All an elite pass rusher needs is one.

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How quickly a defensive player reacts to the snap — the "get-off," as Green Bay end Aaron Kampman describes it — is more than just key to notching sacks. Those with a zippy first step possess a highly coveted trait that can single-handedly change a game's complexion.

"It sets up everything on the back end," Packers defensive end Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila said. "If I can get that good first step, I already know there's going to at least be a pressure on the quarterback or something good is going to happen.

"I try to time it. If I can get my first step and the tackle is still in his stance, now he's more in recovery mode. He's moving backward."

During a mid-June interview, Packers coach Mike McCarthy recalled a 2006 match-up against Miami in which Dolphins end Jason Taylor got left tackle Daryn Colledge "twisted up" with his burst en route to a first-quarter sack-and-strip of quarterback Brett Favre. McCarthy immediately shifted his entire blocking scheme and designated a running back to help Colledge, who was starting in place of the ailing Chad Clifton (food poisoning).

"It just shows you how one guy like that can change the game," said McCarthy, whose team allowed one more Taylor sack in a Packers victory. "You have to take care of those guys."

The value of players with quick first steps like Taylor was reaffirmed this offseason. Minnesota sent first- and third-round draft picks to Kansas City for Jared Allen and then signed the NFL's 2007 sack leader to a contract extension with $31 million guaranteed — a league record for a defensive player. Allen's deal broke the mark of $30 million paid the previous year by Indianapolis to fellow end Dwight Freeney.

Jacksonville was unable to acquire that kind of impact pass rusher before the draft. So the Jaguars made a bold move, trading up 18 spots in the first round to No. 8 to select an end who showcased his speed at the University of Florida.

"Just look at the ball and go — it's natural," Derrick Harvey said last month at a Jaguars mini-camp. "You've got to be born with it."

From the mouths of babes ...

Harvey will soon discover that successfully utilizing a quick first step at the NFL level is as much about technique and desire as genetics. In defenses where ends have gap responsibilities, offenses can exploit pass rushers who don't incorporate other moves besides charging up-field.

"The first step is good but it can only get you so far," said Gbaja-Biamila, a speed rusher who has averaged double-digit sacks over the past seven seasons. "If (opponents) know that's all you're going to use, they play for that and ride you by. It becomes ineffective. You've got to pick and choose when you're doing it."

Some pass rushers looking to pounce have the tendency to jump offsides on a hard count or tip their hand before the snap.

"Using the proper (blocking) technique and studying film is one of the best ways to combat quickness," Dolphins tight end Anthony Fasano said. "You pick out keys and certain tendencies, like where they stand or put pressure on their foot."

"But I'm not sure it's something you can measure. It's something you can see."

And something that can be developed. Kampman, who lasted until the fifth round of the 2002 draft, laughed when asked how he bettered his first step coming out of college.

"Repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition and more repetition," he said.

That includes offseason drills designed to make his body react to the snap "even if it's just someone holding a football and you're on your belly, back or side so you have to have a ground start. You can do all kinds of different things to get in awkward positions to make your body react to different stimulus of wanting to go."

While watching a play review as a Kansas City Chiefs assistant, McCarthy saw renowned offensive line coach Alex Gibbs draw a circle and dollar signs around the defensive end. Gibbs then inked an even bigger circle with more dollar signs around the left tackle.

The moral wasn't lost on McCarthy.

"You've got to have a good left tackle," McCarthy said. "It just makes life so much easier. If you don't, you have to worry about (speed rushers). It changes a lot of the things you do offensively."

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