IRVING – DeMarcus Ware wants to be what Jason Taylor is right now.

Feared.

Ware is getting there.

As he starts his third season, Ware, the Cowboys' outside linebacker, has 19½ career sacks and earned his first Pro Bowl berth last season.

But Ware wants more.

"Jason Taylor has that speed and the power," Ware said. "He has a lot of moves I try to incorporate in pass rushing. Yeah, you like to be feared like that guy. I do admire him when it comes to looking at pass rushing and all that stuff."

Sunday, when the Cowboys and Miami Dolphins meet, Taylor and Ware will be the most dangerous defensive players on the field.

Taylor, Miami's defensive end, is a five-time Pro Bowl selection and the reigning NFL defensive player of the year.

He is third among active players in career sacks, with 107. Since 2000, no NFL player has more sacks than Taylor's 90½ .

"There's a reason why he's the NFL defensive player of the year," Cowboys left tackle Flozell Adams said.

Ware is just getting started. He moved from college defensive end to pro outside linebacker. He made the adjustment and excelled at it, especially last season when the Cowboys lost the other starting outside linebacker, Greg Ellis, in Week 9 of last season to a torn Achilles' tendon.

In Ellis' absence, Ware had 6½ sacks and 38 tackles.

Opposing offenses are now starting to fear him.

"Just a great player, a great young player," Miami coach Cam Cameron said. He's "an ascending player that you need to account for on every play. Obviously, we know that, but everybody else in the league knows it as well. It's going to be a heck of a challenge for us."

Ware is trying to get better. He's learning karate to improve his hand coordination when he faces tackles and running backs on the pass rush.

DMN file

Cowboys linebacker DeMarcus Ware had 11½ sacks last season.

Taylor understands what Ware is going through. The players talked at last year's Pro Bowl about techniques and how to rush different offensive linemen.

A bond has developed between them."I'm flattered he aspires to be me, but he's got plenty of talent and he has the things he can do on his own," said Taylor, an 11-year veteran. "He's an outstanding player who has a lot of room to grow, I think."

The players' backgrounds are similar. Neither is from a football powerhouse – Ware is from Troy University, while Taylor went to the University of Akron.

"That's how small-school guys are. They have that fire about them, being the underdog," Ware said. "Jason Taylor steps to that next level and that's what I'm trying to do. I'm saying I'm not there yet mentally, but I'd say I'm there physically."

Here's a look at DeMarcus Ware and Jason Taylor in their first two NFL seasons: