RIP Sean Taylor

The shooting death of Sean Taylor, what the Redskins GM said was a deliberate attack, is just shocking news. What a tragedy for the Taylor family, the Redskins, and football fans across the country. Weirdly, he might still be alive had he not injured his knee in the Eagles-Redskins game two weeks ago. He left that game late in the third quarter and had been inactive the past two weeks while recuperating. Because he was not on the active gameday roster this past weekend, he did not travel with the team to Tampa for Sunday's game and thus was home in Miami Sunday night and not returning to Washington, DC when the attack occurred.

Taylor was emerging as a perennial pro bowl player commensurate with his selection as the #5 overall pick in the 2004 draft. He had the size of a LB, the speed of a corner, and hit like Ronnie Lott and was becoming a major disruptive force on the Redskins defense. Though he had several high profile run ins both on and off the field – fined for spitting on Michael Pittman and for delivering late hits as well as a DUI that was dismissed and a plea bargain to a gun charge related to a disputed ATV – he was by all accounts from teammates maturing as a person with improved practice habits and making a concerted effort to stay out of trouble.

He and LaRon Landry were all set to team up as one of the most fearsome safety tandems in the league for the better part of the next decade. Now, Taylor is off to that great gridiron in the sky, no doubt laying out angels as they fly across the middle.