There’s no denying Darryl Tapp’s talents. Yet as much as he has done, those who have seen him on the field can’t help but expect more.

The talented Tapp has nudged the bar higher and higher for himself with every super-athletic pass rush that shows just a glimpse of what he might be able to do.

With a new head coach in Jim Mora and a fresh start in 2009, now is the time for production to replace potential.

“For me personally I feel like this is a big year,” Tapp said. “There’s a new regime coming in, I understand what’s going on and I wanna make an impression on the team.”

Tapp started 11 games last season, totaling 5.5 sacks and 55 total tackles. In 2007 he started all 16 games, tallying seven sacks and 49 tackles.

The Seahawks’ pass rush as a whole was disappointing for much of 2008. The group finished the season with 34 sacks on the season, and eight of those came in a Week 2 loss to San Francisco.

That deficiency spread through the entire defense. The group ranked 30th in the NFL in yards allowed and 25th in points allowed. Those rankings came on the heels of 2007, when the team finished sixth in points allowed and 15th in yards allowed.

While the pass rush was underwhelming last year, Tapp said the best way to get through it to keep putting forth maximum effort in order to get sacks and pressure on the opposing quarterback.

“You just have to keep pushing,” he said. “When it happens, it happens in bunches. When it doesn’t it’s like a drought.”

Tapp isn’t sure what his role will be with the defense this season. He could crack the starting rotation at defensive end, or be more of a pass rushing specialist that enters the game on third and obvious passing downs. “Honestly, a lot of things are still to be determined.”

In Seattle’s first preseason game at San Diego, Tapp was on the field for 16 plays (21.6 percent of total plays). He spent time cropping back into zones and standing up before snaps, good signs that the team believes he’s developed more for his arsenal than simply straight-ahead pass rusher.

Whatever his role ends up being, Tapp’s mentality is simple enough: “My focus is just getting to the quarterback and causing havoc in the backfield.”