Sean Michael Taylor (born April 1, 1983 in Miami,
Florida) is an American football player who currently
plays free safety for the Washington Redskins of the
NFL. Due to his ferocious style of hitting, his
teammates have nicknamed him "Meast".[1] This a
reference to him being "half-man, half beast.
Taylor played high school football at Miami's Gulliver
Preparatory School where he helped Gulliver win the
Florida Class 2A State Championship in 2000. At
Gulliver, he was a star on both sides of the ball,
playing running back (on offense) and defensive back
and linebacker (on defense). In 2000, Taylor rushed
for 1,300 yards and a state-record 44 touchdowns. On
two separate occasions, Taylor rushed for more than
200 yards during Gulliver’s state playoff run. He also
racked up more than 100 tackles during the 2000 season
and accounted for three touchdowns (two receiving, one
rushing) in the state title game victory over
Marianna. Taylor was considered the No. 7 prospect in
Dade County by the Miami Herald and rated the nation’s
No. 18 skill athlete and an All-American by SuperPrep.
He was also an Orlando Sentinel Super Southern Team
selection, the No. 1 athlete on the Florida
Times-Union Super 75 list, and rated the No. 14 player
in Florida by the Gainesville Sun. Taylor began his
High School football career at 6A Miami Killian Senior
HS, but left to Gulliver 2A where he could play both
offense and defense.
In 2001, he was one of just four true freshmen to play
for Miami in the 2001 national championship season,
carving a niche for himself in Miami's secondary in
nickel and dime coverage packages. Taylor was named
"Big East Special Teams Player" of the Week for his
performance against the University of Pittsburgh. In
2002, Taylor was a first-team All-Big East selection
by the league's head coaches in his first season as a
starter. He finished third on the team in tackles with
85 (53 solos), broke up 15 passes, intercepted four
passes, forced one fumble, blocked a kick and returned
a punt for a touchdown. He led all defensive backs in
tackles, interceptions and passes broken up and had a
career-high 11 tackles (two solos) and intercepted two
passes in the Fiesta Bowl loss to The Ohio State
University. During his final year at Miami, Taylor
produced a historic season that culminated with a
plethora of honors and awards. He was a named a
consensus first-team All-American, the "Big East
Conference Defensive Player of the Year" and a
finalist for the "Jim Thorpe Award" given to the
nation's best defensive back. He led the Big East
Conference and ranked first nationally in
interceptions per game (0.83) with 10, tying the
record for interceptions in a season held by former
hurricane standout Bennie Blades. He finished third in
total tackles with 77 (57 solos). He intercepted two
passes in Miami's impressive 28-14 win over
Pittsburgh, playing a key role as the Hurricanes
limited All-American receiver Larry Fitzgerald to
three receptions for 26 yards. He returned
interceptions for an average of 18.4 yards, including
a 67-yard touchdown return at Boston College, a
50-yard scoring runback at Florida State, and a
44-yard scoring runback against Rutgers. His three TD
returns of interceptions is a Miami single-season
record. Taylor was the first University of Miami
player drafted in 2004, being selected one pick before
widely-sought former teammate Kellen Winslow, a
dominant tight end, who was chosen by the Cleveland
Browns with the draft's sixth pick.
Following his 2004 selection by the Redskins, Taylor
signed a seven-year, $18 million contract with the
team. Shortly thereafter, fellow Redskin LaVar
Arrington hit Taylor in the face with a shaving cream
pie during a media interview as a ritual rookie
hazing. On the field during the 2004 season, Taylor
was successful, emerging as the Redskins' starting
free safety by the third game of his rookie season.
For the season, he had the team's second most
interceptions, with four. In addition to his four
interceptions, Taylor had 89 tackles, two forced
fumbles and one sack. He started for the Redskins in
13 of the season's 16 games.
Taylor's short NFL career, however, has been
overshadowed somewhat by controversy. He has fired two
of his agents, walked out of a mandatory NFL rookie
symposium for which he was fined, and was accused of
spitting on Cincinnati Bengals player, T.J.
Houshmandzadeh, who later called Taylor "a punk,"
during a 2004 game at FedEx Field. However, after an
investigation, the NFL found nothing to substantiate
the spitting allegation. Taylor continued his
effective play in the 2005 season, finishing with 70
tackles, 1 sack, 2 interceptions, 2 forced fumbles,
and 1 fumble returned for a touchdown. In this year he
became recognized as one of the hardest hitters in the
NFL. Taylor, along with fellow University of Miami
and Redskins' teammate Clinton Portis, was fined
$5,000 in the home game against the Philadelphia
Eagles for violating the NFL dress code by wearing
socks that did not match the Redskins' standard
uniform. Portis was fined even more for further
infractions. Taylor had ups and downs during a January
7, 2006 wild card game against the Tampa Bay
Buccaneers. Although he scored a touchdown that proved
to be the Redskins' margin of victory, he was ejected
after spitting at running back Michael Pittman. He was
subsequently fined $17,000, the amount of his game
check. The 2006 season was arguably the most
inconsistent of Taylor's career. He finished the year
leading the Redskins' defense with 129 tackles, 1
interception and 3 forced fumbles.
Taylor occasionally missed tackles in his attempts to
knock the ballcarrier out. Some backers of Taylor
might say this was the culmination of Taylor being
forced to make tackles near the line of scrimmage to
help the struggling Redskins defensive rush unit. He
did not have a fellow safety to go along with him for
most of the year, and struggled to make plays when he
was stretched too thin. Taylor had his best game of
the season in week 12 against the Carolina
Panthers.[2] Though he played well all game, his
presence was felt most sharply in the final minutes,
making a key 4th-down tackle and intercepting a Jake
Delhomme pass to seal the victory. He earned NFL
Defensive Player of the Week honors following the
game. Even while playing on a struggling Redskins
defensive unit, Taylor's impact on the field was
recognized when he was named a first alternate to the
NFC's 2007 Pro Bowl team. When the first choice for
safety, Brian Dawkins of the Philadelphia Eagles,
chose not to play in the Pro Bowl due to an injury,
Taylor was named to the vacated spot, marking his
first Pro Bowl appearance. During the Pro Bowl, on a
rudimentary special teams play, punt kicker Brian
Moorman (Buffalo Bills) of the AFC conference decided
to snap the ball and run on 4th down to try to pick up
3 yards and a 1st down. Taylor came from about 30
yards out of the defensive backfield and completely
leveled Moorman horizontally, a play which became the
hit of the game. In an act of good sportsmanship and
respect after he took the hit, Moorman raced to
midfield to congratulate Sean Taylor for making the
big play.
While in 2007 Taylor was having the best season of his
career in on the field and had stayed out of trouble
off the field since the birth of his daughter, Jackie,
in May 2006. He was becoming a leader, and his
teammates had elected him to the players' committee
that meets regularly with Gibbs. When on November 26th
(Back home in Miami) Sean was shot by "an intruder who
forcibly entered his residence," Miami police said. On
November 27th 2007, Sean Taylor died at 3:30am. "The
blood loss was too much. He didn't make it," said
Taylor's former attorney, Richard Sharpstein, on CNN's
"American Morning."
Many of Taylor's fans "loved him because [of] the way
he played football," said his father, Florida City
Police Chief Pedro Taylor, in a statement to the news
media.
"Many of his opponents feared him, the way he
approached the game. Others misunderstood him, many
appreciated him and his family loved him. I can only
hope and pray that Sean's life was not in vain that it
might touch others in a special way," Chief Taylor
said.
"God is always in control," Pedro Taylor later told
reporters. "We have no control of life or death ... we
thank Him for all 24 years of having Sean here. I know
it sounds short, but that's His will and it was done."
Taylor spent four years with the Redskins and was
recovering from a sprained right knee at the time of
the attack. He didn't play in that Sunday's game
against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which the Redskins
lost 19-13.
Dubbing him "the prototype NFL free safety," the
Redskins credited Taylor's team-leading tackling
prowess for sending him to his first Pro Bowl after
2006.
He was regarded as one of the hardest-hitting players
in the league. Taylor recorded 257 tackles (206 solo)
during his brief career, two sacks and seven
interceptions, according to the team Web site.
