Sean Taylor | ESPN's Jeffri Chadiha On Sean Taylor

Jeffri Chadiha wrote what I consider to be a classic article on this massive trajedy, the murder of Sean Taylor.

Birth of daughter gave new meaning to Taylor's life

By Jeffri Chadiha

There are many details to be sorted out in the shooting death of Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor, but this much we do know: This was a man whose life appeared to be changing for the better.

That's the only thought that kept going through my mind after hearing Taylor had died early Tuesday morning, a day after being shot by an intruder in his South Florida home. This wasn't the same immature kid who spent his first two seasons baffling Redskins management with poor decision making. This was a young father, a hard-hitting defender fresh off a Pro Bowl season, a maturing 24-year-old who finally understood what it took to be a professional.

Now there certainly are plenty of people who will say that Taylor's death is about more than just football, and there is no question about that. But what can't be dismissed is that most of what we know about Sean Taylor relates to football. Taylor rarely talked to reporters and most of our insight into his life came from his on-field performance and off-field issues. It's apparent that the playing part was never much of a problem for him. The off-field stuff was another issue, especially during Taylor's first two seasons.

But the feeling from the Redskins was that Taylor had put the problems that plagued him early in his career behind him -- including the seven fines he'd received for late hits and other infractions, and the $25,000 fine he incurred for skipping a mandatory rookie symposium after the Redskins selected him fifth overall in the 2004 draft. He was no longer the same man who had been accused of brandishing a gun during a fight in 2005. In that case, Taylor accepted a plea agreement of two misdemeanors and received 18 months' probation.

Yet somehow, through all those issues, he had started the valuable process of growing up. The most obvious sign was the relationship he had with his 1-year-old daughter, Jackie.

"It's hard to expect a man to grow up overnight, but ever since he had his child, it was like a new Sean, and everybody around here knew it," Redskins running back Clinton Portis told reporters. "He was always smiling, always happy, always talking about his child."

Teammates always claimed that Taylor had more common sense than he displayed early in his career. It's much easier to believe that when observing his behavior since Jackie was born in May 2006.

Not only had Taylor avoided trouble, but he had become even better on the field. A few weeks ago, Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams gushed about how Taylor had become the best safety in the league, a defender whose intimidating combination of size (6-foot-2, 212 pounds) and speed allowed him to excel in coverage and against the run. The more you listened to people talk about Taylor, the more you sensed he had turned an important corner in his life and his career.

But now we must reflect.

Taylor apparently had lost so much blood from an arterial wound in his leg that he wound up in a coma shortly after reaching Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. There had been some signs of hope -- Redskins vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato told the media Monday that doctors were encouraged by Taylor's ability to squeeze a physician's hand on request and show facial expressions. But Taylor's injuries were too severe. Now his family and friends and the Redskins are left wondering how to make sense of this tragedy.

Taylor's teammates clearly struggled to find the words to convey those feelings. On Monday, Portis talked about how it was impossible for a teammate and friend to turn back time and step in front of the bullet that pierced Taylor's leg. Safety Pierson Prioleau said Taylor was more than just a member of the Redskins; he was a father, a brother and a dear friend to many in that locker room. Redskins coach Joe Gibbs said there's no easy way to deal with a tragedy like this. It's just too far outside the scope of what most people face.

In may take some time to sort out exactly what happened the day Taylor was shot. Even when we do find out, it may not make much sense. After all, Taylor had seen the value in growing up long before somebody broke into his home and shot him. He saw it in his daughter, in his growth as a player.

Hopefully, people will remember that about his character as they mourn him today.

Jeffri Chadiha is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

Redskins Safety Sean Taylor Passes at 24 From Senseless Attack

There are some things you believe will not happen. As you may know, Washingon Redskins Safety Sean Taylor was in a hospital fighting for his life. But what you may not know is that he lost that battle , having simply not enough blood to continue.

In all of my years with the NFL family I can think of only one incident so painful and that's the murder of my cousin, Colts and Panthers Running Back Fred Lane.

My thoughts and prayers to all of the Redskins players and staff and the friends and family of Sean Taylor.

Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid Get Much-Needed Win v. Redskins

McNabb, Westbrook lead Eagles over Redskins - ESPN and AP

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) -- Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid soothed the feelings of a season of turmoil with an extra-long embrace after the Philadelphia defense stopped the Washington Redskins for the last time.

"There was a lot of love there," McNabb said. "A lot of love."

McNabb had faced questions all week about his future in Philadelphia. Reid is dealing with personal problems and a possible second losing season in three years. The Eagles would have essentially been buried for the season had they lost Sunday, but a 20-point fourth quarter led by McNabb and Brian Westbrook produced a cloud-lifting 33-25 victory.


Divisional Doldrums

After going 5-1 in the NFC East in 2006, it took until Week 10 for the Eagles to earn their first divisional win this season.
Result
Week 2 20-12 loss vs. Redskins
Week 4 16-3 loss at Giants
Week 9 38-17 loss vs. Cowboys
Week 10 33-25 win at Redskins

"Controversy just hasn't hit us in one week. It's been all through the year," McNabb said. "In situations like this, it's important to have that confidence in the next guy and trust in him, whatever the situation may be. ... It was a must-win situation."

The Eagles (4-5) have been alternating wins and losses since Week 2 and remained in last place in the NFC East, but they successfully recovered from last week's 21-point loss to Dallas and can pull into the wild-card race if they get on a roll.

"We're in the position now that we need to win every game," Westbrook said.

The Redskins (5-4) looked far from playoff-worthy as they committed 11 penalties, including crucial third-down miscues, and again suffered from questionable clock management and play-calling. Coach Joe Gibbs had no timeouts left in the final crucial minutes, and a conservative call on a late third-and-goal virtually guaranteed the Eagles would have a chance to win.

"I always take that to heart myself as a coach," Gibbs said. "Why that jumped out as us today, I don't know. I'll have to take a long, hard look at it."

McNabb battled a sore shoulder throughout the second half and had to keep throwing while on the sideline to keep it warm. Still, he completed 20 of 28 passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns. Westbrook caught two touchdown passes and ran for another score, finishing with 20 carries for 100 yards and five receptions for 83 yards.

By far the highlight was Westbrook's go-ahead touchdown with 3:16 remaining. With the Eagles trailing by five and three rushers closing in, McNabb threw a screen pass to Westbrook over the middle. Lineman Shawn Andrews instantly leveled linebacker Rocky McIntosh, one of at least four huge blocks that allowed Westbrook to scamper for a 57-yard touchdown.

"I just tried to buy time," said McNabb, who broke Ron Jaworski's franchise record for career completions. "Once he caught it, I saw a lot of green. Hats off to our offensive linemen, getting down there, our receivers blocking, our tight ends blocking."

Westbrook's touchdown followed a play-it-safe move by Gibbs. With the Redskins facing a third-and-goal at the 7 and leading 22-20, the coach essentially decided to play for the field goal with a running play to Portis rather than try for the touchdown that likely would have sealed the win. Portis was stopped well short, and Shaun Suisham's 21-yard field increased the lead to five -- keeping the Eagles in the game.

"We felt like they might be playing soft there," Gibbs said. "Felt like we could take a shot at a draw."

The screen play gave the Eagles a 26-25 lead. Westbrook added one more score with 2:18 to play, a 10-yard run the Redskins admitted they purposely allowed so they could get the ball back with a chance to tie.

"That's exactly what they did. They allowed us to score," Westbrook said. "I wish I would have known that. I would have stopped at the 1. As an offensive player, any time you have an opportunity to get into the end zone, you get into the end zone."

Jason Campbell completed 23 of 34 passes for 215 yards and a career-high three touchdowns, including the first touchdown pass to a wide receiver for the Redskins all season. Clinton Portis, who last week ended a 12-game drought without a 100-yard game, made it two in a row with 137 yards on 30 carries.

"We've got to finish games," Redskins defensive tackle Cornelius Griffin said. "We're not playing well in the second half. We've got to get it corrected if we want to win."

New England Patriots' Bill Belichick Runs Up Score Seven Times in Seven Weeks

In his latest game against the Washington Redskins, New England Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick kept his starters in and went for it on 4th down after already leading by 38 points, 38-0. This practice lead to a 52-7 victory, and a very pissed off Washington Redskin in Randall Godfrey. He said "I said something to (Belichick) after the game," Godfrey said to NBCSports.com. "I told him, 'You need to show some respect for the game.' You just don't do that. I don't care how bad it is. You're up 35 points and you're still throwing deep? That's no respect."

He's right.

Bill Belichick's comments were robotic: "I've been coaching too long," Belichick said. "I remember being on that side. When I was coaching defense it was my job to keep the score down, not theirs. When you're playing defense it's your job to stop them. It's not (the offense's) job to not score. It's like I tell the offense, what the (bleep) do you think I send you guys out there for? To punt? We have a punt team for that. That's not your job. Your job is to go out there and score points. If you come off the field and you haven't scored points you haven't done your job."

Yeah. But even Bill knows when it's time to take your pedal off the metal. He's coaching with a real chip on his shoulder that could get him into a lot of trouble.

But even more telling is the number of times that he's done this -- seven times in eight games. Look at this stat from NBC Sports:


Late Patriots' scores

• Week 1 at New York Jets (38-14): 1-yard TD by Heath Evans, 1:58 left
• Week 2 vs. San Diego (38-14): 3-yard TD by Sammy Morris, 3:18 left
• Week 3 vs. Buffalo (38-7): 45-yard TD catch by Randy Moss, 10:22 left
• Week 4 at Cincy (34-13): 14-yard TD catch by Randy Moss, 3:18 left
• Week 5 vs. Cleveland (34-17): 15-yard fumble return TD by Randall Gay, 0:42 left
• Week 6 vs. Dallas (48-27): 1-yard TD run by Kyle Eckel, 0:19 left
• Week 7 at Miami (49-28): Brady returns to the game with the Patriots up 42-21 and 10:30 remaining and threw a touchdown pass to Wes Welker from 16 yards out with 8:18 left

Whatever Bill's doing, it's got to stop.

New England Patriots Run Up Score Vs. Washington Redskins - 52 - 7 (ESPN)

New England's certainly developing bad karma with their behavior.

By John Clayton
ESPN.com
Updated: October 28, 2007

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The Patriots' zeal for stealing opposing defensive coaches' signals in the season opener against the Jets cost the team a first-round choice and $250,000. It also made coach Bill Belichick's bank account lighter by $500,000.

Now, the only hand signals worth mentioning might be the possibility of obscene gestures coming from the coaches and players he beats.

On Sunday, Belichick kicked a Hall of Fame coach while he was down, running up the score on Joe Gibbs' Redskins to 52-7. This comes a week after Belichick reinserted quarterback Tom Brady midway through the fourth quarter of a 49-28 win over the Dolphins.

What seemed cute three weeks when Brady threw an unnecessary last-minute touchdown pass to Kyle Eckel while whipping the Cowboys 48-27 has turned ugly.

Welcome to Belichick's no-mercy policy.

Although criticism and questions about Belichick's moves will further paint him as the bad guy in his showdown against Tony Dungy and the Colts next Sunday, the Pats coach simply doesn't care. He wore the black hoodie in the Week 1 spy incident and accepted his punishment. Now, he's making the league pay with blowouts.

That's why he …

• … kept Brady on the field for an 88-yard drive six minutes into the fourth quarter despite already leading 38-0. On that 14-play drive, the Patriots went for a fourth-and-1 at the Redskins' 7 and ordered a 35-yard bomb to Randy Moss.

• … went for a fourth-and-2 at the Redskins' 37 on the next possession while leading 45-0. Backup QB Matt Cassel hit Jabar Gaffney with a 21-yard pass. Two plays later, Cassel scrambled for a 15-yard touchdown run to open a 52-0 lead.

Asked why he would go for two fourth downs in a blowout, Belichick responded, "What do you want us to do, kick a field goal?"

Pressed further, he said, "It's 38-0. It's fourth down. We're just out there playing."

Still, there's no doubt what he's really doing. Redskins veterans Phillip Daniels and Marcus Washington, who have 18 years combined NFL experience, both said they had never seen a team run up the score the way the Patriots are doing.

Face it, folks, Belichick plans to lay waste to the NFL. Commissioner Roger Goodell took away a first-rounder, so the Patriots will take away your firstborn. Belichick has assembled perhaps the most dominating team in NFL history, and he's intent on destroying all opponents in his path.

Will the Colts be next? Although Indianapolis is also undefeated, has beaten the Colts in their past three meetings and is the defending Super Bowl champ, the Patriots are the early 4½-point favorites.

Sunday's game shows how Belichick plans to handle the rest of the season. Anyone thinking he will rest Brady in the final month before the playoffs is wrong. He will allow his future Hall of Fame quarterback to shatter every record imaginable.

Against the Redskins, Brady threw three more touchdowns, bringing his eight-game total to 30 and increasing his team's scoring average to 41.3. Oh, and Brady also ran for two touchdowns Sunday.


Jim Rogash/Getty Images
Joe Gibbs said he didn't mind that Bill Belichick maintained his aggressive nature late in Sunday's blowout.
Yes, Belichick did rest a few defensive starters in the final six minutes, but he blitzed and did everything to keep the Redskins out of the end zone. Veteran players who weren't on the field encouraged those on the field to maintain the shutout. Belichick was clearly disappointed when the Redskins scored with three minutes left.

As for Gibbs, he didn't have a problem with Belichick's tactics, The two coaches shook hands after the game, although they certainly didn't make a lot of small talk.

"No, I have no problem with anything that they did," Gibbs said. "Nothing, no problems from me."
But Redskins players such as Daniels did have a problem, saying flat out that Belichick was running up the score.

Of course, the Redskins didn't have the ability to stop it. Their defense entered the game short-handed and left beheaded. Fred Smoot, the team's third cornerback, couldn't play because of a hamstring injury. Linebacker Marcus Washington was limited to passing plays because of a sore hamstring. On the Patriots' first touchdown drive, starting cornerback Carlos Rogers suffered an injury that could range from a sprained MCL (out for a few days) to a torn ACL (lost for the season). Linebacker Rocky McIntosh also was injured.

Consequently, the Redskins lost their opportunity to match up with the Pats' top four receivers. Gibbs had just three true corners left on the active roster -- Shawn Springs, Leigh Torrence and David Macklin. Brady completed 29 of 38 for 306 yards and three touchdowns.

To make matters worse, Gibbs and the coaches lost their communication system during the game. They couldn't work the headsets.

"There were issues," Gibbs said. "It's a problem across the league. I don't want to use that as an excuse for what happened to us today. We'll just continue to let the league know what happened to us today, and we'll just have to see how they deal with it."

Belichick was aware of the problem but, naturally, didn't care. He was communicating his own way -- sending a message to the 31 other teams that the Pats will take no prisoners.

It's an attitude that's going over big in the Patriots' locker room.

"It's just something the coaching staff wants to do," wide receiver Donte' Stallworth said. "We're behind them for whatever they want to do. Whatever play they call, we are going to run it.

"We've been attacked since the start of the season, so we don't care. Whatever is going on out there, we just go out and play and try to execute what we are doing."

That's exactly what the Patriots are doing. They are executing everyone. Next stop is Indianapolis.

Hide the kids.

John Clayton, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame writers' wing, is a senior writer for ESPN.com.

Len Pasqurelli Says Redskins Jason Campbell Has Arrived - Beat Phili

And I agree. I didn't see the game, but I've long believed that Campbell would grow into the position and be not just the Redskins leader, but one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.

Remember, he came out in the same draft at Alex Smith and Aaron Rogers, yet wasn't even considered as good as those two. He was drafted in the first round, but his selection was virtually ignored by many.

Watch out for Campbell.

Redskins Trade Archuleta to the Chicago Bears

AP: Redskins Trade Archuleta to Bears- see my comment below
By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

ASHBURN, Va. -- Adam Archuleta's tumultuous time with the Washington Redskins ended Tuesday night when he was traded to the Chicago Bears for a sixth-round draft pick, The Associated Press has learned.

Archuleta, who languished on the bench most of last season despite having the richest contract ever given a safety, will be reunited in Chicago with coach Lovie Smith, his former defensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams.

The trade was confirmed by an official within the league who spoke on condition of anonymity because the teams do not plan to announce it until Wednesday. The deal came one day before Archuleta was due to paid a guaranteed $5 million bonus.

The Redskins lured Archuleta to Washington a year ago with a seven-year, $35 million contract that included $10 million in bonuses, a signing that quickly became one of the biggest free agents blunders in the league.

It soon became apparent that assistant coach Gregg Williams would try to use the hard-hitting converted linebacker more as a coverage safety. When Archuleta struggled, he landed firmly in Williams' doghouse.

Archuleta lost the starting job in preseason and regained it for the first seven regular-season games only because of a knee injury to Pierson Prioleau. Archuleta's liabilities were one of the reasons the Redskins were especially vulnerable against long passes as they slumped to a 5-11 record. Eventually, the Redskins took Archuleta out of the defense altogether, using him only on special teams for most of the second half of the season.

The subject was clearly embarrassing to both Williams and coach Joe Gibbs, and neither ever gave an explanation for Archuleta's demotion. Once the season ended, Gibbs indicated Archuleta was still in the team's plans, but those remarks were mostly seen as posturing before a possible trade.

Getting rid of Archuleta wasn't easy because of his mammoth contract. The Redskins didn't want to cut him outright because of the huge cost on this year's salary cap. The $5 million bonus was already postponed once as the Redskins worked to make a trade, and any deal was expected to include a renegotiation of Archuleta's salaries and bonuses.

The Bears were the only likely destination because of Archuleta's relationship with Smith. Archuleta was hoping to sign with Chicago as a free agent last year, but he decided on Washington after the Redskins offered the big contract.

___

So the Archuleta Experiment is over in D.C.
Not surprising as he never really fit into the 'Skins real long term plans anyway. The Bears get the saftey they have needed, which could have been the piece they missed last season on their "D" the Skins get another late round Pick they can waste on a player who will make the NFL minimum for 2 or three years and then be coaching at some H.S. in his hometown.