stp240 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Is Darren Sharper better than Ed Reed? Stats say so...is Shawn Alexander the best running back in the nfl? Stats said so in 05... Fact is that most football stats, especially defensive stats are irrelevant, simply because there are 10 other men on the field that contribute. With that said, who is/was better than Sean? Ed Reed? Darren Sharper has been better than Ed Reed on paper for years...fact is both these guys are like punt returners at safety, just sitting back and catching deep balls, Sean Taylor was used more in Run stopping than either of these men because of his ability to tackle, 111 tackles dont lie...We finally saw Sean play the true Free Safety position in 07 and had 5 int's in 7 games (aka #1). Unforunatly Sean looked bad in 06 playing on a horrid defense attempting to play FS, SS and outside linebacker... Finally playing only FS, in 07 he was the best safety in coverage statisticly, not even counting his other 9 passes defensed. (not that stats matter) He showed amazing range, QB's avoided throwing anywhere near him. ST baited quarterbacks to throw the ball deep (vs. Green Bay, watch him bait Brett Favre). No one has ever had the combination of Size, strength, speed and althleticism at the Safety position. As Redskins fan we know this. He was taller than 95% of defensive backs at 6ft 2 and Jumped through the roof. ST was undoubtedly the biggest hitter of this Era as a safety. Even after letting it be known early in his Rookie year, that anyone who comes over the middle will damn near be decapitated! We already knew how he could tackle and hit. Combining that with his coverage ability makes him the best all around safety of this Era (Dawkins, Polamalu, Wilson, Williams, Sanders, Reed, Sharper, Lynch) Not one of these men can hit/tackle or cover like Sean, let alone both! Maybe my burgundy glasses are on but im not even factoring play making ability. Which argueably Ed Reed is the only one who could match Sean. Now to Ronnie Lott...ST was bigger, faster & stronger. Admittingly all i have seen is highlights...and i see Ronnie taking the punishment from his hits, these are supposed to be the hardest hits from ARGUEABLY "the best safety ever" and i am not impressed. Sean destroyed people and hit THROUGH them. All without using helmate to helmate contact! example: Roy Williams, John Lynch, Ronnie Lott) Ronnie is often commended for his toughness. I admire Sean for never letting his pain become known. You think Sean was never hurt? He just didnt tell everyone about it! Even after spraining his knee (his 3-4 week injury) ST came back in on the next play and joined in on a gang tackle. Lott once had 10 int's in a year, a mark that ST was on pace to beat this year. So he hits harder than Anyone and covers better than anyone EVER...all this at age 24!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT makes him the best to ever play:2cents: Skins fans do you agree? Can you say you would really want anyone else to play FS for the Redskins? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 No. No way in hell is this accurate. Taylor was a very good safety, but he never reached is peak. Don't idolize and martyr him. Just be thankful for being able to witness the talent that he had that was taken way too soon from us and his family. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hailtotheskins69 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I don't think he was the best ever. He might have been if he hadn't been senselessly murdered. But now we will never know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HitStickTaylor21 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I think Taylor was the best to ever play. You have no idea what his potential was going to bring him years from now. I don't care what anyone says, he's the best of all-time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flexxskins Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Nice try though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewCliche21 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 He never showed it, but damn, there was an aura about him. I still think he was a god on that field, and if you look at my posts since I've been here, I've always said the same. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deejaydana Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 We could debate all day about Sean and where he stands in the pantheon of all time greats but all the talk is flawed because, ultimately, we'll never know what his full potential would have been. *sigh* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDFan5 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 no......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp240 Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 We could debate all day about Sean and where he stands in the pantheon of all time greats but all the talk is flawed because, ultimately, we'll never know what his full potential would have been. *sigh* so who would you rather play saftey for the skins? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp240 Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 No. No way in hell is this accurate.Taylor was a very good safety, but he never reached is peak. Don't idolize and martyr him. Just be thankful for being able to witness the talent that he had that was taken way too soon from us and his family. who was better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I think Taylor was the best to ever play. You have no idea what his potential was going to bring him years from now. I don't care what anyone says, he's the best of all-time. So in your 21 years, youre going to give him this honor huh? Never seen Lott play did you? Did you ever see Ken Houston play? How about Paul Krause? How about Larry Wilson? Or and lets not forget Sammy Baugh. Let's go even more recent. For years Dawkins had been the best safety in the league. Reed and Polamalu all can be said to be equal to Taylor. Idol worship is bad for this reason. It clouds the mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flexxskins Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 who was better?The thing is, we never got to find out just how good Sean was going to be.Sean didn't get a chance to accumalate things like 10 Probowl appearences like a Ronnie Lott. Sean was one of the best. And the scarey thing was...he was still getting better. :2cents: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp240 Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 So in your 21 years, youre going to give him this honor huh? Never seen Lott play did you?Did you ever see Ken Houston play? How about Paul Krause? How about Larry Wilson? Or and lets not forget Sammy Baugh. Let's go even more recent. For years Dawkins had been the best safety in the league. Reed and Polamalu all can be said to be equal to Taylor. Idol worship is bad for this reason. It clouds the mind. I have never seen the older men, but even if you argue that Reed Polamalu and Dawkins are better (which i strongly disagree) Sean Taylor was 24! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp240 Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 The thing is, we never got to find out just how good Sean was going to be.Sean didn't get a chance to accumalate things like 10 Probowl appearences like a Ronnie Lott. We did get to see ST utilized to his potential in 07. I will take the 07 Sean Taylor over anyone ive ever seen. Someone, show me someone better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LB Dizzle Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 *Would have been the Best Ever Safety if he had the chance to play into his 30s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flexxskins Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 BTW, what brought this statement up anyway? It reminded me of terretts (sp). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flexxskins Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 We did get to see ST utilized to his potential in 07. I will take the 07 Sean Taylor over anyone ive ever seen.Someone, show me someone better He didn't even play the whole season.It's your opinion though and I respect it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 We did get to see ST utilized to his potential in 07. I will take the 07 Sean Taylor over anyone ive ever seen.Someone, show me someone better No one has to show you better, it's your job as a fan of the game not to be ignorant of the greats that came before your idols. And for the record, Lott is the greatest safety to ever play the game. He has four Super Bowl rings, earned All-Pro honors at three different positions (cb, fs, and ss) and led the NFL in interceptions twice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dustinwhylee Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 I don't think it's black and white. You could debate that Taylor was the best all around safety. But then, the arguement could also be made for other safeties. Personally, I don't think Taylor was very good on the blitz. He was great in the box at preventing the RB from getting past the scrimmage line but getting to the QB wasn't his forte. Also, Taylor wasn't the best with the ball. He scored a few touchdowns in his career but he's not Ed Reed with the ball. To be honest, I don't really watch other teams very often. Mainly just when they play the Skins. But I have seen Wilson (Giants), Reed (Ravens), and Polomoluesasdjflajslk (Steelers). Those three certainly deserve mentioning. All three can tackle, hit hard, have good speed, and cover. I would include Dawkins but I think he's past his prime. Still a very good safety but not as good as he once was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp240 Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 BTW, what brought this statement up anyway? It reminded me of terretts (sp). someone on youtube left a dumb comment about Sean talking about his stats like 12 ints and 2 sacs. He said sean went from hero to zero...and i thought about all the traits that i admired about Sean. To me he embodies hard work and everything an athlete should be, and always seemed to play like he had something to prove. I was a QB and play catcher in baseball and take pride in never showing I am hurt by blocking a ball or being hit. Ronnie did interviews and all this stuff saying how much he was hurt but still played (yes i know about the finger) but he told the media about all his pain and all this and inflicting pain in others and made the media go WOW hese tough....I dont admire that + he is supposed to be the best ever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jobedoza Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 Nice tribute! BUT... I wouldn't put Sean up there as the BEST safety of all time. There are still a handful of players that have proven themselves already that can stake a claim to that. Sean only played in the league for 3 1/2 years, hardly enough time to prove oneself. Don't get me wrong, was he on his way up there? Hell yes, he was! If he played 10 more years (which I believed, barring a career threatening injury, he may have) and still hitting pretty hard, he would have definitely been up there, with greats like Ronnie Lott, possibly even surpassing them. That is why many football fans (not just Redskins fans) were so angry that he was senselessly murdered, when he was still in the front end of his career, not having even peaked yet. Believe it or not, what we've seen so far of Sean was not yet his best, because it was yet to come. And you can't really crown anyone the best of all time, without actually seeing his best (and not actually using what you actually know about him to try to predict what he could've been). I loved how Sean played, but sadly, he can't be known as the best of all time. Because, it was senselessly taken from him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp240 Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 No one has to show you better, it's your job as a fan of the game not to be ignorant of the greats that came before your idols.And for the record, Lott is the greatest safety to ever play the game. He has four Super Bowl rings, earned All-Pro honors at three different positions (cb, fs, and ss) and led the NFL in interceptions twice. If Lott is the best ever, like I said I am more impressed with Sean for all the reasons I stated. As far as 4 super bowl rings, give ST a great QB like Joe Montana and i firmly believe he could have done the same All Pro honors- ST was 2nd team post humaniously this year He would have led the leage in ints more than twice But like I said stats and accolades cant be argued in this case because Seans accolades are a big "would have" BUT! Ronnie doesnt match Seans size, speed, athleticism, jumping ability, or personally...toughness (because he bragged to the media...being tough is NOT letting ppl know your hurt) Thats why I think the 07 Sean Taylor was the best ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stp240 Posted January 11, 2008 Author Share Posted January 11, 2008 Oldskool...would you rather have Ronnie Lott play FS for the redskins? I am biased to ST because he really played with something to prove...During his funeral one of his family members revealed that Sean wanted to be the best ever. Thats what drove him. I would take the 07 Sean Taylor over anyone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigDFan5 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 No one has to show you better, it's your job as a fan of the game not to be ignorant of the greats that came before your idols.And for the record, Lott is the greatest safety to ever play the game. He has four Super Bowl rings, earned All-Pro honors at three different positions (cb, fs, and ss) and led the NFL in interceptions twice. I mean if we are being honest, Taylor wasnt even the best safety ever drafted by the redskins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HitStickTaylor21 Posted January 11, 2008 Share Posted January 11, 2008 So in your 21 years, youre going to give him this honor huh? Never seen Lott play did you?Did you ever see Ken Houston play? How about Paul Krause? How about Larry Wilson? Or and lets not forget Sammy Baugh. Let's go even more recent. For years Dawkins had been the best safety in the league. Reed and Polamalu all can be said to be equal to Taylor. Idol worship is bad for this reason. It clouds the mind. And I'm assuming since you've seen it all your opinion is more valid. Just because I'm 21 doesn't mean I don't have access to video. Seen Lott, thought he was the dominant player of his generation. Seen Houston, loved what he did for the Skins. I love Sammy Baugh, but how on earth do you compare him to Taylor at 40 lbs. lighter and not nearly as fast? Just because I bear his name in my monocur doesn't make it idol worship. You may not see another athlete like him again. Not versatility like that. A man who can lead a team in tackles one year and then turn around and lead the league in interceptions the next. A man who can hit harder than any linebacker and can close on a ball as fast as any corner in the league. A man who could have been a starting running back in the NFL, but chose to play safety because he himself said he wanted, a "challenge." Dawkins is great, not the best, not as many times as I've seen him get run through. Reed is great, but not the complete package Taylor was. Their ball hawking skills were on par, but no way Reed could hit like that. Polamalu is heavier on blitzing than coverage, I doubt he could transition from SS to FS as Sean could. My mind is not clouded. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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