| Could Have Been the Greatest Redskin Ever- 11/28/07 by Stevo What amazes me about Taylor is that through his first 3 tumultuous seasons in the NFL, he proved to be an elite Safety despite only scratching the surface of his potential. To watch Taylor, you saw something that you don't always see in NFL players: no ceiling on how good he can be. Roy Williams is as good now as he's gonna get. Ed Reed probably won't elevate his game any higher. But Taylor, any Redskins fan could see amazing things in the future. A defensive back (or any defensive player for that matter) as physically gifted as Taylor does not come around very often. Not only did he have size and speed, he had the playmaker's instinct. When given the chance and not clouding his judgment with raw emotion, Taylor utilized his talents to the optimum. This year, his judgment did not seem clouded in the least. In his 4th season, Taylor outplayed every safety in the league, and more importantly it appeared to be part of a pattern. It is a terrible shame today, November 27th, to follow that pattern several years down the road and wonder what could've been. Taylor's talents, like a natural resource, were so valuable that the team considered it a number 1 priority to extract his ability. It seems the entire defense was molded to allow him to play at the maximum level. After getting their man with the 5th pick, the Skins drafted a young, talented supporting cast of Carlos Rogers, Rocky McInotish, and most importantly Laron Landry, who alongside Taylor was expected to comprise the other half of the best safety tandem in football. There's no telling how good those #5 and #6 overall draft picks could have been. Many are looking at Taylor's past and are jumping to conclusions about why he was killed. The fact of the matter is, unless Sean himself in the past walked into a man's home and shot him in cold blood, unless that happened, this is a horrible tragedy. To say he had a troubled past seems to me like code for "well, he had it coming". Why are sports writers, including Wilbon and Kornheiser, so reluctant to mourn unconditionally the loss of this young man? Why can't they see that he pulled a complete 180 and appeared to have left his old life behind? Do you see the Bengal's Chris Henry or the Titan's Pacman Jones becoming devoted fathers and admirable team leaders anytime soon? I sure don't, because those two are troublemakers through and through, whereas the general consensus on Taylor is that he was a shy, misunderstood kid with a good heart who lived and died for his family. Taylor means more to us than anyone. The older generation had their Redskins glory days, but anyone who became a fan since 1991 lived for nothing for a long time until Sean Taylor was drafted with the 5th overall pick. Although he is the greatest Redskin of our generation, he is linked to the Redskins Greats of Old because drafting him was Joe Gibbs first act in his return. He represented what Joe Gibbs/Redskins football is all about. I don't know how long it will be before there is a Redskin who has the unlimited potential of Sean Taylor. Maybe never. Probably never. |
Hurricane Stevo
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