year they seemed to be inefficient in getting after the opposing QB. Most of their defensive lineman were not considered pass rushers, although last year's first round pick, DE Chandler Jones, did a good job at doing it. The Patriots grabbed Jamie Collins in the second round of this year's draft, and he will probably be a 3rd down pass rusher the other DE spot in their 4-3 hybrid defense. They also got DT Tommy Kelly from Oakland, who has been known for his ability to get to the quarterback.

The Patriots really didn't have another low rating, but their second lowest one came from their rush offense. The Pats didn't feel like they needed to address their running game, so they kept Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen as their two starters. Danny Woodhead was sent to the Broncos.

New York Jets
Worst Ratings: Pass Rush and Passing Game

The Jets definitely addressed their need of pass rush by taking the pass rushing DT Sheldon Richardson with their second pick in the first round. If the Jets can move either Muhammed Wilkerson or Richardson to the one technique at nose tackle, the Jets' defensive line would be stacked with pass rushers. The problem is the Jets' linebackers haven't been great at rushing the pass. Rex Ryan's defense usually involves more complex coverage rather than blitzing, but a solid pass rusher from the outside couldn't have hurt.

To say the Jets' passing game was bad seems like an obvious statement considering how poorly QB Mark Sanchez played last year. But many of Sanchez's receivers didn't help him out either. The Jets took QB Geno Smith in the second round, and with David Garrad recently leaving New York, Smith seems like the front-runner to take the starting job. Smith was the lightning rod of the draft, and we will see if he can save Ryan's job, which reportedly is on the hot seat.

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