PFW’s newest addition, intern Andrew Struckmeyer (who is playing some offensive line at Northwestern), just conducted a nice interview with Redskins DE Andre Carter, and I wanted to pass along a few tidbits of what Carter told him.

I was curious about a few things, including Jim Zorn’s preparation in Year Two, the pressure a revamped defensive line might bring and what Carter expected his role to be.

On the second item, here’s what he had to say:

“I think so, we’re very confident about that, Carter said. “As far as sacks it was a very disappointing year, but with [Brian] Orakpo coming in, [Albert] Haynesworth coming into play, [Cedric Griffin] being healthy, Philip Daniels is back … we’re expecting good things as far as getting to the backfield on the defensive line.

“I had an opportunity [to work] with Haynesworth during OTAs and the minicamps, and he’s a phenomenal player. You learn off of him, he learns off of you, and we both feed off of each other, so we expect great things.

“Now that being said, you have got to stop the run first; you can’t rush the passer if you don’t stop the run, so stopping the run has always been a big thing, especially in the NFC East. You’ve got the Giants, you got Philly. Philly has beefed up their offensive line, so there going to be a force to be reckoned with, Dallas is always a big rivalry, New York is always that pound for pound type running team. If you stop the run, then go ahead and go eat, but if you don’t stop the run, it’s going to be a long day.”

I’ll post the rest of what Carter said on these topics in the Way We Hear It, soon to be posted.

[Also, a programming note: I am on vacation through July 7, so unless something major happens between now and then — think: Favre — this blog will be a little quiet. We’ll get it cranked up when I get back.]