Line of Scrimmage: NFL GameChangers '10: Pass Rushers

Football Betting Lines

07/02/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Apart from 13 mostly unmemorable outings with the Washington Redskins in 2008, Jason Taylor has spent his entire 13- year NFL career as a member of the Miami Dolphins.

Thus, suffice it to say, he's more than familiar with the New York Jets. Taylor's second career NFL sack was of then-Jets QB Neil O'Donnell in 1997, and his appearances against the organization that Namath made famous number around two dozen. He's also had plenty of rhetorical run-ins with the team's vocal fan base, once saying, "There's a little more class on the Giants side...some Jets fans take the 'cl' out of class."

So you might forgive those who did a double-take when they saw the news that Taylor had signed on to wear the same jersey that those supposedly less-than- refined supporters will don inside the new Meadowlands stadium this fall. The marriage between Taylor and the Jets feels about as natural as one between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Sarah Silverman.

Fans of Gang Green aren't the only ones who find the move curious.

"It's a little surreal," said Taylor at his introductory press conference in the spring. "To be honest, walking into the building on my first visit and kind of feeling like you're in somewhat of enemy territory, it was different."

If you get the sense that Taylor would have chosen not to have those strange feelings, then you're not far off. The six-time Pro Bowler makes no bones about the fact that he wished to return to the Dolphins, but a prickly relationship with management and Taylor's advancing age largely had much to do with a lack of mutual interest.

In the end, the best offer Taylor had from a contending team came from the Fins' longtime division rivals, and the 35-year-old ultimately decided to set aside any misgivings in the pursuit of his first Super Bowl title.

There are some who believe that Taylor's well-demonstrated pass-rushing skills could be the thing to get the Jets over the hump this season.

"I couldn't be happier to have someone like Rex Ryan come up to the forefront and want me," Taylor said of his new coach. "He was one half away from going to the Super Bowl last year, he and the Jets. [The Jets] had the number one defense in the League. For him to express interest in a 35-year old defensive end/linebacker out of the rival Miami Dolphins was very flattering to me."

But what of those fans who might be suspicious that Taylor - who had the worst year of his career when playing away from Miami in 2008 - might not be at his best while wearing what he once considered to be hated Jets green?

"I think the number one currency in the NFL is what you do on the football field," Taylor said. "If you want to get results, if you want to get something done, if you want to get a new contract, the best the way to go about doing that is by your play. That's what I plan to do. Come over here and play my butt off like I have for 13 years in the League and give this organization and these fans everything that I have."

Below, as the second installment of our eight-part "GameChangers" series, we look at five incoming pass rushers who will enter their first year in a new uniform as central figures in their team's 2010 development:

5. Derrick Morgan, Titans (rookie, Georgia Tech) - Life in the NFL has not gotten off to a great start for Morgan, who battled calf and hamstring injuries during the team's mini-camps, then was arrested and charged with speeding and driving with a suspended license in mid-June. Tennessee needs a much more seamless autumn out of Morgan, who was chosen number 16 overall in order to boost one of the league's worst pass rushes in short order. The ACC's 2009 Defensive Player of the Year had 12.5 sacks as a junior last season, more than twice what any Tennessee player posted in last year's disappointing 8-8 campaign.

4. Aaron Kampman, Jaguars (free agent, from Packers) - Kampman probably didn't preserve his 2009 calendar for posterity, as the year started off with Green Bay transitioning to a 3-4 defense that marginalized his skills, and ended with him on injured reserve with a torn ACL suffered in Week 11. The injury didn't deter the Jaguars from snapping up the 4-3 end early in the free agency period, however, or from handing him a four-year, $26 million contract. The 30- year-old Kampman, who had 37 sacks out of the Pack's 4-3 from 2006-2008 and was named to a pair of Pro Bowls, needs to be the answer for a team that had a woeful 14 sacks in 2009.

3. Jason Taylor, Jets (free agent, from Dolphins) - "The fire is still burning," Taylor told the press when he was introduced as a Jet. "Trust me. It's burning hot." If Taylor is truly capable of bringing his "A" game, a Jets team that led the league in several meaningful defensive categories a year ago could be even scarier. Though guys like Calvin Pace and Shaun Ellis have had their moments, Rex Ryan's defense lacks a consistently threatening edge presence, one that Taylor can provide when he's at his best. Jets fans focused on the team's first Super Bowl appearance since The Beatles were a working band will expect nothing less.

2. Brandon Graham, Eagles (rookie, Michigan) - When the Eagles traded up in the first round of the April draft, many assumed it was in order to take a safety (Texas safety Earl Thomas was available) to serve as their Brian Dawkins of the future. Instead, the Birds targeted a player who many believed to be the top pass-rusher available, a reliable complement to the overachieving Trent Cole and a player who has a reputation for being steady against the run. On the latter point, the jury is still out - at a shade under 270 pounds Graham might be a little light to take on the NFL's top offensive tackles - but if he adjusts quickly, the ex-Wolverine should make life a little easier for the beleaguered secondary playing behind him.

1. Julius Peppers, Bears (free agent, from Panthers) - Bears GM Jerry Angelo and head coach Lovie Smith took a $91.5 million gamble that Peppers - whose effort during his eight seasons in Carolina was occasionally in question - can prop up Chicago's flagging defense and save their jobs. Peppers, who has missed only two games since 2002 and has posted double-digit sacks in five of the past six years, will definitely help. But with Mike Martz's quick-strike, quick three-and-out offense now operating on the other side, Peppers and the Bears defense is going to be on the field a great deal. Makes you wonder whether the ex-North Carolina two-sport star will be able to withstand the strain.

Next up at the Line of Scrimmage: 2010 GameChangers Part III - Wide Receivers