Beating the hated Cowboys by 21 points is a testament of the galvanizing, motivational force that Sean Taylor was and still is for his former teammates, who wear shirts bearing his image, patches bearing his number, and throw “shout-outs” his way whenever they can, as when Santana Moss held up his pointer, middle, and pinky fingers after a touchdown, their 2-1 alignment spelling out the number of his fallen teammate.
But losing by 21 points to the Seahawks is a testament to the extent to which Sean Taylor’s talents can never truly be replaced, not by Reed Doughty or anyone on the Redskins roster. Losing a 24-year-old man is tragic no matter how you look at it. But Taylor was also one of the top safeties in all of football. When he came into the NFL from the University of Miami, pundits predicted that Taylor would revolutionize the safety position the way Ray Lewis has the middle linebacker position.
Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu could match Taylor’s range. There might not be a smarter safety in the game than Baltimore’s Ed Reed, also from “The U.” And there’s no better “eraser” of bad plays with good tackling than Indy’s Bob Sanders.
But none of them could tackle, and run, and cover, and rush the passer, and play sideline to sideline, and do all of them effectively, the way Taylor could.
To their credit, the Redskins fought hard until the bitter end. Just as their strong safety would’ve done had he been there, the Redskins played to the final whistle, even as the score got increasingly out of reach. Washington simply didn’t have the horses to build on their 14-13 lead, giving up 22 unanswered points in the last 6:06 of the game – the one and only playoff game coach Joe Gibbs has ever lost after leading in the 4th quarter.
Living in Washington, D.C. for the last half-year I’ve been amazed by how deeply the city – the region – relates to the Redskins. Perhaps, growing up in Detroit as a Lions fan, there weren’t many “big games” to stoke the excitement of this fan base, which has seen its team win three championships under Joe Gibbs and only returned to the playoffs when Gibbs returned to the sidelines.
Article comments
1 - Jason
I had always been impressed with Taylor's game as he was truly the evolution of the safety position that has been long discussed over the past decade. I was rooting hard for DC not just because of the emotions behind them, but because Joe Gibbs had done such a great job in keeping the team in the path towards the playoffs without taking away the emotion. They honored him quite well.
2 - wayne seay
having been a Redskins fan forever i could only
imagine what a future Sean Taylor would have had
if he had not been killed as a football player for
the Washington Redskins. he was "blessed" with a
special talent for the game & Coach Joe Gibbs knew
this so with that he felt he could no longer do his job as a coach. Sean Taylor grew-up this past
year was going to dedicate the season to his baby
girl but by fate this never took place. this seems
to happen to more of the "gifted" type of players.
an accident would take place to end their time as player or as Sean Taylor's case his life was taken
away too soon!!! these "boys" involved will get their day in court & i pray that justice will be served. i hope they realize what they have done to
end the life of the next...........SUPERSTAR!!!