ChrisCooleyFan
Footballguy
RIP
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Happy Birthday Sean Taylor (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter ChrisCooleyFan
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ShadowMaster
Footballguy
Really guys - move on
Meast21
Footballguy
Why would you post this? Show some respect man.
fantasysharkctb
Footballguy
Wow, I never realized he was that damn good and aggressive until those videos.
Too sad.
Too sad.
Mr. Brownstone
Footballguy
Stop already.
r0llin_game
Footballguy
Couldn't believe it when it happened. His house was about 3 miles away from where I was living at the time and that area was pretty decent. I'm shocked his house wasn't nicer though.
RIP Sean.
RIP Sean.
JPeso
Footballguy
HULLOBUDMAN
Footballguy
Can I ask a question without everyone jumping on me?
As a Chiefs fan, I had the same feelings when Derrick Thomas died. It is a tragedy when anyone person leaving a family behind loses their lives way too young. DT was a terrific player. He is/was known as one of the best player ever at his position and proved that with 11 years of preformance and an induction into the Hall of Fame. He was a general all around good guy who was active in the community in KC. I don't ever remember a Happy Birthday DT thread being posted here.
What is it about Sean Taylor that keeps the Skins fans remembering him so fondly? I am not trying to be a jerk or insensitive but I just don't get what it is with him. He was not in the league all that long although he was exceptional while he was in it. I am not from the east coast nor do I follow the Skins. Was he a great person off the football field or is all this about losing a good/great football player?
If nothing else let my comments give you fuel to remember what you thought was great about this man and remember him fondly...
As a Chiefs fan, I had the same feelings when Derrick Thomas died. It is a tragedy when anyone person leaving a family behind loses their lives way too young. DT was a terrific player. He is/was known as one of the best player ever at his position and proved that with 11 years of preformance and an induction into the Hall of Fame. He was a general all around good guy who was active in the community in KC. I don't ever remember a Happy Birthday DT thread being posted here.
What is it about Sean Taylor that keeps the Skins fans remembering him so fondly? I am not trying to be a jerk or insensitive but I just don't get what it is with him. He was not in the league all that long although he was exceptional while he was in it. I am not from the east coast nor do I follow the Skins. Was he a great person off the football field or is all this about losing a good/great football player?
If nothing else let my comments give you fuel to remember what you thought was great about this man and remember him fondly...
Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
It's kinda like James Dean
Meast21
Footballguy
Why I believe most Skins fan's feel so attached to him is they watched him transform from a young kid to a man. He was rather immature his rookie year (left the rookie symposium early, did not return Joe Gibb's calls in the offseason, and had a squabble with the law) but every year you noticed positive changes. By this I mean both physically and mentally. He committed himself to his teammates and gave 100% on every single play. He was very skeptical of the media as they judged him as a "thug" after his rookie year so he very rarely gave you insight into his life which certainly added to the intrigue. On the rare opportunities he did speak you could see the changes that he was becoming a really good guy. He had a daughter and that seemed to really mature him. If you take a look at his body type when he entered the league versus his final year it's night and day (see below). He got very lean and to improve his range but could still hit like a freight train. To this day I have never seen a player play the way he did, every play he played like it was his last. I will never forget ST. Rookie Year
Final Season
phthalatemagic
Footballguy
He was an angel here on Earth. Given to us for just a few moments.
Cassius
Footballguy
Yeah, it's a little creepy.
dgreen
Footballguy
For me, it's the simple fact the he was my favorite player. Ever. I was really looking forward to watching him play for many more years. I was looking forward to see him in Canton. As I read one person post while Taylor was still playing: "He makes me smile at least once every game." It seemed every game he was forcing a turnover, delivering a huge hit, making an important tackle, or just intimidating someone. And, as mentioned, he played with so much passion. You could just tell that he loved playing. Combine that with his talent and he was really a joy to watch.After his death is when we started to learn how much he had matured. Fans were finally given a glimpse of him as a person. You could see just how much he was loved. And it wasn't just his teammates. I remember a couple days after his death, a radio beat reporter was giving his report for that day and just started weeping on the air. It wasn't that he was just choked up. He wept. And couldn't finish his report.I also think the way it all happened is part of it. Being during the season was just odd. It had such a great effect on the team. The loss to Buffalo that next week is one of the two worst losses for me. It was painful.HULLOBUDMAN said:
dgreen
Footballguy
You're right most people didn't consider him the top safety, but he was up there. I'm obviously biased, but Ed Reed is the only one I'd say was better. And I think Taylor could have passed Reed eventually.
ultimatefootballnetwork
Footballguy
He wasn't there yet, but he was a shoo in for best safety of all time and very likely to have ended up the best defensive player to ever play in the NFL. He was that good.
I'm not going to muddy up this thread but please just stop with that crazyness.
ultimatefootballnetwork
Footballguy
Please, muddy it up. In the season Taylor passed away, he had 5 INTs through 9 games and anyone who had been watching knows that Taylor dropped at least 5 more he should have caught easily. He made QBs throw only outside the hashes and he still picked them off when they tried. Taylor was just figuring out the mental side of the game in his 4th season. From a physical perspective he was unmatched by anyone has ever played defense in the NFL. He could have made the pro bowl at either CB or MLB had he tried.
He was one of the hardest hitters in the NFL, i'll give you that.He also wasn't very good in coverage and missed a lot of tackles. He never really made the pro-bowl (they voted him in after he died).
He had multiple arrests and was constantly fined by the NFL.
Could he have become a great safety? YES
Was he a shoo in to be the BEST safety ever? Highly highly unlikely
Becoming the best defensive player ever? LOL, he wasn't even on the same planet as many of the defensive greats, are you seriously implying he was likely to go down as better then Lawrence Taylor, that's utterly ridiculous to imply.
ultimatefootballnetwork
Footballguy
The arrests and constant fines? Not relevant, since he had cut out that behavior even if it wasn't irrlevant to the discussion. He wasn't very good in coverage EARLIER in his career, but like I mentioned in his 4th season, he was figuring it out. He was also becoming a very good tackler (feel free to watch that highlight video which includes a number of great tackles). He was single handed shutting down passing games and intimidating players routinely, and that's a very similar description to Lawrence Taylor. Yes, Sean Taylor could have been that good.
you obviously dont know many things about ST or even watched him much. he RARELY missed tackles, and was just as good in coverage... being 6'2 235 ... the guy made a sizable difference in that washington defense.he also made the probowl the season before his death. in 2006.
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Bizkiteer
Footballguy
Well, for me he was a double whammy in that I'm a die hard 'Skins fan and 'Canes fan. I would say that the biggest draw about Sean was that he was not yet in his prime and showed all the makings of not only being a franchise player, but potentially a top NFL player. He was physically a freak of nature in his size, speed and strength. He could play as a prototypical SS and knock your head off or run like lightening and cover the field like a FS or better yet a CB. At his size, it just was something to behold.
The other part is that 'Skins fans got to know him better as he was pretty quiet via media for others. 'Skins fans got to see the change and the way he carried himself. We got to hear that he was a father and how much his daughter meant to him, which when you see play on the field so aggressively and viciously...would make everyone even more interested as he became more of a human story to them.
It's not hard to wonder about him when you have most young safeties now talk about how they want to play and be like Sean Taylor. They model themselves after him, you don't have to look much further for proof in this years prized prospect...Eric Berry. Buster said it right, he looked like a MAN amongst boys.
I know that it seems far fetched that many say he could have been one of the best, just as the talk about Bo Jackson as a RB, but his physical tools is what set him far apart...it's just too bad the rest of the NFL fans didn't get to see him as much.
The other part is that 'Skins fans got to know him better as he was pretty quiet via media for others. 'Skins fans got to see the change and the way he carried himself. We got to hear that he was a father and how much his daughter meant to him, which when you see play on the field so aggressively and viciously...would make everyone even more interested as he became more of a human story to them.
It's not hard to wonder about him when you have most young safeties now talk about how they want to play and be like Sean Taylor. They model themselves after him, you don't have to look much further for proof in this years prized prospect...Eric Berry. Buster said it right, he looked like a MAN amongst boys.
I know that it seems far fetched that many say he could have been one of the best, just as the talk about Bo Jackson as a RB, but his physical tools is what set him far apart...it's just too bad the rest of the NFL fans didn't get to see him as much.
Bizkiteer
Footballguy
You are free to express your opinion, like everyone else, but I would not use PRO BOWLS to judge a player. When Pro Bowls are a popularity contest and most of it is done by people who only watch their own team and have little NFL knowledge...nah, use something else. Again, part of the lure is that he was taken before his prime. So, I would agree it is unfair to compare him to players that put in a full career. To say he was the best, is not right, but many on the professional level expressed that the sky was the limit for him. Too bad you and many others didn't get a better chance to see more of him.
Meast21
Footballguy
Sean was a pro bowl alternate his rookie year and as was mentioned above made the pro bowl in 2006 and 2007. 3 out of 4 isn't to bad for a popularity contest. I think this stat perfectly explains how well coaches and players judged him; whereas, the regular fan may not have noticed him due to the quality of play the Redskins put together the past decade.
He was an alternate in 2006 as well and got put in the pro-bowl when Dawkins bailed, not really a legit pro-bowl.2007 he was voted in post death.Either way he was a very very good safety, just not a "shoo in to become the best safety ever", and surely not "likely to become the best defensive player ever".He did some things well (hard hits/turnovers) and some things poorly (coverage/missed tackles). Not near complete enough based on what we saw up until his death to be considered likely to go down as one of the all-time greats.
Meast21
Footballguy
As I said above most fans are not aware of who he was, especially with the likes of Roy Williams being the starting safety from the NFC for years, yet he was still selected to 3 pro bowls, albeit as a reserve, but who do you think put those votes in, coaches/players. By reiterating your point about coverage/missed tackles again indicates to me you did not watch him that much. I do think he was along the lines of Ronnie Lott but that is my opinion. As for best defensive player ever, I agree with you.
Adebisi
Footballguy
I think Taylor had the potential to be an elite safety... but I think his ceiling would have been to be an equal to Ed Reed and Troy Polamalu. All of this "best safety of all time" stuff is a bit of a stretch.
The comparisons to Lawrence Taylor as a defensive force and the suggestion that he may have become the best defensive player of all time are completely absurd and silly, and they're so outrageous that they only serve to hurt your credibility.
The comparisons to Lawrence Taylor as a defensive force and the suggestion that he may have become the best defensive player of all time are completely absurd and silly, and they're so outrageous that they only serve to hurt your credibility.
I disagree about the not good in coverage remark. He would look like he was beat sometimes because he was covering someone else's mistake. He did get beat occasionally, but there were a lot of times a long pass would be completed and if you watched the replay, Taylor flew from off the screen just to get in the position to look like he was beat. Most players wouldn't even be there. The Skins used him one on one with Randy Moss vs the Vikings a few times and he did fine. Taylor certainly had his flaws and wasn't the best safety in the game, but I think he was on his way to getting into that conversation. Best of all time? Who knows, no one can even agree who THAT is right now. The sad part (to me anyway) is that we'll never be able to see if he could have tapped into that potential and live up to all these expectations. That plus he seemed to be turning a corner maturity wise. My favorite player in college and just so happened got drafted by my favorite team. RIP
dgreen
Footballguy
I'm not sure where all the "missed tackles" and "bad in coverage" talk is coming from. He had quite a few missed tackles in 2006, but that was, BY FAR, his worst year. He did not play well that year and the D as a whole was in disarray.
I'm not sure if the comments about his 2007 pro bowl being after his death are implying it was undeserved or not. If they are, then you couldn't be more wrong. He was playing the best football of his career and was probably in contention for DPOY. He was perfecting the cover 1 FS spot. He alone covered the deep portion of the field and opponents simply could not beat the redskins deep. This allowed them to play 10 defendeers up close. For anecdotal evidence, just look at his last game against Philly. Once he left injured, McNabb immediately attacked the deep middle in a comeback win for the Eagles. The following week, Dallas threw 4 td passes, many of the deep variety.
He had become a game changing player.
I'm not sure if the comments about his 2007 pro bowl being after his death are implying it was undeserved or not. If they are, then you couldn't be more wrong. He was playing the best football of his career and was probably in contention for DPOY. He was perfecting the cover 1 FS spot. He alone covered the deep portion of the field and opponents simply could not beat the redskins deep. This allowed them to play 10 defendeers up close. For anecdotal evidence, just look at his last game against Philly. Once he left injured, McNabb immediately attacked the deep middle in a comeback win for the Eagles. The following week, Dallas threw 4 td passes, many of the deep variety.
He had become a game changing player.
fatness
Footballguy
The comments above about him being poor in coverage and missing tackles are just wrong. He had become one of the better covering safeties I've seen, and he was still noticeably improving. And he hit so hard that it limited what passing plays some opponents would call.
When he was on the field, there was a chance on each play that you'd see something you had never seen before on a football field, and would never see again. It was riveting at times watching him play defense.
I miss terribly seeing him in games, but let's be frank. Football isn't life, it's a sport we watch for entertainment and nothing more. And after being near trouble, around trouble, and in trouble Taylor had finally figured out the more important things in life. He had finally earned the respect of his coaches and teammates for his hard work. He was taking good care of his family (girlfriend of many years and their child), and those are things to be admired and respected in anyone.
Then he got up one night to check a noise in the house and was shot dead.
I miss the big plays on the field. But more importantly his kid is missing their dad, who was a good man. And I'll always be angry about that.
When he was on the field, there was a chance on each play that you'd see something you had never seen before on a football field, and would never see again. It was riveting at times watching him play defense.
I miss terribly seeing him in games, but let's be frank. Football isn't life, it's a sport we watch for entertainment and nothing more. And after being near trouble, around trouble, and in trouble Taylor had finally figured out the more important things in life. He had finally earned the respect of his coaches and teammates for his hard work. He was taking good care of his family (girlfriend of many years and their child), and those are things to be admired and respected in anyone.
Then he got up one night to check a noise in the house and was shot dead.
I miss the big plays on the field. But more importantly his kid is missing their dad, who was a good man. And I'll always be angry about that.
ninerfanatic492000
Footballguy
Sean was a friggin Beast(or better yet Meast), but i can't say with a straight face that he would have ended up being on par with Ronnie Lott. i know i'm biased being a niner fan, but lets not kid ourselves. Ronnie is the best Safety ever and Ed Reed is climbing the list of one of the best play-making safeties. Sean was awesome and shown unbelievable talent but we didn't see enuff from him ala Gale Sayers to say we've seen enuff no matter how short the sample.
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PhilLynott
Footballguy
I do not mean to be callous, we are not talking about Ronnie Lott or Night Train Lane. I agree with Adebisi, he showed some promise but I do not think that he was going to change the game. Sometimes a tragic event gets people to rewrite history. What would Joe Delaney have accomplished? Look it up if you do not know who he is.
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Mr. Peterson
Footballguy
I'm not here to say anything bad about Taylor, but what are you thinking? Not only did Moorman jump right up but he went over to Taylor to try and congratulate him for the big hit. When he finally got over to him, Taylor was still too busy celebrating his "monster" hit on a PUNTER. If he did that to someone else in a regular season game (lets remember that noone plays that hard in the Pro Bowl but maybe that's a credit to Taylor) then it would be a completely different deal. Hitting Moorman like that in a Pro Bowl would be like one of you guys jumping on a Pee Wee field and taking out a 10 year old.
Amused to Death
Footballguy
Had a squabble with the law?! He was facing 16 to 46 for aggravated assault with a firearm, a felony, and misdemeanor battery. Remember he plead out of it. Let's not deify the man.Meast21 said:
If I recall correctly, the guy trying to prosecute him was removed from the case because he also was trying to glorify and pump up his own alter-career (he was a DJ or something like that, can't remember). Basically there wasn't enough evidence but the guy kept trying. In the end the story was a bunch of thugs stole some of Taylor's property and then both parties exchanged pleasantries later on (words, bullets, whatever)
Wow....
I do not mean to be callous, we are not talking about Ronnie Lott or Night Train Lane. I agree with Adebisi, he showed some promise but I do not think that he was going to change the game.
Sometimes a tragic event gets people to rewrite history.
What would Joe Delaney have accomplished? Look it up if you do not know who he is.
... never heard of Joe Delaney before but what an honorable man.
fatness
Footballguy
Your memory is faulty. The prosecutor charging him with all those crimes was trying to boost his career as a DJ and make himself famous, and was fired for it. Then the prosecution started actually doing their job right. There was never any evidence Taylor had a firearm.If you don't believe me, look up Michael Greico.
Greico takes himself off the case
Greico resigns.
Michael Greico the DJ
Greico is now an outstanding attorney.
jurb26
Footballguy
I'm pretty confident in saying that Taylor was the most physically gifted S I've ever seen play the game. What a lot of the nay-sayers need to remember is that Taylor was a very young player who was still in the process of mastering his game. Playing S in NFL requires more knowledge and understanding than most positions. Particularly defensive positions. This guy could run like a CB, hit and had the size of an ILB, had great ball skills, was aggressive and played without fear and best of all had tremendous instincts on the field. It's impossible to say how his career would have turned out because of the tragic ending to his life though. My guess is that he would have turned into one of the best S's to ever play the game and it certainly looked like his play was beginning reach it's full potential his last season, but we will never know for sure.
Amused to Death
Footballguy
Not my memory, took it straight from his wiki page.
Meast21
Footballguy
Exactly the point we are trying to make...ST played every single play like it was his last.
