In a rush: Taylor acquisition helps 'Skins keep up in sack-happy East

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ASHBURN, Va. -- To be sure, the Redskins' blockbuster acquisition of Jason Taylor late Sunday was a move born out of first-day-of-training-camp desperation. But it was also an acknowledgment that if you want to thrive in the rough and tumble NFC East, you better be able to rush the passer.

Last season, the Giants, Cowboys and Eagles combined for a whopping 136 sacks, an average of slightly more than 45 each. Super Bowl champion New York led the way, of course, with its vaunted pass rush, finishing with 53 sacks. Osi Umenyiora had 13, Justin Tuck contributed 10, and the now-retired Michael Strahan chipped in nine.

Dallas and its aggressive defensive front seven wasn't far behind, with 46 sacks as a team, including 14 for DeMarcus Ware and 12.5 for Greg Ellis. Philadelphia had 37 sacks, led by Trent Cole's breakthrough season of 12.5.

The Redskins? They finished last in the NFC East in terms of sacks, with 33. Defensive end Andre Carter led Washington with 10.5 sacks. So when end Phillip Daniels (2.5 sacks in '07) went down Sunday morning with a season-ending ACL injury, and reserve end Alex Buzbee followed that up by blowing out his Achilles tendon that afternoon, the dumbstruck Redskins didn't just need Taylor, they suddenly had to have the world's most famous dancing Dolphin since Flipper.

"We're probably in the toughest division, or one of the toughest divisions, in the NFL,'' said Redskins starting quarterback Jason Campbell, just one of many happy Washington players who looked on Monday morning as if they found Taylor's arrival too good to be true. "If you look at all the teams we play, they all have great defensive ends. One thing they all do is put pressure on quarterbacks. The Giants pass rush in the Super Bowl shows you how tremendous (it is) having a tough front seven like that and what it can add to your team.''

What Taylor, who'll be 34 in September, adds immediately to the Redskins is a pass-rusher who their opponents must account for in their blocking schemes. Taylor might have one foot already planted in Hollywood with an eye on his post-playing days career, but he's still capable of creating far more havoc from the edge than Washington has had in many years. Taylor had 11 sacks for last year's sad-sack Dolphins (1-15), and he hasn't totaled fewer than 8.5 sacks in any season this decade.

"We had high expectations this season anyway, but with this acquisition it energizes us even more in terms of our goals and what we're setting out to do this year,'' Redskins middle linebacker and leading tackler London Fletcher said. "We knew it was going to be tough to win our division with the Cowboys, the Giants and the Eagles to deal with.''

Washington being able to have Taylor in its lineup every week at least puts the Redskins into the conversation in terms of NFC East pass rushes. Opponents now won't be able to merely slide their blocking to Carter's right end slot, daring Washington's other defensive linemen to beat them in the pass rush. Some Redskins were even giddy enough Monday to maintain that Taylor's acquisition is the move that could simultaneously impact all three lines of Washington's defense, elevating it to among the league's elite units.

The thinking, which I don't find wholly unrealistic, is that Taylor's presence in the pass rush will make the coverage duties of the Redskins defensive backs easier and lead to more play-making chances for the linebackers. Voilá, unit-wide improvement.

"The defensive backs are happy, I know that,'' said Redskins executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato, the man who hastily pulled the trigger on the Taylor deal. "They definitely like it.''

No one in Washington has more reason to be relieved than Carter, who won't attract nearly as much attention from opposing blockers with Taylor in burgundy and yellow.

"Having him on the other side is a great deal,'' Carter said. "I'm sure it will [elevate our defense]. It'll open up things and allow us to have a four-man rush. Having him on the other side, and then with our tackles, somebody's going to come free and have one-on-one opportunities.''

The Redskins were clearly fortunate that a Jason Taylor was sitting out there on the market, waiting to be had in just such a situation. The price was right, and so was their logic. To compete in today's NFC East, a pass rush is essential.

• Speaking of Carter and Taylor, there was a big mystery here Monday about who was going to get to wear No. 99, the number Carter owns in Washington and the one Taylor has made famous in Miami.

Carter even joked about the prospect of either selling the number to Taylor, or being instructed from on high as to what jersey he'll wear.

"We'll see what happens,'' Carter said. "If [owner] Dan Snyder comes to talk to me ... [Maybe Jason and I] will have a dance off. But he'll probably beat me. That salsa stuff and all that, I can't do that. I do play the piano. Maybe I'll play the piano and he can dance and may the best man win.''

A little later Monday, new Redskins head coach Jim Zorn broke a little news, telling me and another reporter: "We've already resolved it. Andre Carter will be [No.] 99. And there was no money exchanged.''

Apparently Taylor is going to have to earn his stripes as a Redskin, because not only is he going to be wearing a new number, he'll be switching to left end, leaving Carter on the right side, which he has played his entire seven-year NFL career.