Peter King MMQB Tribute to Sean Taylor

[hokie4redskins]

Did a search. Can't believe this hasn't been posted yet.

NEW YORK -- We'll have time later to dissect the Cowboys taking over the NFC, the Colts icing their fifth straight AFC South title, the once (LaDainian Tomlinson) and future (Adrian Peterson) rushing kings and Eli Manning saving himself from another week of the New York tabloid gallows. But we'd be doing the game, and Sean Taylor's memory, a disservice by not focusing on the late Washington safety first this week.

I didn't know Taylor. Never met him. Like most people, I read some of the negative things involving Taylor on and off the field -- spitting at a Tampa Bay player in the heat of battle two years ago, the 2005 fight involving guns over stolen ATVs, his unwillingness to play ball with Joe Gibbs and attend the offseason program early in his career, his media freeze-out. When he was shot, I immediately thought -- though I didn't write it -- that it was probably a revenge killing from a sordid affair in his past. I was proven wrong when four kids with no real relationship to Taylor were arrested for his murder on Friday.

Some coaches have an ethos about injuries that reminds me of how the NFL is approaching this situation. Bill Parcells used to say if a player was hurt and unavailable, the able-bodied players shouldn't see him. I thought it was sad that in the Giants' Super Bowl win over Buffalo in January 1991, the man who'd quarterbacked them for 80 percent of that season, Phil Simms, left Tampa Stadium at halftime and went back to the hotel. He didn't feel like he was a part of it all. That's the way a lot of coaches are with players who aren't available. The league has a similar approach to dealing with death. The Redskins played a game Sunday. They play another one Thursday. The league's not postponing their games because their best player -- arguably -- was gunned down in cold blood. The show must go on. But not in this space ... not for a few paragraphs, anyway.

I thought that in fairness to Taylor's memory, I'd let three people who knew him tell you a story about their relationship with him.

***

This is what I know about Chris Samuels, the person: In 2000, the year he was drafted No. 3 overall by Washington, I followed him for several months to do a Sports Illustrated profile. The day before the draft, Samuels was in his Times Square hotel room. There was a knock at the door. "Housekeeping,'' the woman said. Samuels said no thanks, and she asked when she could clean the room. He said, "You don't have to.'' She insisted, he said no again, and she went away. Samuels made the bed himself, hung his towel on the rack in the bathroom and tidied the bathroom before going out.

Samuels was raised correctly. Always polite, always a gentleman and now the respected leader of the Redskins. We spoke on Thursday and Saturday about Taylor, his death and its meaning.

"I'm really frustrated how everyone is focusing on Sean's past,'' Samuels said. "What does his past have to do with what happened here? Sean was in bed by 8 o'clock that night with his family, knowing he had to get up the next day to get treatment on his [injured] knee. I am telling you Sean was not a thug. Sean was one of the best guys I knew. And he was a victim of a shooting in his house. They came in to his bedroom and shot him in cold blood. What was he doing wrong? Sleeping, in his own bed?

"How, in this great country, can a man be asleep in his own bedroom, get shot, and in the media it's like he did something wrong to deserve this? It's just wrong. I understand the media has a job to do. But before people jump to conclusions, just please let the police do their job. When we find out what really happened, then everyone can say what they want. But right now, let the family mourn in peace. Let us mourn in peace.''

"When's the last conversation you had with him?'' I asked.

"Last week,'' Samuels said. "He'd missed a couple of games with his knee injury, and I saw him in the locker room, and I said, 'Sean, we miss you. We need you.' He said, 'Chris, just hold it together a little while longer. I'll be back. I can't wait to get back.' That was him. He loved the game. Never wanted to feel he was letting his teammates down. He was the happiest guy on the team every day. He loved football, loved being around the guys. He had the best attitude. And he laid it on the line every week, in practice and in games. While the rest of the team was taking a break during practice, he'd jump out there on the scout team. As a player and as a leader, he was on the level of a Ronnie Lott.''

Saturday night, Samuels was still down. But he said the team was at least relieved the cops solved the case, apparently.

"We didn't want Sean to die without knowing why,'' he said. "We're feeling good that the guys were caught. But still, it's a senseless, terrible tragedy. A good man is dead, for no reason.''

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/12/02/week13/index.html

[Toe Jam]

Awesome!

He's a class act.

[70Chip44]

- Well done by King, he's good and fair writer.

[cphil006]

Good write-up Peter King.

[DjTj]

I love this from London Fletcher:

"We're playing the Jets a couple of weeks ago [Nov. 4], and we're in overtime. Our offense has the ball, and we're driving. Sean's going up and down the bench, telling us to get ready, we've got to make sure we shut them down out there. I look at him and I'm like, 'We're driving. We're probably gonna score and win the game. What are you talking about?' And I say, 'Wait a minute -- you don't want us to score! You want to go out and play some more!' And he looks at me and he's like, 'I want to go back out there. I want to shut them down.' Then we kicked a field goal to win. But that said it all about him.''

...so that's why Gibbs always runs on third down and punts it back to the other team...

[DGreenistheBest]

Great article.

[Riggo-toni]

Nice article

[DCranon21]

Nice article by King. I wonder if the other so-called "National" writers are going to follow suit.

[Mad Mike]

Nicely done by King.

[ECU-ALUM]

A real nice article...for all the bashing that many of us do here about Peter King there is no denying he is a good writer and this article is one of his best...the story about Chris Helien was a nice touch.

[#98QBKiller]

Chris Samuels was 100 percent correct

[Larry Brown #43]

Great job from Peter King. I thank him and the other writers who were willing to do their homework and learn more about Sean, rather than lazily shooting from the hip about what they think they know.

[RabidFan]

you mean a writer still waits till has the facts before passing judgement? i'm shocked and Kudos to king. Nice story by Helien...man I went to school with that cat and am envious of his job...anyhoo I've heard so many awesome stories of Taylor this week from Danny Smith to even Reed Doughty....tragic this is what it takes to hear such things.

[21dave]

Very nice story.

[skins fan1010]

This is King's mea culpa. On "Inside the NFL" on HBO he was one of the first to reiterate the wild speculations about how this was somnehow Taylor's fault.

[Forever21]

Yeah I read this this morning and assumed it was here. Loved it. Was a great read for sure. I like how King seems of the opinion that the NFL was crazy for not postponing at least the 'Skins games, or at least this Thursdays game. I have always been a King fan and this article made me even more of one.

[#21Taylor4Ever]

Other journalists need to take notes. Peter King just showed them how to properly write an article after doing some actual research.

[Siven]

King might have been a blind on Art Monk, but I can never hate on him for the class and respect he showed when he wrote this article. He's setting higher and better journalistic standards in sports.

Wilbon, please, take some notes.

[IH8Shuler]

"You can't be scared of death. When that time comes, it comes.''

-- Sean Taylor, in the last known interview before he died, with radio station WTEM in Washington in September.

this is his Quote of the Week IV- can anybody confirm this? what kind of radio interview question could possibly have resulted in this response?

thats absolutely nuts if its legit

[AzSkinsFan63]

Thanks Mr. King.... :applause:

[DeanCollins]

Great article. Is King trying to redeem himself? Is there hope for Monk now?

[DCsportsfan53]

Great article. Is King trying to redeem himself? Is there hope for Monk now?

He actually re-examined that whole situation and changed his mind last year and, at least according to him, voted for Monk last year. I believe in Dr Z said earlier this year that Monk will have his vote this year. We'll see.

[Skins n' Bones]

I just caught this article, and found the thread using search. Very well done!!

King actually seems to have come full circle this year concerning the Skins. It started with the 180 turn with Monk for the HoF, then we find out that he really likes Campbell, and he seems to have been picking the Skins to win a lot this season. And now this very respectful, well written piece of Sean. Very nice!!! :applause:

[SeattleSkinsFan]

Such a topsy-turvy week. A guy who I've largely regarded as a clown -- King -- gets it right, while another guy with whom I've almost always been on the same page -- Wilbon -- makes an ass of himself and won't just man up and apologize.

[Rdskn4Lyf21]

Great article...I'm definitely impressed!