National Football League Blogcast, NFL Blogcast

A year after Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor’s death, NFL players are still living scared. And with good reason. There’s an interesting article in the 11.24 Dec 01 2008 ESPN Magazine that features seven current NFL players discussing their own concerns and experiences with crime and the issue of safety in their own lives — Clinton Portis, Ben Roethlisberger, Dunta Robinson, Kevin Mawae, Derrick Brooks, Branden Albert and Fred Taylor. In the “special report,” ESPN senior writer David Fleming writes:

“When asked about their fears, players cite the same frightening flashpoints: New Year’s Day 2007, when Broncos defensive back Darrent Williams was shot and killed outside a Denver nightclub while riding in his limo; November 2007, when Taylor was murdered; June 2008, when Oakland receiver Javon Walker was robbed and beaten unconscious near the Vegas strip; and September 2008, when Jaguars lineman Richard Collier was paralyzed and had to have his leg amputated above the knee after he was shot 14 times in what police say was a retaliatory shooting.”

Two things really stood out to me in this report and both were related to the issue of vulnerability. Denver Broncos security chief Dave Abrams said he fears for players’ families, as in kidnapping for ransom. And Fred Taylor pointed out that would-be criminals know athletes can’t have guns with them at the team facility — not even in the parking lot. So players are even more of a target between where they work and where they live.

NFL players are targets. They’re in the public eye so they’re easy to find. And it’s well known they have money. Lots of money. So, it’s not uncommon for an NFL player to live in a gated community with an elaborate security system. Or to own a gun. Or to hire a bodyguard. At just about every NFL event I’ve been to, players are accompanied by one or more guys who look like bodyguards. It’s all about protection and safety. And sadly, there seems to be less and less of it. Sure, NFL players (and people in general) need to be smart about where and when they are. But even at home — as was the case with Sean Taylor — the issue of safety is a major concern now more than ever.

Source: ESPNtheMag.com

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NFL Players Are Still Living Scared

Joe Gibbs retired (for the second time) as head coach of the Washington Redskins today. As he leaves the sidelines once again, I can’t think of a classier man who has served as head coach in the National Football League. He was everything that is good about the NFL.

I can’t say that I am surprised with this announcement, though, even with one year left on his five-year deal. Coach Gibbs is 67-years-old. He’s been through a very difficult season with the death of Sean Taylor. And his grandson is suffering from leukemia. He feels he needs to be “there” for his family now and that is an honorable and admirable decision from a man who has always had his priorities straight. Still I know Coach Gibbs wants to see the Redskins succeed. They are a part of him. And there is no doubt, he will always be a part of the Washington Redskins. In fact, Coach Gibbs will continue to serve as an adviser to team owner Dan Snyder but he was vague about his new role, other than to say he would no longer have an office at Redskins Park because it would place an unfair burden on the new coach. Again, a classy move.

Some felt that the game may have passed him by. That he was too old. That his game plan was somewhat antiquated. And I bought into that for a short time. I wondered myself. But when you get right down to it, he did a heck of a job to get this team through a lot of adversity and into the playoffs, winning four straight games to grab the final Wild Card spot. That was not an easy accomplishment for any coach at any age. It’s not easy to win football games in the NFL. And Coach Gibbs won a lot of them. For that, he’s in the Pro Football Hall of Fame where he belongs. I’m sure every Washington Redskins player that suited up for Coach Gibbs is better for having played for him and known him.

Coach Gibbs’ final career totals: 171-101, including 17-7 in the playoffs, a career .629 winning percentage that ranks third all-time behind George Halas and Don Shula among coaches with more than 125 wins. The Redskins have big shoes to fill.

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Joe Gibbs Retires as Redskins Head Coach

The NFC’s hottest team almost found a way to pull this one out. Then reality hit. As quickly as the Washington Redskins had rallied to earn a one-point lead after being shut out in the first half, they let it slip away. Actually, the Seattle Seahawks took it away. Literally. Two late INT returns for touchdowns made the score look a bit lopsided, but most of this game was close. Still, the inspirational play of the ‘Skins for their fallen teammate, Sean Taylor, was over. And the Seahawks advanced in the NFC Playoffs with a 35-14 Wild Card win over Washington.

The thing that stood out the most to me in this game was the Seattle defense. Relentless. LB LeRoy Hill led the team with 13 tackles and a sack, but the big plays created by this group turned out to be the difference. Both Marcus Trufant and Jordan Babineaux returned INTs for scores. And neither was a gimme. Try 78- and 57-yard returns, respectively.

With playmakers like this on defense, the ‘Hawks are now legitimately dangerous on both sides of the ball. Their top 10-ranked offense thrives on ball-control. Only the Saints and Patriots had more offensive plays. And with the D playing takeaway — and scoring — it doesn’t leave much hope for the opposition. Of course, achieving all this next week on the frozen tundra will be an obstacle in itself, not to mention having to deal with Brett Favre and company.

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Seahawks Get Defensive in Wild Card Win, Redskins’ Run Finished With 35-14 Loss

Blogging the National Football League, Blogging the NFL

The Dallas Cowboys placed a league-high 12 players on the NFC All-Star team. Among the players selected to the NFC squad was Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, who died last month. Sean received the most votes at his position and was chosen as the starting free safety for the NFC team. A replacement will be announced at a later date. Eleven NFC players will participate in their first Pro Bowl, including Minnesota Vikings rookie running back Adrian Peterson, who leads the NFC in rushing yards with 1,278.

Five of the Cowboys’ Pro Bowl players – running back Marion Barber, guard Leonard Davis, rookie kicker Nick Folk, safety Ken Hamlin and cornerback Terence Newman – are also first-time All-Stars. They join tackle Flozell Adams (fourth Pro Bowl), center Andre Gurode (second), wide receiver Terrell Owens (sixth), quarterback Tony Romo (second), linebacker DeMarcus Ware (second) and tight end Jason Witten (fourth) to equal the largest Dallas Pro Bowl contingent ever. Dallas also had 11 players named to the All-Star team in 1993 and 1994.

The starting quarterback for the NFC is nine-time All-Star Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers. Brett, also the leading vote-getter among fans, ties Pro Football Hall of Famers John Elway, Dan Marino, Warren Moon and Norm Van Brocklin for the second-most Pro Bowl selections by a quarterback behind Johnny Unitas with 10. Joining Brett at QB are Dallas’ Tony Romo and Seattle’s Matt Hasselbeck. Tony is the first Cowboys QB to be chosen for back-to-back Pro Bowls since Hall of Famer Troy Aikman (1992-97). Matt joins Dave Krieg as the only Seahawks quarterbacks to be named to three Pro Bowls.

Starting at running back for the NFC is AD, who seeks to become the first rookie to lead the NFC in rushing since Pro Football Hall of Famer Barry Sanders (1989). He is joined by Dallas’ Marion Barber and two-time Philadelphia Eagles All-Star Brian Westbrook, who has an NFL-best 1,896 yards from scrimmage. I kind of scratched my head at Marion’s selection, but he is the first Cowboys RB to be chosen since the 2000 Pro Bowl (Emmitt Smith) and Brian is the sixth Eagles running back with multiple All-Star selections. Filling out the backfield is Minnesota fullback Tony Richardson, who makes his third Pro Bowl appearance (Kansas City, 2004-05) and first for the NFC.

Along with Dallas’ TO, now chosen as an All-Star with three teams (San Francisco, Philadelphia), the NFC’s other starting wide receiver is Arizona’s Larry Fitzgerald, who played in the 2006 Pro Bowl. Rounding out the position are a pair of Pro Bowl veterans in seven-time All-Star Torry Holt of the St. Louis Rams and three-time All-Star Donald Driver of Green Bay.

The starting tight end for the NFC is Jason Witten, making his fourth consecutive appearance in Hawaii. He is joined by Washington’s Chris Cooley, who deservedly will make his Pro Bowl debut.

Minnesota’s Steve Hutchinson will make his fifth consecutive trip to the Pro Bowl and start at guard along with the Cowboys’ Leonard Davis. Philadelphia’s Shawn Andrews was named an All-Star for the second year in a row and fills out the position.

Starting at center is Dallas’ Andre Gurode, joined by Minnesota’s Matt Birk, a six-time Pro Bowl selection.

The starting tackles are Seattle’s Walter Jones, an eight-time All-Star, and the Cowboys’ Flozell Adams. Washington’s Chris Samuels, making his fifth Pro Bowl appearance, is the NFC’s third tackle.

A pair of two-time All-Stars will start at defensive end for the NFC in Green Bay’s Aaron Kampman and Seattle’s Patrick Kerney. New York Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, making his second trip to Hawaii, also was chosen to represent the NFC.

Two Vikings will start on the interior defensive line in three-time All-Star Kevin Williams and two-time Pro Bowl selection Pat Williams. These two combine to make the Vikings the best in the league against the run. Chicago’s Tommie Harris was chosen for the third time in his career.

Seattle’s Lofa Tatupu makes his third Pro Bowl trip and will start at inside linebacker. He will be joined at the position by rookie Patrick Willis of the San Francisco 49ers, the No. 11 overall selection in the 2007 NFL Draft. The outside linebackers are Chicago’s Lance Briggs (third Pro Bowl), Seattle’s Julian Peterson (fourth) and Dallas’ DeMarcus Ware. Julian and DeMarcus were chosen as the starters.

All three cornerbacks on the NFC team are Pro Bowl newcomers. Green Bay’s Al Harris and Seattle’s Marcus Trufant will start with Dallas’ Terence Newman coming off the bench.

At free safety, the late Sean Taylor was selected as the starter. Dallas’ Ken Hamlin also was chosen at free safety and four-time All-Star Darren Sharper of the Minnesota Vikings will be the starting strong safety.

Two Bears are among the quartet of players who will handle special teams duties for the NFC. For the second consecutive year, Chicago’s Devin Hester will be the return specialist and Brandon Ayanbadejo will be the coverage specialist. Dallas’ rookie Nick Folk is the kicker and San Francisco punter Andy Lee was selected for the first time in his career.

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Dallas Cowboys Lead NFL With 12 All-Stars, 11 First-Time Selections For NFC

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The Washington Redskins attended Sean Taylor’s funeral service at PharmEd Arena on the Florida International University campus today in west Miami-Dade County, FL. Here is a report from our friends at ESPN Video.

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Redskins Say Goodbye to Sean Taylor

I didn’t know what to expect from the Washington Redskins today. After a tumultuous week in which they lost one of their own (safety Sean Taylor was tragically killed earlier this week), it was anyone’s guess what the team’s performance would be like today against the Buffalo Bills.

The Redskins honored Sean before the game (as did every NFL stadium this weekend) and even left his starting safety spot vacant on the first defensive play. But at the end of a hard fought contest, the Skins would lose 17-16 after a double-time out by head coach Joe Gibbs allowed Buffalo kicker Rian Lindell to hit a 36-yard field goal with four seconds left on the clock for the win. I couldn’t believe Coach Gibbs was responsible. I knew he called the first time out, but I thought a player on the field accidentally called the second one. Coach Gibbs confirmed his mistake after the game, however:

“There’s nobody to blame but myself. I should have known the rule.”

It was really a game of two halves. The first half belonged to Washington as they controlled time of possession but managed only three field goals for a 9-2 lead at intermission. Their lack of production would come back to haunt them as they allowed Buffalo to hang around. Credit the Bills, though. This was not their first bend-but-don’t-break defensive effort.

Buffalo continues to have problems scoring, but they made plays when they needed them most and relied on Rian Lindell’s right leg to lead them to victory. Rian kicked five field goals. And he actually made the 51-yard kick that was negated by Coach Gibbs’ first timeout at the end of the game. (This is a new controversy in itself — calling time outs a split-second before the ball is snapped on game-deciding kicks.) But if you want to talk about big plays, it was rookie QB Trent Edwards’ precision 30-yard completion to Josh Reed that set up that game-winning kick. Trent finished 22 of 36 for 257 yards and probably most importantly, he didn’t commit any turnovers. He is now 4-1 as a starter for the Bills.

For the Redskins, their NFC playoff hopes are probably finished after this loss as they dropped to 5-7. But the Bills stay alive in the AFC race at 6-6 and continue to be a team that never gives up and never stops playing hard. It also seemed like justice was served to a team that had lost two games this season on the final play of the game. Washington will attend Sean’s funeral as a team tomorrow, but it’s doubtful they will be able to put this tragedy behind them and win their remaining games.

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Redskins Honor Sean Taylor but Lose to Buffalo Bills 17-16 on Last-Second Field Goal

The Miami-Dade Police Department arrested four people today and charged them with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor. Police spokeswoman Linda O’Brien identified the men as: Venjah K. Hunte, 20; Eric Rivera Jr., 17; Jason Scott Mitchell, 17; and Charles Kendrick Lee Wardlow, 18. Apparently, the suspects weren’t expecting Sean to be home. Investigators believe the men learned of Sean’s house through someone who unwittingly set up the burglary by bragging about his wealth.

First off, these are kids. Well, kids in the sense they’re extremely young. I guess at 18 years old you start calling them men, but it’s sad to think of the positive potential just being thrown away after the horrific crime they committed, whether it was planned or intentional or not — just really, really sad all the way around. And it makes me wonder how safe other NFL players feel after something like this happens. It’s common knowledge that professional athletes make a lot of money and it’s just as common that there are people in the world who want to take it away from them for whatever reason. Hopefully this arrest will deter any other would-be criminals from planning any kind of crime on any other person, no matter what their occupation. I mean, get real, right? Imagine a world without gun-crime. Imagine a world without crime, period. Yeah, imagine.

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Miami-Dade Police Arrest Four Men in Connection With Death of Sean Taylor

As the Washington Redskins try to come to terms with the shooting death of one of their own, safety Sean Taylor, Miami-Dade County police are saying there are no indications that Sean was specifically targeted or even knew his assailant. Apparently, one or more intruders entered the house and fired a shot at Sean after a confrontation inside the house. Arizona Cardinals cornerback Antrel Rolle, a former teammate of Sean’s at the University of Miami, feels diferently:

“This was not the first incident. They’ve been targeting him for three years now. He really didn’t say too much, but I know he lived his life pretty much scared every day of his life when he was down in Miami because those people were targeting him. At least, he’s got peace now ….. They say it was a burglary. It absolutely was not a burglary. Down South, where we’re from, there were many people targeting Sean, a lot of jealousy, a lot of angry people. Sean, he had a large group of friends, and he no longer hung out with those friends, so you never know where this came from.”

I agree with Antrel. His explanation seems to make sense. But if that’s the case, why was Sean in Miami at all? He had to know enough to stay out of a dangerous situation, especially with his girlfriend and baby daughter. Why would he also put them in harm’s way if he felt he had the potential to be the victim of an attack? Knowing how much he cared for these people, it seems absurd that he would be with them in this type of atmosphere. As police continue to investigate the shooting, hopefully the pieces of this puzzle will come together.

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Did Sean Taylor Know His Assailant? Police, Former Teammate Offer Different Views

I am deeply saddened to report that Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor has died after being shot yesterday. He was 24-years-old. I can’t tell you how horrible I felt when I heard the news upon waking up this morning. My heart sank. Richard Sharpstein, Sean’s former lawyer and a friend of his family, said:

“His father called and said he was with Christ and he cried and thanked me. It’s a tremendously sad and unnecessary event. He was a wonderful, humble, talented young man, and had a huge life in front of him. Obviously God had other plans.”

Doctors were encouraged late last night when Sean squeezed a nurse’s hand. But he never regained consciousness after being transported to the hospital so nobody is sure how he had managed that. Miami-Dade Police are still investigating the attack. And contrary to the ESPN Magazine quote by fellow-Redskin Clinton Portis, apparently Sean’s volatile nature had changed upon the birth of his daughter who is now one-year-old. Sean’s teammate James Thrash said:

“From the first day I met him, from then to now, it’s just like night and day. He’s really got his head on his shoulders and has been doing really well as far as just being a man. It’s been awesome to see that growth.”

Please keep Sean’s family and teammates in your thoughts and prayers as they try to get through this difficult time.

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Redskins All-Pro Safety Sean Taylor Dies

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor is in critical condition after he was shot during what police are investigating as a possible armed robbery at his home in suburban Miami, Florida earlier this morning. Sean had been inactive for the past two Redskins games with a sprained right knee and was at home recuperating. According to his former lawyer (and family friend) Richard Sharpstein, Sean is in the intensive care unit at Jackson Memorial Hospital following nearly six hours of surgery and “is clinging to life and we’re all praying he makes it.” He lost a significant amount of blood because the bullet damaged his femoral artery and doctors are worried about blood flow to his brain.

Sean is, without question, one of the best (and hardest-hitting safeties in the NFL). In a recent ESPN Magazine article, fellow-Redskin Clinton Portis said teammates ask Sean if he has anyone to give him a hug because he plays like he’s mad at the world. Sean has had on- and off-the-field issues in the past. Two years ago he was accused of brandishing a gun. He has been fined at least seven times during his professional career for late hits and other infractions, including a $17,000 penalty for spitting in the face of Tampa Bay running back Michael Pittman during a playoff game in January 2006. He also was fined $25,000 for skipping a mandatory rookie symposium shortly after he was drafted.

In Sean’s case, with all the potential and all the talent comes a lot of volatility. The Redskins knew this when they made him part of their team. And it was a risk they were willing to take. I don’t know what kind of crowd Sean hangs with or anything about his personal life, but I’m sure he understands the risks of associating with the wrong people. And please understand, I’m not saying this incident was provoked, but with Sean’s troubled past, it has to be considered. This shooting came eight days after another invasion was reported at Sean’s home. According to police records, someone pried open a front window, rifled through his drawers and left a kitchen knife on a bed.

Bottom line, I hope Sean makes a full recovery and gets back on the field for the Redskins. And as much of a force as he is on the football field, I hope he can achieve some kind of peace off it. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

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Washington Redskins Safety Sean Taylor in Critical Condition After Shooting in Florida