Sean Taylor, LaVar Arrington, Champ Bailey, Wilber Marshall, Darrell Green — the Redskins defense has long thrived on playmakers. Someone that altered offensive game plans with their athleticism or hitting.
Jason Taylor is next. And just in time. The Redskins were quietly out of impact players. They have some nice defenders — Shawn Springs, London Fletcher, LaRon Landry and Andre Carter can play for most teams — but none made the Pro Bowl last year.
The absence of Sean Taylor was noticed in two losses last year following his injury. The defense wasn’t as aggressive without his legendary big hits that scared opponents in open field. The roster-wide adrenalin rush following Taylor’s death masked his loss during the 4-0 finish, but offenses will again challenge the Redskins during the preseason.
However, Jason Taylor’s arrival on Monday suddenly gives opponents someone to game plan. Offensive coordinators will spend Tuesdays this fall figuring how to keep Taylor out of the backfield.
That’s the biggest impact Taylor brings to Washington — respect. Instead of offenses just concentrating on what they do best when readying for the Redskins, they’ll also ponder over protecting their passer. They’ll ready Plan Bs. It makes a difference.
Washington will certainly be more aggressive than past years when rarely generating a pass rush. The defense was built on the back seven, including four first-rounders in the secondary. It was hard to beat the Redskins corners over the past decade while the safeties were bruisers. Yet, opponents made big plays thanks to little pass rush.
The Redskins are still a little weak against the run. Ends Carter and Taylor are better pass rushers, but defensive coordinator Greg Blache can now gamble his linebackers up frontmore often versus the run. Drop that extra man in the box knowing quarterbacks won’t have time to find third options. The Redskins just cut a half-second off passers’ read time.
“[The ends are] going to create some problems on offense,” Blache said. “One compliments the other and I think that it will be a new dimension for us. . . . We will come up with a new recipe.”
A recipe for big plays.
The key is the defensive tackles. Great ends tend to make ordinary tackles much better. Tackles should face single blockers as tight ends and fullbacks concentrate on the ends. If Washington’s interior defense offsets the run, there’s no way too many quarterbacks can beat the Redskins secondary regularly.
One playmaker makes the difference. The Redskins now have another one thanks to Taylor.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
