Jason Taylor

The whistling of “Hail to the Redskins” came to a stop yesterday. The reality of an NFL season has arrived. The Redskins biggest weakness, lack of depth along both the offensive & defensive lines, has become an issue. Defensive end Jason Taylor along with offensive tackle Stephen Heyer are out for Sunday’s game with Dallas.

We don’t want Dallas, much rather St. Louis at home until the pair get healthy. The odds of beating Dallas on the road were a long to begin, the Cowboys opened as an 11-point favorite. Without Taylor it will be interesting to see how they change.

Obviously, the loss of Taylor is the biggest concern. To beat Dallas, a team needs a pass rush!! If Romo gets too much time, nothing good is going to happen. While Campbell and the Redskins offense have been the talk during the mini two-game streak, the defense has very quietly done its job.

The defense is nothing spectacular ranked 14th in total yards, 12th in rushing defense, and 15th in passing. Defensive Coordinator Greg Blache has been playing that “bend don’t break” style, which is working. The Skins are tied with 9th with 57 points allowed, while playing 2 of the better offenses, New Orleans & the Cardinals, in the NFC.

So it is hard to criticize the defense. However, the worst part of its game is the pass rush, which is tied for 18th in sacks with 6. Taylor along with Andre Carter and Cornelius Griffin combine for half of the Skins total. When it comes to sacks, the Skins are by far and away the worst in the NFC East. The Giants & Philly lead the NFL with 13 while Dallas is tied for 4th with 10.

Who will replace Taylor? Demetric Evans a former Dallas undrafted free agent. If Washington can put the Cowboys in passing down & yardage situations, expect to see Erasmus James along with Chris Wilson. The player to watch is James, who was the 18th player selected in the 2005 draft by Minnesota. The Redskins picked him up in the off season with a damage good label after knee injuries the last 2 years. The sleeper maybe Wilson who was picked up from the Canadian Football League in 2007 and had 4 sacks last year as a part-timer.

Replacing Heyer is a much simpler solution. Jon Jansen comes back to his starting position. Jansen may have lost a step or two, but should be ready to show the coaches they made a mistake when benching him.