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After an injury-filled, $8 million season in Washington, Jason Taylor was back on the free-agent market this spring. Several teams needing a pass rusher showed interest, including the Patriots, who had previously traded veteran linebacker Mike Vrabel to the Chiefs.

Taylor ended up in Miami, where he started his career and played for 10 seasons. It was one of the few examples of a player turning down a chance to join the Pats; head coach and evil genius Bill Belichick has an incredible knack for convincing free agents -- through Charles Manson-styled brainwashing, no doubt -- to come to Foxboro. Not this time.

After a paid holiday in DC last year, Jason Taylor is back in Miami, where he spent the first 10 years of his career. But at 34, his role has changed. Taylor is no longer the focus of the defense, the pass-rushing specialist who averaged nearly 12 sacks a season during his time with the Dolphins.

Instead, he'll be used sparingly, in an effort to keep him fresh, healthy, and productive. Via the Miami Herald's Armando Salguero:

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

1. Offensive Tackle. There is a reason the 49ers gave up the most sacks in the league last year. There's a reason Frank Gore had a letdown year (a few, actually, but this is one). The 49ers are off to a good start at overhauling the position with Joe Staley, but Staley's moving over to the left side, and it's up in the air how he'll respond. Backup Kwame Harris is a free agent, and the 49ers aren't really fans of either him or Jonas Jennings. The team is going to need a starter at right tackle, whether that's Jennings or someone new. But the team need a general upgrade in talent and depth. Bad news. The 49ers don't have a late first round pick. They could hope that Jeff Otah, Ryan Clady, or Sam Baker fall to them. An intriguing pick for later in the first day is Heath Benedict from Newberry. They'll have to get some help out of the draft, because free agency is scarce. Max Starks looks to be the the best available, meaning someone will grossly overpay for him.

Quarterback has been an issue in San Francisco lately. Getting to the quarterback has been, as well.

In fact, after sacking the quarterback 11 times in the first four games, the 49ers have just a single sack – on Giants quarterback Eli Manning on Oct. 21 – in the three games since.

The drop-off has been attributed to two reasons -- opposing game-plans and injuries. Mike Singletary's subordinate defensive coordinator Greg Manusky says that teams have been getting rid of the ball quicker, using more short routes and three step drops.

The other reason has been injuries. The team's two starting outside linebackers -- Manny Lawson and Jay Moore -- are out for the season, and the outside linebackers are the primary pass-rushers in the 3-4 defense. Their other pass-rush specialist, Tully Banta-Cain, has had to deal with a high ankle sprain -- a total hinderance for a player utilizing speed. Banta-Cain had 1.5 sacks before the injury and none since.

Banta-Cain claims he's healthy now, which should be music to the ears of the 49ers' secondary, who is allowing 220 yards per game and 11 touchdowns this season with no pressure up front.

Before the season, there was a lot of talk about how a good season for the 49ers defense could mean a head coaching job for Mike Singletary somewhere next year. Despite the massive additions made to the defense in the offseason -- Nate Clements, Patrick Willis, Tully Banta-Cain, etc. -- the unit is only marginally better than it was last year (337.8 yards and 20.4 points per game as opposed to 344 and 25.8 in 2006), Singletary has done one of the best coaching jobs in the NFL this year.

The 49ers defense was on the field a ridiculous 76 snaps against the Ravens last Sunday. The Ravens held the ball for almost 21 minutes in the first half alone. The 49ers had six three-and-outs. It's a pretty simple formula -- the more a defense is on the field, the more susceptible they are to giving up points. The fact that the 49ers defense has improved at all is a testament to the job Singletary is doing.

Singletary is also being credited for keeping professionalism in the locker room. When a season goes in the tank, as is what appears to be happening in San Francisco, and the blame lies primarily on one side of the ball, it's easy for animosity to grow. Yet by all accounts Singletary and Mike Nolan have managed to keep comraderie in tact.

It's odd to think that a coordinator in charge of the 21st-ranked defense in the league could be the most highly sought after head coaching commodity this year, but Singletary's performance cannot be measured in numbers.

To get you ready for the season, FanHouse is previewing all 32 NFL teams. Here's San Francisco's outlook.

2006 Record: 7-9

2006 Offense: Frank Gore stepped into the upper echelon of running backs; unfortunately, the rest of the offense is a year or two behind. Still, this unit showed marked improvement over the second half of the year. Alex Smith made his bones without any real playmakers in the passing game, especially with Vernon Davis missing a chunk of his rookie year because of an injury. A lot of this has been attributed to the work of offensive coordinator/quarterback guru Norv Turner, who's now preparing to fail as a head coach again running the Chargers.

2006 Defense: The 49ers defense finished 26th last year, Mike Nolan's last employing the 4-3. That's what you'd about expect from a unit that, Manny Lawson aside, was comprised of aging, unspectacular veterans. The team ranked in the second half of the league in rush defense, pass defense, interceptions, and sacks. Pretty substandard all around. They also didn't benefit from weak field position (see below).