2008 Woodie Awards
NFL grieves the loss of Taylor
Pat Nemuth
Issue date: 11/29/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
The NFL has been plagued with tragedies for the past few years and the newest one has hit hard.
Washington Redskins Sean Taylor, 24, was shot Monday by a burglar who entered his Miami home. Taylor was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital were he died Tuesday.
Taylor was shot in the upper leg in the femoral artery, causing large amounts of blood loss.
There are some reports surfacing about the attack possibly being premeditated. Eight days prior to the shooting, an intruder attempted to break into Taylor's home.
Taylor was not playing in Washington's latest game against Tampa Bay because of a knee injury.
This is an all too familiar sight in the NFL. Taylor is the second player to be shot and killed this year. Denver Broncos Darrant Williams was killed in a shooting Jan. 1.
It is just sad to see from a fan's perspective because Taylor was a young, rising star.
Receivers who played across from Taylor feared going over the middle. They knew Taylor would be there to stick them.
He was fined seven times for late hits in his career and was the fifth overall pick in the 2004 draft coming out of Miami.
Taylor has had some previous run-ins with the law since he was drafted. However, teammates said he had changed his mischievous ways since his daughter was born 10 months ago.
Washington head coach Joe Gibbs and owner Daniel Snyder said they haven't thought ahead far enough to play next week's game against Buffalo.
The game must go on. Sports organizations have played through tragedies before.
It will be impossible for Taylor's former teammates to forget him. They need to play in his honor. Every team in the NFL will honor Taylor by having his No. 21 on their jerseys this weekend.
Being a former football player, I know how noticeable it is when a teammate is missing from the locker room. Walking by his locker will be tough for his teammates.
We will never know how long each Washington player will take to grieve. It will most certainly take more than this week.
The best way to honor Taylor is to play in a hard-hitting fashion like he used to play with.
The only disadvantage for the team is the loss of a day to prepare for Buffalo. It is possible to prepare their game plan with a loss of a day, but preparation can take a back seat to the heart and emotion the team will bring.
I can just imagine it as the same type of game the New Orleans Saints had in their first game back after Katrina.
The NFL has always found a way to bounce back from these tragedies, but there will always be a struggle for the league to recover from the loss of a player who had so much left to give in his career.
Sean Taylor had the potential to be great, but now we can only think of what could have been.
Washington Redskins Sean Taylor, 24, was shot Monday by a burglar who entered his Miami home. Taylor was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital were he died Tuesday.
Taylor was shot in the upper leg in the femoral artery, causing large amounts of blood loss.
There are some reports surfacing about the attack possibly being premeditated. Eight days prior to the shooting, an intruder attempted to break into Taylor's home.
Taylor was not playing in Washington's latest game against Tampa Bay because of a knee injury.
This is an all too familiar sight in the NFL. Taylor is the second player to be shot and killed this year. Denver Broncos Darrant Williams was killed in a shooting Jan. 1.
It is just sad to see from a fan's perspective because Taylor was a young, rising star.
Receivers who played across from Taylor feared going over the middle. They knew Taylor would be there to stick them.
He was fined seven times for late hits in his career and was the fifth overall pick in the 2004 draft coming out of Miami.
Taylor has had some previous run-ins with the law since he was drafted. However, teammates said he had changed his mischievous ways since his daughter was born 10 months ago.
Washington head coach Joe Gibbs and owner Daniel Snyder said they haven't thought ahead far enough to play next week's game against Buffalo.
The game must go on. Sports organizations have played through tragedies before.
It will be impossible for Taylor's former teammates to forget him. They need to play in his honor. Every team in the NFL will honor Taylor by having his No. 21 on their jerseys this weekend.
Being a former football player, I know how noticeable it is when a teammate is missing from the locker room. Walking by his locker will be tough for his teammates.
We will never know how long each Washington player will take to grieve. It will most certainly take more than this week.
The best way to honor Taylor is to play in a hard-hitting fashion like he used to play with.
The only disadvantage for the team is the loss of a day to prepare for Buffalo. It is possible to prepare their game plan with a loss of a day, but preparation can take a back seat to the heart and emotion the team will bring.
I can just imagine it as the same type of game the New Orleans Saints had in their first game back after Katrina.
The NFL has always found a way to bounce back from these tragedies, but there will always be a struggle for the league to recover from the loss of a player who had so much left to give in his career.
Sean Taylor had the potential to be great, but now we can only think of what could have been.