Jason Taylor Dealt to Skins

By Chad Klassen
Love of Sports Correspondent

An already solid Redskins front four just got that much better with the addition of Jason Taylor, who was shipped to Washington for a second-round pick Sunday night.

Taylor’s situation in Miami was overshadowed by the recent rumors of Brett Favre’s possible return, so this may have gone under the radar a bit in most markets.

However, it’s been absolutely clear that new top dog Bill Parcells and the 11-year veteran defensive end wanted to part ways, despite both saying all the right things in the media throughout the ordeal.

For Miami, despite receiving a draft pick in return, it means the loss of the team’s lone Pro Bowler from last year. Taylor’s now the second franchise defensive player (linebacker Zach Thomas being the other) to be ousted from the Dolphins this offseason, leaving only Joey Porter to shore up a 1-15 season.

For Washington, the trade for Taylor is a huge upgrade at defensive end and was undoubtedly meant to patch up its front four that was devastated by the loss of Phillip Daniels, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first day of training camp.

Even with the absence of Daniels, the Redskins defense has vastly improved with Taylor’s presence on the D-line and will be one of the better units in the NFC this upcoming season.

Competing in the toughest division in football, against Pro-Bowl caliber quarterbacks in the NFC East six times a year (Manning and the Giants, Romo and the Cowboys, McNabb and the Eagles), requires a front four that can create a pass rush and make things difficult for opposing signal callers.

As the Giants displayed in Super Bowl XLII, a ferocious defensive line can equalize a top quarterback on the other side and win teams a lot of football games.

Now, some might believe that Taylor, who will be 34 at the start of the regular season, is fading as an NFL player and has little left in the tank for Washington. Sure, he’s on the downward part of his outstanding career to this point, but it was only last year the six-time Pro Bowler recorded 11 sacks with next to no help along the defensive line.

Two seasons ago, Taylor earned the honor of the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year.

He was the one bright spot on a horrible football team, and to have sacked opposing quarterbacks 11 times is remarkable given he was double-teamed on virtually every play as the only legitimate threat on that Dolphins front four.

With much better talent surrounding him in Washington (311-pound Cornelius Griffin mans the inside of the D-line, linebackers London Fletcher and Marcus Washington watch his back), there’s no doubt some of the attention will be taken off No. 99 – and vice versa for the rest of Washington’s defense – creating more opportunities for [him and other] guys to make big plays.

It can be said with certainty the Taylor trade will do wonders for the Redskins, complimenting a defense that was second in the NFC against the run last year and only coughed up 1,460 yards. His 11 sacks, though, will also help beef up the same unit that was lacking in the sack department all season, with just 33.

While the Redskins defensive will be more than solid with the acquisition of Taylor, new head coach Jim Zorn doesn’t have the same Pro Bowl quarterback as he had in Seattle with Matt Hasselbeck.

Jason Campbell will return as starter after his injury-shortened season last year, and while he’s shown some positive development when on the field, he’s not the answer.

As far as offensive weapons, Santana Moss and Antwan Randle El are both able to make dynamic plays after the catch, and Clinton Portis eats up yards on the ground. Collectively, that’s some of the top offensive talent in the league, but how are they expected to come through with big plays when their quarterback can’t do the same?

And with all due respect to what Todd Collins accomplished last season in leading the Redskins into the playoffs with those four straight wins, the team needs a pivot who can run the offense smoothly and consistently get the ball into the hands of its playmakers.

If Packers GM Ted Thompson somehow miraculously changes his mind about releasing Favre, or decides trading No. 4 is the best route, Daniel Snyder should definitely throw Washington’s name into the sweepstakes and pick his team up a quality starter to accommodate the upgrade defensively in Taylor.

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