--Jason Taylor might have ticked off Miami Dolphins czar Bill Parcells by starring on "Dancing With The Stars" this spring, but the Washington Redskins couldn't be happier with their new star defensive end, whom they acquired in a July 20 trade after losing four-year starter Phillip Daniels to a season-ending knee injury.

Asked to name a standout from the just-completed first week of training camp, coach Jim Zorn said, "I really appreciate how Jason Taylor came in from day one and has fit right in."

But then Taylor majors in smooth -- on the dance floor, on the field or with people. In his "welcome to Washington" press conference, Taylor said all the right things, thanking his family, saying how bad he felt for Daniels, not ripping the Dolphins and expressing his excitement about being a Redskin. Most important to his audience, the lithe 255-pound 11-year veteran talked about how he loves to terrify quarterbacks.

"What I love to do is get after quarterbacks," Taylor said. "I love chasing them, making them nervous and making them do dumb things. I'm here to play ball and play ball as long as I can. It's football season, so there's no entertainment business stuff right now. There's no dancing unless we're celebrating big plays."

The Redskins are counting on plenty of such celebrations from the NFL's reigning Man of The Year for on-field excellence and sterling community service.

"Going up against Jason (as a Dolphin), we had to come up with a way to slide, protect the tackle," said offensive line coach Joe Bugel. "I told him, 'I'm glad you're here. We had enough time preparing for you.' He got in that pass-rush drill and I'll tell you what, he's a slippery hombre. Some of those linear guys, it's hard to get your hands on 'em. We tried to punch him (during Taylor's first practice) and he went inside on us like a blink of an eye."

Taylor, who promised the Redskins he will fulfill the remaining two years of his contract despite his previously announced plan to retire after 2008, didn't stop impressing as his first week in Washington continued.

"The thing that has impressed me the most about Jason is his ability to jump right in," Zorn said. "We were going to bring him in slow, but he's taking his reps. He's enjoying it. I think he's picking it up very quickly. He's trying to get himself mentally up to speed with all of the new terminology and concepts. He's a real pro and he's going at it hard."

Apparently, skipping Miami's entire offseason program didn't affect Taylor.

"It's like riding a bike," Taylor said after his first day in cleats in almost seven months. "You might lose your balance at first when you get back on, but you still know how to ride. It's a lot different than a dance floor, for sure. It will take a couple of days. Coach didn't want to throw me in too quickly and bite off too much early. We'll ease our way into it, but getting work done all the while, not just standing around as if it's a country club. I'm like a little kid in some ways, but I feel so lost in other ways. It will take a while to get used to and I'm nowhere near where I need to be to be successful, but there's a lot of time before we kick this thing off (on Sept. 4 against the New York Giants)."

CAMP CALENDAR: Camp closes to public on July 28.

Play FOX FANTASY FOOTBALL TODAY!